http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/ Engadget Comments for Archos @ CES - The Pocket Media Assistant PMA430 http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Whats this usb-thing on the last picture? A cardreader?]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
i'm looking to see if i can connect a gps device to this puppy, one of those usb to bluetooth gps thingamajigs, daisy makes one for linux but no maping software]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
Yes the tv-tuner is built-in, infact with EPG so you can use this device exactly like a Tivo to record TV/cable/satellite-shows into Mpeg-4 at 512x384 resolution.

Basically the initial video support is just DivX and XviD Mpeg-4 Simple Profile at full DVD resolution which means 720x576 at 25fps and the appropriate resolution for NTSC framerate. Now about support for more codecs with for example a compiled version of mplayer made to run on PMA430, I don't know. Possibly with developpment this device will play all formats imaginable and Mpeg-4 Advanced B-frames, VBR-mp3 and other features.

The USB-to-LAN adaptor is listed as accessorie available on archos.com for the PMA430. There is also a cool looking rollable usb keyboard to type in text at laptop-computer speed, a usb-hub and more. The usb-host though is just usb 1.1 speed, so plugging and copying files from another external harddrive will be limited speed, I don't know if it is because usb 1.1 is the only speed available for a usb-host plug. (usb-host is special! It's for plugging anything from harddrive, adaptor, to even a modem, a printer or a scanner directly on this 280 grams pocket device, requiring each appropriate drivers been developped and compiled to run on this version of Linux.

Yes you can run any application on this device. There are allready hundreds of emulators for SNES, NES, there is voice-over-IP software, word processing software to edit docs, image editors, video editing.. Many cool programs you can for example find on http://www.killefiz.de/zaurus/ - those apps are for the Sharp Zaurus, which is the only other PDA running Linux and is only available in Japan. Some of those programs just need to be recompiled for the exact hardware inside the PMA430 before they can run.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
I also wish they'd build it with a VGA screen. With a VGA screen, it would serve as one of the best photo viewers out there (comparable with Epson's new P-2000).


In any player like this, I'd want it to support the following formats:

Video:
-MPEG 1/2/4
-DivX
-XviD
-MOV
-AVI
-WMV
-QT

Audio:
-MP3
-AAC
-WMA
-OGG
-WAV

Photo/Graphics:
-JPEG
-RAW (at least Nikon and Canon versions)
-GIF
-PNG
-BMP
-Flash


So build in TV and FM tuners into the device itself (not the dock), allow it to record from these sources right onto the HDD, add in a VGA screen, allow it to support all of the formats I listed above, allow it to support long-filenames, increase the HDD size to 60GB, and integrate CF II and SDIO card slots if it doesn't have it already.

Now THAT'S what I'd like to see. Take everything this Archos PMA430 is, and add what I mentioned above, and then I'd have the kind of PMR/P I've been looking for.

The only other thing I could ask for would be to integrate an XM tuner along with the TV and FM tuners, but that won't be for awhile yet. At least get the TV and FM tuners integrated, though.

(I think it's great that they integrated the WiFi instead of just making it an add-on).]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.archos.com/download/manuals/EN_PMA400_Manual_V1.1.pdf

It will be available for sale in late January.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
See:
http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/archives/000289.php

...for the specs that were initially (and incorrectly?) reported. This thing really needs at least VGA res for it to be useful beyond just a video player (and to justify a rather high price).

JH]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
According to the Archos web site, the PMA400 uses Opera as its web browser, and the email client has full POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP support. It's got a virtual keyboard and handwriting recognition, though it appears you can use any USB keyboard, too. It would be nice if they could develop a Bluetooth adapter of some sort, just in case you want Internet access away from a hotspot.

If the screen is as good as the AV420 I saw the other day, you're really not going to miss VGA all that much. Video looks great on the AV420. (Those that reported a 704x480 screen confused screen resolution with DivX playback resolution.)

Hmmmm... PMA400 or Treo 650...]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://archos.com/products/prw_500594_specs.html
Maybe the 430 is newer with a higher resolution.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
Comparison of PMA430 with AV400 and 20 PMA430 pictures: http://tinyurl.com/6n8ro

I've got the Archos Press Release (I am at CES, Las Vegas) and it says
• Connect to a Number of USB Devices Anywhere you Are - The PMA430 connects via USB 2.0 (backward USB 1.1 compatible) and acts as a USB Host for transferring files directly from other powered mass storage devices such as other ARCHOS products, digital cameras, Ethernet adapters, keyboards and portable hard drives.

Im not clear whether the USB Host runs at 1.1 or 2.0 with USB 2.0 Mass Storage Devices?

