Archos 604 WiFi 30GB portable media player reviewed
If you've ever gazed at the Archos 604 and longed for wireless connectivity, you can want no longer. Reviewers at CNET got their palms on Archos' latest gig, the 604 WiFi model, and gave it the usual rundown. Mimicking the review given to the 802.11-less flavor earlier this year in a myriad of ways, reviewers felt that the "awesome video playback," removable battery, built-in kickstand / speaker, and "vibrant widescreen display" were all unsurprisingly top notch, but the web browsing itself (along with opening files and navigating around the GUI) was deemed "sluggish" due to the lackluster processor speed. Apparently, however, Archos didn't learn from the previous gripes regarding the lack of extra accessories right in the box; the WiFi unit requires additional purchases to get a power adapter, recording equipment, and plug-ins for certain types of video files. Furthermore, reviewers felt that the inability to "feed the device content in an easy way" (considering the Linux-based environment), the meager 30GB hard drive, and the "substantial hit" that enabling wireless took on the battery were all disappointments. Overall, however, the Archos 604 WiFi got dinged on details that won't matter much when you experience all the things it does well, and it was deemed the "the answer to many mobile users' idealistic dreams" if they don't mind waiting around a bit for the GUI to catch up.
[Thanks, Nanatech]
