We had a disappointing first turn at the
Archos 604 WiFi, since the exhibition hall -- for a consumer tech gathering, mind you -- didn't have any WiFi internets to latch onto. So we didn't get to mess around in Opera or anything fun like that, but the player is still a plenty solid device, and the touch screen controls extend into the rest of the player's functionality quite well. Skipping around during live playback or skimming through a photo slideshow were both plenty responsive, and we didn't have much trouble getting at functions with our blunt finger tappings. As for the hardware itself, the unit has a definite heft, but were kind of liking the solid feel, and it really doesn't seem too bulky in comparison to its 4.3-inch, 480 x 272 screen. The model we played with wasn't quite a final version; Archos is going to add a bit to the bulge on the right side of the device for an improved antenna, and we're sure they'll have some other little tweaks before they're all ready to ship this out the door, but we're liking where this one is headed. Keep reading for the rest of the pics.
posted Sep 21st 2006 10:36AM
This is the device I've been waiting for.
I want to browse my extensive music and video collection on the network attached storage from the sofa. To load up on albums, stream shoutcast stations and maybe eventually install custom software such as Skype would be a dream come true.
I've been trying to find out if it will have bluetooth, but not much luck. Any info on that?
I second that. If it had Bluetooth as well i'd get one in a heartbeat.
Two things missing from this:
1) Bluetooth
2) Being part of Engadget's new give-away
Bluetooth and GPS, and I'd rethink my clunky all in one phone solution in favour of this and a tiny phone.
Or at least either SDIO or USB Host mode.
Oh yeah, it'll need some kind of OS that supports third party apps. Linoox?
Back to dreaming.
@ Kamalot #1:
Its called get a wi-fi enabled tablet pc and share all your folders on the network. I believe you can get cheap ones off ebay nowadays.
You can now reply directly to someone comments instead of having to mention who it is directed at. Just click the [Reply] link within the post.
My gripe is the lousy resolution: 480 x 272 is a joke. Even Apple's iPod now manages 640x480 on it's smaller screen.
Come on Archos - you can do better. Until you do I won't buy.
No, the new ipod is still just 320x240. Most any PMP can hadle video ENCODED at high resolutions (most max out at 720x576, which is PAL DVD, but one or two can output 1080i HD to an external display).
480x272 is pretty much a standard for 16x9 displays on PMPs. The only one I know of with a higher res is the Original Zen Vision, which is 640x480 (but has a pretty bad view angle).
Markus Winter listen to EdZ, he knows of what he speaks (or in this case writes). The iPod screen is still just QVGA.
Mmmmmm...Wifi... If it gets a Hard drive upgrade (to 60 or 80 GB), I'll be buying, for sure if it's under 400 bucks.
Yes, Markus. Although iTunes movie files are now 640x480, the resolution on the iPod remains 320x240.
Nifty! If it had bluetooth it'd be perfect.
If they put out an 80GB (or larger) version I'd be all over this one. I've got the AV480 and it's great. I'd love to have some of these new features.
I'm with you, Alex. I have the AV4100, and absolutely can't part with it until the newer ones have at least 80G!
ne1 got some info on the worldwide release.
i mean how do i get my hands on one from india.
its tough procuring 1 tho its mfctured in the neighbrhd.
ne info on further upgrades
I wonder if they've improved the sound quality from the regular 604, since that was something everyone seemed to complain about.
Also, I suppose they could release a bluetooth adapter, although it's not something I'd really need.
The Viliv P2 still seems more attractive, feature-wise, but I'm sure it can't beat the Archos' build quality.
The bad sound quality with the 604 was fixed in the latest firmware upgrade. Only some of the first batch of the 604 had pre-release firmware pre-installed which among other things had sound glitch and loaded thumbnails slow. Now with latest firmware sound is perfect and thumbnails, and even 10megapixel photos and its thumbnails shows instantly.