Chris Street]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
Comparison of PMA430 with AV400 and 20 PMA430 pictures: http://tinyurl.com/6n8ro

I've got the Archos Press Release (I am at CES, Las Vegas) and it says
• Connect to a Number of USB Devices Anywhere you Are - The PMA430 connects via USB 2.0 (backward USB 1.1 compatible) and acts as a USB Host for transferring files directly from other powered mass storage devices such as other ARCHOS products, digital cameras, Ethernet adapters, keyboards and portable hard drives.

Im not clear whether the USB Host runs at 1.1 or 2.0 with USB 2.0 Mass Storage Devices?

Chris Street]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
where is written that a tv-tuner is inside the craddle?

I understand that´s the same procedure like the AV400, so you need a externat tv-tuner (vcr, tv, ...)

Best regards

rbeeck]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
By the way: Perfect timing! I was about to get an AV420 and just saw this new PMA430 is coming out! My only regrets about the new version:

- No CF Slot
- I would be willing to pay $200 extra for a 60 or 80 GB model, and possibly more for a 150 or 250 GB model if it were about the same size!
- No HDTV Compatibility (dang)

I'm also hoping that I can stream video over my network, thus not having to need a larger hard drive as I can keep all my video on my personal computer.

Also hoping that this works well with Windows and file sharing. Last I used Linux (about 4 years ago) I had to install Samba (SMB I think) which was not extremely straight-forward.

Any more information greatly appreciated! I'm drooling right now and can't get my fix! By the way, the best I've seen about this device:

All Archos Product’s Compared:
http://www.datamind.co.uk/Merchant/archos_compare_100_300_400_500.htm

Archos PMA400 Video:
http://www.craveonline.com/gear/CES05/?showVideo=189&statsid=32&pid=12
]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/
- The PMA is advertised as having USB2 device support, but (according to the manual, at least) only USB1.1 host support. I'm inclined to think that the USB host support was really only intended for connecting a keyboard :) If you connected a camera to the USB, it appears that it should work (because they show a USB disk plugged into it on the web site), but you'll only get USB1.1 speeds. Of course, you'll get USB 2 speeds when using the PMA in external-disk mode with a PC, which is important when transferring content to it.

- I've found that, with the AV420, back-and-forth file transfer over USB works flawlessly with Linux or Windows XP on a PC. I would like to hope that the PMA will be similarly well-behaved

- There is an external video output. However, I don't know if the framebuffer will allow for higher resolution with the external output than the built-in screen. With PAL TV output to a decent monitor, you should be able to get 700x500 and still distinguish pixels (I would think). I believe (but am not certain) that on the AV420 you get more than 320x240 resolution on the external video output when playing movies. However, I'm not sure that you get more than 320x240 when displaying the icons and menus, etc. This issue is important if you wanted to use the PMA like a portable computer, with an external monitor and keyboard.

- As a USB mass storage device, the AV420 uses vfat (what I think is called `fat32' in the windows world) filesystem. So, yes, you do get proper filenames, etc. I can't see any reason why the PMA will be different.

- I believe that the entire Linux implementation fits into a fixed-size 64 mbyte file within the vfat filesystem. Presumably the bootloader can find that file and boot from it. I imagine that this arrangement is to allow users to see a plain, empty filesystem to dump content on wherever they like. The Linux filesystem will be invisible for `normal' purposes. A problem with the Zaurus was that it exposed the Linux filesystem, and many apps required files to be distributed in Linux-friendly ways. This is fine for geeks, but not so marvellous for others

- It appears from the manual that you'll be able to backup/restore the entire Linux bit by reading or writing the 64 mbyte file in its entirety. It isn't clear whether you'll be able to read or write individual Linux files over USB. You almost certainly won't be able to do this by ordinary USB mass storage protocols (that is, as a removeable drive), because you'll just see the 64 mbyte blob as a file. Maybe the unit comes with some kind of software for doing this? If it doesn't, installing Linux apps will be tricky (but I guess it might be possible to use the wireless network support to transfer indivdual support).

- I have a suspicion that the reason the disk size is 30Gb and not 20Gb (like the AV420) is that Hitachi might have released a 30Gb 1.8'' disk that is thin enough to fit in the case. Or maybe 30Gb is thicker than 20Gb, but will fit in the PMA because there's no CF slot? There was a physical difference between the different models in the AV range -- the higher-capacity models took 2.5'' disks, not 1.8'' disks. The Hitachi 1.8'' disk is a single-platter unit, and only about 7mm thick. People tried, and failed, to get a bigger 1.8'' disk into the AV420 -- the next size up Hitachi 1.8'' unit is 2mm thicker, so it doesn't fit!

