As promised, those hands-on pics with the new Archos 704-WiFi that was officially announced earlier today. Click on the gallery for pics and commentary.

We all knew it was coming. Archos officially rolled out their latest – and quite possibly heftiest -- portable video player today, the 704-WiFi. This one weighs in at 22 ounces and sports a 7-inch, 800x480 pixel touch screen display, 80GB hard drive, 802.11g WiFi, support for playback of MPEG-4 ASP@L5 AVI and WMV video files and MP3 and WMA audio files (with optional plug-ins for adding h.264, MPEG-2 MP@ML, and AAC support), PlaysForSure support, an integrated PDF reader, built-in stereo speakers, Opera web browser, up to 5 hours of video playback, and a retail price of $549.99. There's also an optional DVR Station dock for recording TV shows directly to the player. We'll have some hands-on pics for you soon.

We'll admit, we definitely admired Belkin's prototype version a lot better, but Sakar is doing something with its iPod-engulfing PVP that Belkin currently isn't -- bringing it to market. The iView player mimics a portable DVD player in just about every major aspect, including the seven-inch widescreen display, built-in stereo speakers, thin frame, AV output, and rechargeable battery, but instead of letting users load up their favorite disc, it sports a sunk-in socket for one's iPod video along with a dock connector to seat your Apple and keep it well hidden while in use. While we're not positive about when Sakar plans on rolling this thing out, nor if it'll come in a white color scheme to compliment the black, it'll run you $150 when it finally lands.

[Via pdaBlast]

We know, we're slightly bummed too that yesterday's brief "iPod" announcement wound up not being a beautiful hard drive-based widescreen video iPod, but nevertheless, a prototype shown at CES gives iPod video owners a glimpse at what big screen playback would actually look like. This Belkin creation was spotted by TechDigest, and aside from sleek, black enclosure, widescreen display, and gaping hole just begging for an iPod video to come on home, we don't much about it. Mimicking the design of so many portable DVD players already out, this PVP takes its cues not from an optical disc, but from a movie-playing Apple. The spies thought they overheard that the unit featured a rechargeable battery, which would make sense considering its portable nature, but couldn't confirm it. Of course, until Belkin actually decides to produce these things, it's likely a moot point anyway, but it sure looks sellable.

It appears that Archos has got this portable media player gig down pat, as the 30GB 604, unveiled as an affordable replacement for the well-received AV500, has done quite a commendable job building itself a bit of buzz. Rather than altering too much of a good thing, Archos decided to just tweak the 604, adding several meaningful extras while removing a few advanced features in order to get that price tag down to near-bargain basement levels. The folks over at CNET were able to get some face time with the new PMP, and in similar fashion to its predecessor, received an excellent rating. Although the 604 isn't the most pocket-friendly unit reviewers had seen, they felt that increasing the screen size from 4.0 to 4.3-inches (and improving its durability / performance) was well worth it. The brushed metal look must have really struck a chord as well, as this sexy sidekick was touted as being "pretty hot" in regards to its design. One feature that definitely made the review crew sweat was the nifty kickstand, something sorely absent on the AV500 (and its "main competitor," the Cowon A2). The controls and well-developed GUI left a very positive impression, and its ability to play back all types of media ranging from AVI, MPEG-4, PlaysForSure WMA and WMV, MP3, and WAV garnered even more praise. But, as expected, not everything was entirely peachy, as those looking to record video / audio right out of the box won't find the tools they need. Archos apparently made a purposeful omission and left the DVR gear as an optional accessory, just in case some folks didn't want to pony up the extra $100 for the at-home convenience. It was noted that the unit performed well when paired up with the Archos DVR Station, and the staff was more than satisfied with the 14+ hours of audio / 4 hours of video use reportedly on tap via the removable battery. If you haven't caught the drift at this point, here's the skinny: the Archos 604 is a worthy update to the respectable AV500, and if you're looking to snap up a PMP (and maybe add recording capabilities down the road), it's not a bad way at all to spend $350.

We can add another iNotch on the iBedpole to the list as Memorex has annouced its forthcoming portable video (and audio) player for Apple's iPod. The iFlip claims to only support the 5th generation variety (what about 6th gen?), and sports an 8.4-inch LCD with 480 x 234 native resolution, built-in speakers, tilting dock, and an integrated battery to provide "up to" 5 hours of excitement, which we assume drops substantially when using the device to play back video rather than just audio. While the fold-up unit has S-video out, line out, dual headphone jacks, and an on-screen menu to adjust color / brightness-related aspects, there appears to be no way to mirror your iPod's display on the iFlip (i.e. for showing album art while a playlist spins). But if the small screen on your iPod has you bumming, you can grab an iFlip in September for $200 and make life on the road -- at least for a few hours -- a bit more enjoyable.

Doghouse Electronics have joined the PMP fray with the Rover TV, a portable media player and recorder that keeps things small by eschewing the more common hard drive-based storage in favor of smaller (in more ways than one) SD cards. The Rover's available in two models that are virtually identical except for the screen: the $299 "Big Screen" model packs a 3.5-inch TFT screen with a resolution of 320 x 240, while the $349 Rover TV Wide Screen has a 4-inch TFT with a 480 x 272 resolution. Both models will let you record directly from a television or any other video source (encoded to MPEG-4) and support TiVoToGo for viewing TiVo-recorded content. Naturally, you can also use it as an MP3/WMA player, as well as a radio thanks to the built-in FM tuner (which you can also record from). Doghouse was also considerate enough to include not one but two SD cards with the device (a 1GB and a 2GB), which should give you about 11 hours of video recording time all together.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]