Archos 605 gets a screen upgrade and a price cut, along with access to CinemaNow's movies. Will the improvements break the PMP into the mainstream?
Review summary of the Archos 605:
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 We think that most handheld device manufacturers could learn something from Apple's iPhone, and this is true with Archos as well, but this is a rare case where we think Apple could learn something themselves. Archos' content portal, which offers over the air downloads, is a polished, accessible and well-stocked store, offering high-quality content that you'll actually want to see, albeit at a premium price. We wish there was a good transfer option for music and photos, rather than drag and drop, and of course we'd like a lot more free accessories and plugins bundled with the device, but we do appreciate the steep price cut. The Web browser is fantastic, though overpriced at any price. We don't have an answer to our first question about why nobody is buying PMPs, but we think plenty of folks who are happy with their cell phones would be even happier with the Archos 605 than with the iPhone. Now if Archos starts making a cell phone, things could get very interesting. Release: September 2007. Price: $230.
Pros: Great screen with polished new interface. Good video playback, with some interesting content options. Best-in-class Web browser.
Cons: No transfer software, still. Wi-Fi can get sluggish. Buttons seemed wobbly, and we weren't fond of the button layout.
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Full Archos 605 Review:
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When we think about portable media players, the first question that comes to mind is: why is nobody buying these? The Archos 605 WiFi can handle most of the multimedia tasks that the iPhone can take on, with a larger screen and a more media-centric focus. For the fifth generation of their PMP devices, Archos has cut costs significantly, mostly by cutting out parts of the product that most buyers weren't using. At the new price point, however, it would be easy to call this an iPhone competitor, but in fact we think that the iPhone will draw positive attention to the portable media market.
Hardware design - Good
Starting this review by talking about the Archos 605 WiFi's hardware design is like having to eat your brussel sprouts before you get ice cream. The design is very bland, though at least Archos keeps the large, wide screen front and center. Still, we complained about the controls, basically a line of rocker switches down the right side of the device, on the Archos 604, and we wish Archos had rethought the buttons. Maybe even a completely touch screen interface for the new generation, considering the competition. We found the buttons to be a bit wobbly, and though none fell off, we were careful during our trial period.
The screen, on the other hand, is fantastic. It isn't too bright, but colors are quite rich and vibrant. At 4.3-inches, it is much larger than our iPhone screen, and though it seems to lack some of the iPhone's contrast, we found it very appealing. The device also sports a kick stand around back, but not a removable battery. For more juice, you have to buy an extra battery accessory, an issue which is going to be a running theme in this review. One other design flaw from the 604 that didn't die is the lack of a slot for the stylus. Though we never needed the stylus while using the device, if one is going to be included, there should be an easy place to stick it.
Interface - Very good
Archos' interface has gotten a makeover since we last saw it. Icons are more lushly detailed and colorful, and still animated. What made biggest difference, however, was the higher quality screen. The older Archos 604 seemed a bit washed, but not so the 605. The entire interface, down to the menus and on-screen options for playback, all seemed more polished looking. The menu itself was nearly unchanged, which is good, because it presents all the devices best features at the top menu level. On specific media menus, Archos has wisely decided that less is more, and now crams less information next to each video's icon, leaving a cleaner look and more icons on screen at once.
Like the iPhone, Archos has a few neat tricks up its sleeve in the interface. We loved the animated icons, especially the icons for videos that actually played the moved as you scrolled through. We like the layout of the photos section, which leaves folders up top, and thumbnails of your library on the bottom. We really like being able to freeze a frame in a video and use the screen shot as our wallpaper, even on movies rented from CinemaNow. We also like being able to scroll through Web pages with our finger, just like on Apple's device. Typing on the on-screen keyboard was nice and easy, thanks to its wide layout and large keys.
Music - Good
Music from the Archos 605 WiFi sounded as good as we'd expect, but music transfer needs some work. Of course, you can set the device to synchronize with Windows Media Player, but we aren't huge fans of WMP, and we tend to keep most of our music and podcasts on our Macintosh. Therefore, using the device in mass storage mode was our only option. Though dragging and dropping is certainly easy, the device didn't always find our music right away. It isn't hard to search through folders on the device, but we would have preferred something more automatic. Also, we'd like an easy way to get our album artwork to show up, a feat we couldn't accomplish on the Mac. Overall, though, we still maintain that a great synchronization software suite is just what the doctor ordered for Archos, and would cure most of the devices ills.