The current Archos 604 and this pre-production 604 wifi model shown has a 480 x 272 screen, but the final version is supposedly PAL (720x480) or native NTSC (720x576). AND, the OS is Linux. http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS7079516466.html
Can someone comment on what possibilities this opens up for this device since is will run Linux?
No the screen is 16/9 and it is 480x272.. They might have been able to get a 800x480 screen on there, but that would probably increase the price of the device..
And larger resolution might not be needed if the Opera browser auto-resizes tables, images and other website aspects to display pages on the 4.3" 480x272 in a PC-like manner, which seems to be the case.
Well, it looks like 480x272 have became standard res in PMP :(
As EdZ mentioned Zen Vision had 640x480, which look pretty badly (poor brightness and pathetic viewing angles). Cretive decided to go with much better quality and usability, but lower res with it's new Zen Vision W (which get wider 16:9 screen now). With lower res comes better video motion handling as well as battery saving :)
...but still 480x272 it's not impresive nowadays.
There is only one (at least to my knowledge) PMP (well, kind of...) which has better resolution - Epson P-4500 (as well as previous P-2000 and P-4000). The new Epson' baby has a beautyful 3.8" 640x480 screen as well as decent 80GB disk, but
unlike previous models this one does support most video formats including MPEG-1/2/4 and DivX. It's mostly targetted for serious photographers (supports RAW) but video clips looks just great on it's top notch screen :)
You can find some info on: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0603/06031501epsonp4500.asp
There is no info on Epson.com and You can get onle only in Japan, for now, or by E-bay of course ;)
It's not really a PMP, but the 4,3" 800x480 display on the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is awfully nice aswell :)
Althought that was only 65k colors, if my memory serves me right, whereas the 604 is 16 million colors.
this thing p0wns that crappy Zune!
I'm assuming it's a DVR too? If so, I wonder if they'll change the codec or file format that it records.
I use an Archos AV500 to capture my Viosport helmet cam. It's a great system, minus the codec or file format Archos saves. My biggest gripe is compatable video editing software. Adobe Premier is the one one that does a decent job. Archos customer support aso suggests Ulead, but I can't get a quality output files.
Any video editing suggestions, Mac or PC? I'm really don't want to through down for Premier. Thanks
You should try Ulead MediaStudio.. or Video Studio.. Those ones take the native Mpeg4 file and lets you do all the editing and effects on that which it processes only at the end. So editing process is smooth, even on a slow computer, and basically it really thanks to native Mpeg4 support it really doesn't matter which format the camera records in. Allthough I agree it would be nice if the new Archos generation could let the user choose which codec to encode in, specially I'd like to buy a Mp3 audio encoding plugin, cause I think ADPCM or WAV is too large filesize to be used, so I will always later encode the audio to Mp3 on my computer, so I'd like the Archos to encode to Mp3 directly.
Check out my video of this device with the Wi-Fi and the Opera browser in action at the IFA show: http://ifa2006.net/archos-604-wifi/
Charbax,
Thanks for the tips. I had some sucess with Ulead Visual Studio, but it was a little jumpie. It was fast moving video, mountain biking. I'll give Ulead Visual Studio another try before my free trial expires.
I'm watching your IFA interview now. Good stuff.
Thanks for the help.
Mike, I also have the AV500 and I'm thinking of selling it to get this unit, BUT, I was curious about the camcorder and the quality.
Do you have any video clips taken with it that I can see?
Thanks
George
I just pre-ordered mine. It is gonna be so cool. Ipod Killer Indeed! I. for one. welcome our Ipod killing overlord!!
I work at Office Depot and I just put this on display today, the screen looks gorgeous.
Chris, put what on display?
The 604?
George
Has anyone figured out if you can move media center recorded shows to this and watch them for sure?
I just pre-ordered the 604 wifi, and then downloaded Archos' new "catalogue," which said the non-wifi 604 has a screen format of 16:9 whereas the 604 wifi version has a screen format of 4:3. One of the photos pictured here seems to confirm that. Does that mean that I won't be able to watch video in the 16:9 format? That would kinda suck. Also, I wonder if I'll be able to transfer my tivo recordings either wirelessly through my wireless-networked tivo, or even through the optional docking station..The online retailer tells me this item could come out as early as next week..
