Archos 605 WiFi user reviews (30GB)

Pros Video quality, compatibility, ease of use

Cons charging time

Summary I got this as a gift - at first I was slightly miffed at the extra bucks spent on the browser (Opera) and other viewers and the lack of bluetooth support, but by the time I was done I could not believe what I had compared to my son's 16GB iPod Touch. While he's locked into dealing with iTunes and playing chess with synchronizations, I'm dragging-and-dropping...on my Mac, my work PC, my laptop. The thing basically says "plug me in, I'm ready". The side buttons are textured so that you get a quick feel for which-is-which, and the screen (and integrated keyboard) are big enough I rarely use a stylus (and I have huge hands!).

Three accessories were helpful - I found a combo cig-lighter/AC USB power source for the proprietary (and VERY sturdy) USB cable so I can charge it anywhere (FWIW AC is much faster than car or USB/computer); an eBay-listed inexpensive car mount that has both suction-cup and vent-mounting, with a rotating adapter for differently configured units - it even fits the 605 WITH the USB cable hooked up to charge (Ahem, of course one never has video running in the car...) and a two-pocket PSP case - one side for the unit, the other for earbuds, cables, charger/adapter and stylus.

The WIFI reception is amazing. The antenna is at least as good as my Compag laptop, which is the best of several I've owned. I got stuck in Las Vegas' airport for a few hours and instead of pouring quarters into the local coffers I plugged into a charging station and watched YouTube videos and a movie (note - if you have a Mac, get Handbrake and convert your movies using iPod low or high resolution. High looks a bit better, especially on a TV screen, but low is best for viewing just on the Archos as it takes up much less disc space).

I called service once with a tech question and got immediate and clear, friendly help. No issues at all.

The only question I have now is whether to sell this one and get one with an even bigger hard drive - 30GB is really fine for most of my music and rotating some movies/music videos, but with 80 or 160GB I could store a LOT of movies on it!

And if I leav it laying aroun the house, I find my son using it instead of his Touch. He's a die-hard iPod devotee, and I can't think of a better endorsement than that.

Pros Great features

Cons If they work....

Summary I bought my Archos in Germany and within a week started having problems. It wont charge properly and discharges within 2 hours!! After spending ages speaking to the retailers and distributors on their website - most of whom dont deal with Archos any longer - I finally managed to get a contact number for support. I was advised that I should format the Archos as this would make it start charging properly?? Also it takes around 20 to 25 mins to transfer a 700mb file to the unit??

I sent it back to Archos after owning it for 2 weeks, 6 weeks I get the unit back - now the wifi doesnt work, it still wont charge and I think it may actually run out of battery quicker!!! It also been damaged - there are scratches on it and looks like its been carried about in someones pocket for the last few weeks. I've complained to the head office who have just completely ignored my complaint!!

I WOULD NEVER BUY ARCHOS AGAIN!!! tHE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS APPAULING AND WHILST THE PRODUCTS ARE VERY APPEALING AND TO BE FAIR WHEN THEY DO WORK ARE FANTASTIC! I JUST HATE BEEN TREATED AS AN INCONVIENCE BY THE COMPANY. ARCHOS IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN EITHER PLEASE COME BACK TO ME OR I'M TAKING THE UNIT BACK AND I'D NEVER EVER BUY FROM YOU AGAIN!!

Pros Wifi, 30 GB, drag and drop feature... and an unbeatable screen's resolution at this price tag.

Cons Browser in option (29 euros).

Summary Fantastic player, I would give a 10/10 if it wasn't for the browser in option but let's face it, cheaper than the internet tablet from NOKIA an so much better... Even the Ipod Touch is not as good. I heard people complaining that it wasn't sold with an AC adaptator... so are the Ipods, others saying that it was bad to pay for accessories, what company would give them for free?

The downside is the browser in option, but such a wonderful device at this price... just bare in mind that those few bobs are well worth it.

By the way, the opera widgets that can be used once the browser purchased give the ARCHOS 605 WIFI the following extensions:

Calendar, RSS feed reader, notebook, currency converter, adress book, weather forecast and more... a well worth 29 euros for those features.

Cheers!

Pros Awesome Screen Res, Fast OS, Full Web Browsing, Great File Support

Cons Plugin Costs, No Need For Button Panel, Battery Life, Web Radio Support

Summary This device has ridiculous potential. Its basically a handheld computer. You can play all media, read pdfs, surf the net, etc. It needs support for some more doc types like doc, xls, etc. It needs to be hacked to allow downloading of anything off the net. It needs a torrent client and support for web radio. Then, you gotta pc! This device is capable of PVP + more. As a PVP, its unbeatable. However, I really hope that the archos owner base grows and we can collaborate on getting the full potential out of this thing. One last note, skinning support should be added, and the buttons are useless. They should have ditched them to make the device shorter. The fact that the whole side of the device is not just a screen, but buttons and housing as well makes it look like something from 2003, not 2007 (equivalent to 1.5 decades in tech).