The new 605 - an improvement, but not perfect (Archos 605 WiFi 4 GB)

Member Name: Ultima2876

Product:	Archos 605 WiFi 4 GB
Date:	25/09/08 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great for travel entertainment, impressive mic, touch screen

Disadvantages: Plugins cost extra, annoying "buy this addon" reminders, not so great battery life, small hard drive

Overall Rating: 76%

I've owned lots of Archos media players over the last couple of years - starting with the old 300 series, then two 500 series ones, and quite recently the 605 Wifi. If there's one thing I love about it, it's the touch screen. If there's one thing I definitely don't love, it's the attitude the developers behind the firmware - it constantly bugs you to buy things. 'Buy this plugin now!', 'buy the stand so you can connect it to a TV!', 'buy this accessory to improve your experience!'. The worst part of this is that even if you own the accessories it's badgering you to purchase, it will continue to nag you when they're not connected. However, while this is quite agitating, the overall experience of the product is a good one.

The Archos 605 is a little harder to use than the older ones, but that's a given since it also has lots more options. It's a handy device, and it's great for recording from your TV, listening to MP3s or using as a dictophone. The internet browser is of somewhat limited use; this is because of two things. First and foremost, the fact that you have to buy a DLC plugin to use the browser in the first place, and secondly because lets face it, why would you want to browse the web on a 4" screen when you need a wireless connection and thus more than likely have a web-capable PC anyway. I'm not saying it's 100% useless - there's that great "I'm cool" feeling you get when you're browsing the internet in the kitchen while the spag bol is on, but is that really worth 300 big ones for that? If you want to buy it solely to get on the internet, I wouldn't bother (however, it can be good for travelling - read on...).

I've personally made good use of the 605 however, because more than anything it has a surprisingly good mic built into it. The audio recording features of it, like the models before it, are really good for recording... well, anything really. I've used it to record my friends messing around, ideas for songs and even full on high volume band practice sessions with drums. It's very versatile in this area - if it was sold as a dictophone alone and made a little smaller and a lot cheaper I'd give it 5 stars.

The second real nice feature is the video and audio capabilities. It's brilliant for watching a movie. The screen is just about the right size and the sound isn't too shabby, especially through a good pair of head phones. The ability to record from a TV (or a games console, or any video source that's not HD) makes this all the more special - and this makes it brilliant for having around on a long train or plane journey. Just think - you've recorded the last 5 episodes of Life on Mars (or whatever), and you've got a nice long 5 hour journey ahead of you. This makes it painless. This also justifies the inclusion of the internet facilities a little bit - if you're a YouTube fanatic and your plane/train has free Wifi you're in luck. The browser is based on Opera and supports Flash, so you can view YouTube videos on it.

Other notes on usability are that it can be used as an external hard drive for file storage, which is a nice bonus, but unfortunately the loading times for the different applications seem to be rather long. I'm not sure why, but is can take 5-10 seconds for the internet browser to load.

The form of the 605 series is more or less standard Archos fare; it's a little bit big, because of the screen, it's not heavy, and for the price it's not the best build quality. These things will break. Not as much as the older models, but it just doesn't feel as solid as it should. I haven't had any problems so far, touch wood, but I can't imagine they would survive a 5 foot drop onto concrete very well.

To conclude, the Archos 605 is a real treat if you travel a lot and like to watch movies while you do so. If you can get free Wifi, all the better. It's also good if you do a lot of relatively low-quality audio recordings - great if you're in a band and you want to record your new riff to show the others at your next band practice. As an mp3 player, its size makes it a bit too clunky - if you want to buy it just to listen to mp3s, it's a big no-no, especially considering the price. If you want to combine all of these features though, it's a steal, and that's why I buy these things. I'd say that the whole set of Archos media players serve the same niche, and that's people like me that are gadget junkies, travel a lot, and like new toys to play with. If you do want to get yourself one, though, do yourself a favour and at least get the 30gb version.

Disclaimer; I post all my reviews on multiple reviewing sites under the username "Ultima2876", where applicable.

Summary: Good for people who travel a lot, or as an expensive tech toy, but get one with a bigger hard drive

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