It has been around for a while but I've only just come across it. People have hacked the older models with alternative browsers, UIs and OS's it appears so hopefully the same will be possible with the 5/5g/7.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10019920-1.html

Thoughts?

Up until recently, Archos has always been at the forefront of portable video players. IMO, they always made the best stuff, even better than their competitors such as Cowon and Creative.

Lately the iPod Touch has eaten a little of their lunch, because the form factor is so darn appealing. Still, if you want to watch and store a lot of video on the go, Archos is probably your best bet as far as large-screen hard disk portables go.

HOWEVER, I've had a lot of experience with their products (I believe I've had one from every other generation), and there's always something wrong with them:

Jukebox Recorder - just bad software, and the mic recording line went the entire length of the device right past the hard disk, adding whine to every recording. Stupid. Still, it was pretty much the first MP3 player I saw that could record audio.

AV340 - while amazing in its day for having a huge screen (which wowed everyone I showed it to), it was a heavy brick with abysmal battery life, and the software wasn't that great on this one either.

604 WiFi - The best player from Archos that I've owned. The software was decent, the form factor was solid (brushed aluminum!), and the screen was beautiful. But it had two speed issues: slow processor and slow (and poor) web rendering.


Some people have other lesser quibbles with Archos, like their tendency to make you purchase certain codec packs, but the ones I've mentioned were the serious product-related issues. I only mention them so that you'll get a sense of the kind of hardware they make. It's great stuff, and I always root for them, but it always has one or two big problems.

Sadly, I've heard that the processor in the new models also suffers from poor performance. Be sure to read reviews before you commit.

I'm also an Archos fan and my 604 is still going strong and never missed a beat in over two years of solid use. I love the build quality and the nice screen. BUT, on reading reviews of the new models I see that quality control appears to have plummeted with dead pixels, dying drives, buggy software and flaking paint. Maybe just teething problems but I'd hold of for now.

In my experience, they've been excellent with firmware updates so I've no doubt that will get fixed. Hard drives can and do go bad (Karma anyone?) so that's not a deal breaker either. But dead pixels I won't accept on such a product.

Compared to the Touch it looks very nice indeed but I'd stay away from the higher capacity ones as they add enormously to the dimensions.

I can't comment on the processor as I only have a media player but I'm guessing the low power processor keeps costs down and battery life high. Still, I think if you want a media player, get a media player. if you want the Internet, get a web book. Crossing technologies into one product usually gives no advantages and all the disadvantages. But perhaps that's just me.

True, but that's exactly what Archos is doing. You have the 604 and I have the 604 WiFi, but these new models don't make any distinction, they're all "WiFi's," and they're being touted as internet-connected devices (I believe some will even have 3G in them).

I have not had the same experience with my 604, though. It went bad about 6 months ago, and keeps telling me there's no hard disk, so that's probably died. I don't have much of an inclination to replace the disk in it either.

I think I read somewhere that Archos will be continuing to produce a separate line of media players with none of the wifi features. The 605 line is alive and well and I'll probably get the successor to that as soon as my 604 dies (if it ever does).

I don't think they're keeping it separate at all. They certainly haven't made it a distinction in the new products. As far as I'm concerned, the 5 is the successor to the 604 and 605. The 605 was, as the model name implies, a minor tooling of that generation of players, and these new ones are the next generation.

At least, that's how I see it...

You know, I now suspect you're correct. I've confused myself with the "Archos-lets-make-no-sense-of-model-numbers-or-product-lines"

Archos went to great pains to explain in the press conferences that the 5, 5g and 7 should not be perceived as the next generation to the 605, etc. There are also rumors of a 606 in the works.

But I agree with Dignan and Phil - their current lineup is confusing and there doesn't currently seem to be much seperating the various product lines.

Seriously? I'm not sure how else we're supposed to take it. It's the same type of device, with the same physical differentiations between the models (lowest-end is flash-based, then adding hard discs). I mean, what are the 5, 5g, and 7 supposed to be then? They certainly aren't different enough to be a different product category.

Ugh. It seems clear to me that for some time now Archos hasn't had a clue how to move forward. They had some great ideas, but they've squandered their early [slight] dominance in the portable video player market.