Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 361-365 of 367
 Problems across the board September 17, 2007
I. Walker (San Francisco)
29 out of 38 found this review helpful
I really looked forward to getting this-- even after I got strung along by Amazon on my pre-order. When it finally arrived, my unit had a horrible problem with static during playback that their tech staff blamed on software, but couldn't figure out. I got a replacement; same problem. Only by then they had updated the firmware I could download, which fixed the problem. The original firmware, apparently, was outdated before the first shipment went out, and none of the tech staff knew about it. Then the shortcomings started to appear. This isn't really designed to be an audio player-- it's too bulky, there's no way to attach it to you, and it seems a little fragile. So as a video player/recorder, you'd think it would play a multitude of files. It doesn't, not until you pay extra for the plug in (honestly, it doesn't even play the two file types it advertises; only certain versions/qualities of those file types). The wifi is a great idea. But you'll have to pay extra for it. As packaged, you can only re-charge the battery from your computer by USB, which is painfully slow (4-5 hours). So you've got to dish out more money for a charger. Want to record video (as advertised)? You have to buy the $100 adapter. When you buy, you think the case won't matter, but after you see the large screen with the controls around the edge, you realize you really want something that will actually protect the unit. More money. Expect to pay $80 to $300 more than the unit to get it to work the way you want. Reviews from the pros tend to be good because they get a pre-tested, tricked-out model from the company with all of the features working. In addition, I've found the volume output is low, and I've yet to get more than 9 hours of audio playback. The unit will lose battery power rather quickly while "sleeping", and I suspect it loses some when "Off" as well. Go figure.
 great player but stupid power option September 17, 2007
Sus (Boston MA USA)
13 out of 19 found this review helpful
This is an amazing player..with the opera plugin you tube vids look amazing.. my only grip is the included accessories..there is only a usb cord to connect to the computer..and this takers HOURS.. to charge the battery! why a company would supply only this power source in the box is unbelievable to me..it makes the device virtually unusable without an accessory.. i can see charging exrea for plug ins but not basic power supply! i would give it 5 stars without the power issue
 juicy! September 16, 2007
pjrey
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
this is my third media player (zen vision M, broke, Vision W, gave to a friend) now this.. it is by far my fav!
i like how i can add and remove from my archos via wifi... you can move files around on the device itself! you can download things from the web, and transfer them to your PC when you get home! exe's zips etc... you can view PDFs and txt files on the unit itself! slick...
buying plugsin was easy as pie! took me two seconds!! (usa here)
i do not like the proprietary USB though.. why couldn't they have just put a USB mini on it?? battery isn't so hot, dies faster than the W... the screen isn't quite as nice either...
i love how you can chose to either charge, or connect/charge when you plug it into your computer.. very smart...
wish there was a little more volume in it, not as loud as my vision W was...
negative:
volume is low(er, than my W)
proprietary USB
screen quality, not bad, but not as nice as the vision W
pluses: everything else! wifi, touchscreen, easy to add music to, re-arrange music.. dont need proprietary software, ie IPOD, CREATIVE
lets you chose MTC or UMS protocol
EDIT on oct 30, 2009: it died on me while in switzerland traveling.. perfect timing.. it would boot, start up just fine.. was unable to play any media, movies, mp3s.. etc.. i could look at pictures that was it.. anything else would freeze it.. i even formated it while traveling.. reloaded everything.. did the same thing.. reformated, and reloaded just one movie.. an old one, i had watched over and over.. froze... sent it off, they wanted 100 to fix it.. bla bla.. its now functioning as a portable/backup HDD... poop on you archos
 Well worth the purchase if you buy the DVR station as well: September 10, 2007
T.J. Neruda
67 out of 68 found this review helpful
The Archos 605wifi is, for the most part, a great product. The interface is easy to work around in, and its out of the box capabilities are decent. Moving files to and from the hard drive, while not as easy as say an iPod, is a lot more of an open ended system that doesn't attempt to protect you from yourself in terms of locking the player to a certain computer. What you have here is a portable hard drive that lets you view your pdfs, movies and photos as well as listen to your music. It does each of these tasks efficiently and really begins to prove its worth when you take it on longer trips. Out of the box it also comes with a good file management system that allows you to delete files directly through the system menu, which allows you to make space while you are on the go and don't necessarily have a computer handy. This defiantly proves worthwhile when you access the expanding Content Portal and want to download a movie while you are on the move, but don't have enough hard drive space to support it. When you are around PC's networked wirelessly and have access to them, the 605 also allows you to stream audio and video directly from them, as well as download new files.
Now... to be honest, while those features are all nice, after I was done playing with them I never felt like they justified the price of the player as a package.
This is where the plugins come in. Most people will likely drop the $29.99 for the Opera browser, which is steep, but again is nice to have. The browser is quick and easy to use, and works better then most portable web browsers I have worked with. If you have used an iPhone, it is very comparable to how Safari works on it, which is defiantly a good thing.
The player only truly ever justifies its purchase though, when you connect it to the DVR station, which is bought separately. In any home theater system, this is a godsend of a budget component. The dock outputs to your TV and accepts inputs from many devices (in my case a cable box). What's nice about this is that you can use the combination as a more open ended Apple TV system that allows you to use all the wireless streaming video/audio/picture capabilities of the system, while having it connected to the TV. This saves a lot of hassle, say if you have a divx file you want to watch on your computer and do not want to go through the process of burning and converting it to something your DVD player would accept. With this system, you just connect to the network, navigate to the folder on your computer where the file is, and viola, it streams to your TV!
For those who don't own a DVR or want to make their recordings more mobile, the DVR station when connected to the Archos also accepts schedules of your cable programs from a list that is updated by Archos, and allows you to record from the TV either automatically or manually. You then have a mobile version of your favorite show that can either be moved to your computer, or watched like one would any DVR/Tivo program, with all the pause, forward and rewind features to get rid of those pesky adverts.
The Archos certainly has its faults though. Without the DVR station the battery takes forever (no joke) to fully charge. Furthermore, not all the features have been implemented yet, the content portal is slow to get the new suppliers, the widgets system is nonexistent as of writing this review, and current accessories are virtually barren aside from a helmet camera (that lets you record what you see while on the move), the DVR and some batteries. Even the official cases for the generation 5 line aren't released yet, leaving all current owners limited to using either the only supplier on the market (over priced and generally not a great case) or protecting their Archos with the factory supplied case which is quite possibly one of the most unpractical cases the company could have made. Finally it doesn't have the fun gimicky ease of use an iPod touch would have. It's bulky, thanks to the hard drive, and the buttons on the side (while very useful) don't do anything to help the 605's dire need for a little sex appeal.
 Greatest single electronic device i have ever owned September 6, 2007
Christopher Porter (Houston Tx)
15 out of 23 found this review helpful
I have only had mine for a few hours, but it is amazing. The video quality is far better than i would have expected, and playing it on my TV with the dock is BEAUTIFUL! GET ONE IF YOU CAN!
EDIT: after 3 days with my archos, i am still in love with it, but Archos has by FAR the worst customer service i have EVER experienced. Good luck buying plugins.
Showing reviews 361-365 of 367
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