The 604 Wi-Fi has a 16/9 aspect ratio screen, the same size screen as the 604.
The 4/3 aspect ratio screen is the 404 and the 404 Camcorder.
To transfer Tivo recordings is possible since this device supports playsforsure DRM, which the Tivo can export. But it also depends if the provider does a partnership with Archos to provide automatic and direct usb2 transfer from the Tivo or if you have to convert through a PC first. At least for now it works directly with the Dish Networks DVR directly over usb2 cable to transfer the SD Mpeg2 recordings.
I haven't heard it would be released next week. It might. The official word is just that it's gonna come at some point between now and Christmas.
Thanks Charbax. After I posted my last comment, I realized there must've been a misprint in Archos' new downloadable catalogue about the screen size. Unfortunately, I don't use a dish, my tivo is connected wirelessly to my home network and I receive internet service through a good cable connection. I've read commnets made by users of the previous Archos PVP models who explain that they are able to effortlessly transfer tivo recordings to their Archos PVPs, so I assume that it will be no different with the 604 wifi. Videos on my current tivo series2 seem to export to my pc with the .tivo extension. If using a cable connection, does the 604 play directly transferred .tivo files, or do they in fact need to be converted with a PC first? Are you implying that your type of internet service may be a factor?
i've been waiting to buy me a new PMP... Wifi is a definite WOW factor.
Charbax i watched your video, does this mean that there not going to relase a 604 wifi with a bigger hard drive. Not even a 60gb or an 100gb?
I just got the non-wifi version, and i love it! the screen is absolutely beautiful, so stop your complaining. way better than ipod!
if you want a bigger HD, you need to get the 504.
i want a bigger hard drive but i need wifi. Do u think theres a way round this? Is there a good reason for only offering 30gb? and what exacly does this wifi offer apart from internet surfing?
I recently put a 100 gig hard drive in my old (yet still working great)Archos Jukebox Studio 10. I just went to Best Buy, Formatted the drive to fat32 on a laptop, Put the drive in the Archos and it worked just fine.
I am ONLY considering the archos 604 wifi if I find some evidence that its hard drive can be swapped out with a regular off the shelf hard drive. If not I may just get the 704 wifi at almost double the price. UGH!!
Has anyone tried to mod their 604 wifi with a larger harddrive?
DOes anyone know if PDA functions can be added to this device? I like the PMA430 for all its abilities, but I'd rather get the 604 wifi if I could use it as a PDA also.
I shall get this! lol. I've been searching for a good portable media player for quite a while now and I think this one is perfect for me. I didn't like how it looked at first (what? I'm girly, okay?!) but with more consideration and research on the accesories needed and capabilities, I think this baby is excellent!
I think I'm gonna order this, along with a couple of accesories, from the archos website within the next couple of weeks.
Does anyone here already have one and if you do, any advice, suggestions, or comments? Please let me know... I wanna know for sure that it's good before I make an invesment. I'm only 15 you know. =]
I bought the 604 WiFi back in December and it does what I really wanted it to do really well. The only problem I've had are some websites that need plug-ins that Opera can't handle. If you want it for playing videos or listening to mp3s, it's perfect for that. Internet access is good but does drain the battery pretty quickly it seems. A whole lot better than surfing on a cell phone though.
One thing to note: Today (6/15) Archos announced on their website the upcoming 605 and 705 WiFis - with multiple hard drive options and more internet/streaming compatibility (like YouTube). Looks like it won't be out until maybe September. If you can wait till then, get the new one. If not, I'll sell you mine so I can upgrade!
Hey does anyone know if you have to pay for the internet service on the Archos 604 Wifi or the 704 Wifi? I'm trying to decide if I want to buy a 604 Wifi or a Creative Zen Vision W...or if I should just wait until the 605 Wifi comes out...If anyone has any suggestions or comments, please reply to this one!