- So far as I know, Archos have not specified anything about how the Linux system will be implemented. We don't know (or, at least, I don't know) the CPU model, the amount of RAM, the amount of disk space that will be available to install apps, how software installation will be done, or anything else. For people that hope to use this thing as a computer (rather than just limiting themselves to the built-in PDA apps), this information is crucial. Does anybody know?

- I wouldn't bet too much that porting Zaurus apps will just require a recompile. For example, a lot of Zaurus apps have hard-coded Zaurus-specific settings (portrait screen, for example). Still, it's got to be easier than porting, say, PocketPC apps :)

]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/archos-ces-the-pocket-media-assistant-pma430/The PMA430 will show up as a generic USB mass storage device just like the other Archos products so there will be no problem at all syncing files in Linux or Windows.

Whenever you are using the operating system portion of the PMA430, i.e. not playing video files, you will always be running at 320x240, regardless of whether you are using an external display or not.

Contrary to popular opinion, on a screen as small as these devices have (even a little bit larger screens) 320x240 resolution is more than ample for fantastic video playback. It is a total waste to have a high resolution screen if the size is so small (<4.5 inches). Remember that NTSC Television is roughly about 352x240 resolution. Now would you throw out your 35" TV because the resolution is too low? Now don't get me wrong, I know you can't exactly convert TV scanlines to pixels like that, but it's close enough to make that analogy. Also with HDTV and new stuff coming out, old TV seems pretty bad, but really it's got decent picture quality, even on larger screens. So all of you complaining about screen resolution need to just zip it until you learn more about video OK?

The Linux system that the PMA430 uses is basically the same as the Sharp Zaurus: embedded Linux with Qtopia windowing environment. Therefore, the software installation will be by the Linux based handheld standard method- IPKG files. These are nice packaged files similar to rpm or deb files and are most of the time easy to install. All you have to do is transfer them to the device using usb, network, or whatever method you prefer, and then install. 90% of them can be installed by using the Qtopia graphical installer and the rest need to be installed in a terminal by issuing the command "ipkg install programname.ipk". See, no big deal.

With some fiddling, you should be able to use roughly the whole 30GB harddisk for application storage if you so desire. This is Linux, remember? :-) Now, mind you, I did say with some fiddling. For the Linux-familiar geek this should be no problem. For the average Windoze user, you should be able to have plenty of space to install loads of software with a minimum of effort.

As far as the filesystem being exposed, that is not a factor on this device or any other (including the Zaurus). As was mentioned, the Linux filesystem will show up as a file under another computers view when the device is connected to USB, but files in the FAT32 partition of the PMA430 can be read by Linux just as easily as the native filesystem. So there is no problem about getting a file "into the Linux filesystem". At worst, it's a two step graphical process, so no biggie.

As far as CPU, the PMA430 uses a TI ARM7 CPU running at 80MHz. This may seem slow, but the special chip from Texas Instruments has special video encoding/decoding abilities to handle the media playing and recording that the device does. On the other hand, the regular apps like MPlayer, Opera, and others will not run as fast as they do on Zaurus because the Zaurus runs everything at either 206MHz (5500 series) or 400MHz+ (5600, C700 and newer series). This means that things like Mjpeg/MPEG2/Quicktime video playing may not be very good because it will have to run without the special features of the fancy processor. But I assume that at least Ogg/MP3/WMA/WAV and other less processor intensive codecs will play just fine, even at 80MHz.
But, there is hope for additional codecs: When Archos releases the SDK, I am sure that some dude will immediately begin working on a video player based on MPlayer or something that will take advantage of the fancy TI processor's video features.

Since it is ARM7, it is binary compatible with Zaurus applications, but as was mentioned before, some do not run because of being made specifically for the Zaurus.
But porting even those special apps should be able to be done with little effort.

With MPlayer or VLC, streaming video over a network to the device is no problem. I do it with my Zaurus all the time. It should be about the same stuff. But, as before, using these programs will diminish the video processing performance because they don't take advantage of the special hardware in the PMA430.

About using AIM or some variant: You should be able to run several instant messaging programs on this device that were written for Zaurus with no problems.

HDTV support? on this tiny thing? gimme a break. That would be stupid to begin with and a waste of hardware.

The USB host is a SWEET feature. Although it only runs at USB1.1 speed, most, if not all USB2.0 devices will operate at this speed so there should be no problems.
The host port opens the door to a whole new world of peripherals like joysticks (for playing emulated games etc.), keyboards, cardreaders, network interfaces, cellphone connections, external harddrives, external CD/DVD drives or even with some extra software and some tinkering-- CD/DVD burners. I seriously doubt that that would be practical, and may not even work, especially for DVD because of the high speed needed to write them, but in theory it is possible. CD/DVD readers is definitely a possiblity and more than likely will work well.

So anyway, I hope that I have answered some questions.
God Bless]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM