Rumored specs for fifth generation Archos PMPs surface
By Donald Melanson 
posted June 8th 2007 12:50PM
posted June 8th 2007 12:50PM
We've already heard about some of the changes in store for Archos' fifth generation of portable media players, but we've now got some rumored specs to go along with 'em. The latest word out of France, in the form a post on the JBMM.fr message board, is that there'll be at least four players to start with, including the Archos 105, 405, 505, and 605, which'll cost between $130 and $400. The 105 and 405 will each reportedly pack 2GB of flash memory, with the former boasting a 1.8-inch display and the latter sporting a larger 3.5-inch 320 x 240 display (and an added SD card slot). The 505 and 605, on the other hand, will each supposedly boast 40GB hard drives (with a 4GB flash drive an option on the 605), along with 4.3-inch displays (800 x 480 on the 605 and 480 x 272 on the 505). Of the lot, the 605 looks to be the only one to get integrated WiFi, and the only one with a touch screen. We're also presuming that those drive sizes (if true) are just the starting ones, given that the current generation models already top out at well over 40GB. We won't have to wait too much longer to know for sure though, as Archos' is apparently still on track to make the official announcment next week.
[Via Generation MP3]
[Via Generation MP3]
I Have had a 320, and now a 420 but it didn't like a plug in cancun :-(
does anybody know where to get your archos repaired ?
when i check thier site all i see is check status or repair.
No address / no Phone #
awesome, ive been planing to sell my AV500 one after it gets back from thier repair shop next week so i can buy the 604 WiFi, now i hear theyre making new ones? id love to try it out, atleast get a demo goin
If you've been looking for an iphone-killer this is it. For 200$ you get a 4GB PMP (expandable with SD card) with Wi-Fi for video-on-demand access to all video content in the world on-the-go in hotspots or from the hotspot in your home directly onto your TV. Probably the worlds most beautifull 800x480 4.3 inch touch-screen. Flash video support and Javascript AJAX support in the optimized Opera browser. Or if you prefer having a hard disk drive, for 100$ more you get 40GB built-in there.
I predict, depending on how easy it will be to purchase or subscribe to video-on-demand or to access Dailymotion, Youtube and Google Video on this device, as well as Last.fm and other music streaming or downloading directly on the device, so depending on how easy it will be to do just that, I think here we have a potential WalMart and CompUSA best seller product, especially for those seeking something more usefull and cheaper than the iPhone and for people seeking something better than the Zune and at 4th the price of a UMPC.
Dude, you are like a non-stop Archos commercial. I see you everywhere, DAPReview, ABI, Gizmodo, Engadget, etc. Does Archos pay you or what?
Oh, and to be an "iPhone-killer", wouldn't it like have to be... a cell phone too?
As long as it is more reliable than the 604wifi which is a total and utter piece of crap. I am now on my 6th one (thank goodness for decent warranty)
They sell so poorly that Sams Club can't even dump them for $229.
Oh, and when you talk to Archos, please tell them that 1989 called and wants its GUI designer back. Even with a touch screen the 604wifi is impossible to control with any kind of logic. Just to play a video clip takes me 3 times more button presses than anything Apple makes.
Why don't you just return it if you don't like it. I'm sure it's impossible to have to return a same device 6 times thus you're probably talking peanuts.
Also the 604 Wi-Fi is the best PMP on the market, easy to navigate huge lists of files and easy to navigate within a video file with the finger on the touch-screen.
Sam's club must be dumping it cause the cheaper 5th generation is being released next week (the one rumored with 4GB flash memory and SD slot instead of hard disk).
And to be an iphone killer is probably easy. Any cheap 10$ Virgin Mobile phone will do a better job at calling people on the old crappy GSM and EDGE networks in USA. iPhone is principally on a useless network by default, on top of that you get locked onto that network for 2 years at some crazy rate, plus 500$ purchase price, that's totally crazy.
Now I'm talking about all the other features than phoning where I think Archos 5G is a superior competitor. You probably won't even have a way to watch youtube videos on the iPhone also Archos streams DivX, h264, mpeg2 video at full DVD native resolutions. And Archos has a much better 800x480 resolution 4.3 touch-screen.
Charbax -- feel free to comment here, but consider yourself warned about pimping your sites.
Ah, I see "charbox" is the admin of "archosfans.com". That explains a lot.
You must be the admin of the archosbashers.com since you find a 604 Wi-Fi at 229$ to be a bad value.
"Archos streams DivX, h264, mpeg2 video at full DVD native resolutions"
Uh, yeah. Once you drop another $40 for the codecs.
I have an Archos 404, and paid for the codecs so I could watching Podcasts and ripped DVD's. Well, I paid the 40 for the codecs, and while podcasts work fine (as well as Divx and whatever else) watching ripped DVD's is a nightmare. The sound constantly hisses and pops (which is extremly painful when listening to in-ear headphones like I have to on the train) and the video and sound constantly lose sync cause the processor can't keep up, so I end up having to pause the video and wait for everything to catch up before I can hit play again.
Another problem with Archos devices is that the button layout is extremly annoying and poorly thought out. All the buttons feel the same, and after owning the thing for months, I still have to look at the controls everytime to make a simple change like lowering or raising the volume or pausing a song.
If not for the fact that it plays the previously mentioned formats easily (Divx, Podcasts, etc) I would be extremly dissapointed. If the next gen device doesn't have a completely redesigned UI and control layout, I wouldn't get too excited.
Well, My AV100 continues to be awesome. Though I really wish it had wifi. I haven't moved to the 4G Archos device because:
- For some unknonwn reason, they haven't done a 4G device with 100GB or more. My 100GB AV700 is full and I could use at least an extra 20GB of space. C'mon archos! why are you crapping out in higher storage?
- The 4G touch screen from the demo's I have seen seems more complicated to use than the current button approach. Also, since I use my Av700 in the car, I can navigate the menus with the buttons, and without them I would have to look away to adjust it. Plus, it needs a stylus, so really not my style.
- Has anyone hacked the AV700 and installed a bigger drive? I did that on the old skool Personal Jukeboxes, where I started at 10GB and ended at 80GB many hacks later.
- I wish the AV700 could use some sort of dongle to get WiFi. I don't see myself upgrading to a new Archos without a bigger hard drive and better navigation. But as a product, it has been awesome to me and it is used daily.
" For some unknonwn reason, they haven't done a 4G device with 100GB or more."
The Archos 504 with a 160GB drive has been out for just under a year (release 8/21/2006).
http://www.archos.com/products/video/archos_504/index.html?country=us&lang=en
http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-video-players-pvps/archos-504-160gb/4505-6499_7-32028035.html
@ScOObyDoo,
screw you, you lame Apple fanboi. I bet you have never even held a 604, let alone owned one.
And Archos are so far ahead of the game as far as anything Apple currently have on the market it isn't even funny.
Oh I'm sure you will bring out the old chestnut that is now the Apple 'Multitouch' interface - but as far as recent reports go, even that ain't all that - and the virtual keyboard app that is included with it is widely believed to royally suck. Besides which I will happily put your iPhone up against my Nokia N95 any day of the week. Like the Archos line of PMP's, it has a feature set that far surpasses anything Apple has in the pipeline for at least the next 5 years - so beyond a slightly flashy interface and an (arguably) pretty design, Apple has virtually nothing to offer that other manufacturers are not either already offering - or as in the cases I have pointed to have utterly overtaken anything even the most ardent Apple fanbois might dream of.
the Codecs that require additional payment are more than typical
the players play DivX/Xvid, WMV out of the box
compared to iPods the 604 is bigger, but not unreasonably, is most of the player's surface is the screen
which is not only bigger, but also sharper (480x272 vs 320x240) and more colorful (262,000 vs 26,000 colors)
my question though is, is there a Camcorder Edition coming?