Once we had music on the device, ready to play, we were very impressed by the playback controls. Scrubbing through tracks requires a brush of the finger, and the controls were very responsive. The 605 includes EQ options, playlists, and all the features you'd expect from a high-end music player. We miss Audible support, as we listen to audiobooks frequently, but our podcasts, mostly AAC files, played just fine.
Video - Very good
Without synchronization software, it was very difficult to get (legal) videos on the Archos 604, especially since we lacked the DVR station when we reviewed the older PMP. For the 605, Archos has partnered with a number of online video providers, including CinemaNow. We had no experience with CinemaNow before reviewing the Archos 605, but we came away very impressed. The selection of movies was very good, and current. We rented "300" the day we got the Archos 605. The movie downloaded very slowly, taking a couple of hours, but once it finished, it looked excellent. Playing through the DVR station onto our HDTV, the quality wasn't hi-def, but looked about DVD quality.
We also recorded television using the DVR station, an accessory that adds $100 to your tab, but gives you the ability to record television and play back videos at resolutions up to 720p. Not that you can record hi-def content from your cable or satellite with the DVR, but if you happen to transfer a 720p video on your 605, the DVR station will help you watch it. Content recorded through the DVR station looked very good, but not perfect. Videos seemed clipped on the top and bottom, as you can see in the logo on our shot of the Food Network show, "Iron Chef America." The TV Program Guide, though, is a triumph, and the best DVR we've seen outside our TiVo box. Certainly much better than the DVR built into our cable receiver. Unfortunately, the DVR station obviously can't record when the 605 is not cradled, so you can't record shows while you're away, if you have the device with you.
We still don't think our craving for video content is completely satisfied, even with the plethora of options, but we can't blame Archos for this problem. We simply want our own DVDs on the device, and there is no legal way to put them there. CinemaNow is a great option, but can be very expensive. Rentals were usually less than $5 for a day, but to buy videos, you'll usually spend $20 - $30, which is far too high, considering you don't get an actual hard copy. These are still novelty prices, but if CinemaNow wants to be a real competitor to the iTunes movie store, they will have to come down.
Internet - Very good
The Archos 605 WiFi has the most capable browser we've seen on a device that isn't running a full desktop OS. Better even than the Nokia N800 internet tablet, the device handles Web pages beautifully, and can even load most flash videos, including those from YouTube and Google Video. Strangely, not every flash video we tried would play, including videos from Brightcove, the service we use for our video reviews. Videos on YouTube loaded fairly quickly, when our connection was strong, and opened in a window separate from the browser, similar to the video player.
For regular old Web pages, we couldn't find a flaw in the browser. The New York Times, our own homepage and Google Reader all opened looking exactly as they do on the desktop. Navigation was a bit sluggish. As we dragged pages around, they took a moment to respond, and occasionally dragged slowly. But we were thankful not to have to click-scroll through pages. The WiFi connection also slowed on occasion, as it crawled while we downloaded from CinemaNow. Still, kudos to Archos for coming the closest to delivering a real desktop browser experience.
Value - Good
As it was explained to us by Archos, basically every feature that wasn't being used by the majority of customers was cut to save costs. In fact, Archos has nearly cut the price of the device a third, though the previous device came with the Web browser, which is now extra. To some extent, we've gotten over our displeasure at the lack of an AC adapter, since we had the DVR station, which charges the device. We wish the battery were removable, but Archos sells an external battery pack for $50. What we don't appreciate is being charged for the Web browser and for many of the multimedia playback options. The browser might be good enough to shell out $30, but when was the last time you paid for a Web browser? Never, that's when. Also, our review unit came packed with the plugin that allows for playback of AAC audio tracks in movie files. For our best quality DivX files (don't ask where they came from, please), we found this plugin necessary. So, while we can accept paying for hardware additions, we wish software plugins were simply included. Maybe when more people start buying these devices . . .
How much can you spend on an Archos 604 WiFi? We tested the 30GB model, which costs $300. For $230, you can get a thinner 605 with 4GB of flash and an SDHC slot. At the high end, you can get a 160GB hard drive in the device for $400. 130GB for $100 is a much better bargain than the 4GB for $100 premium that Apple charges with the iPhone. The DVR station we used costs $100, and all the plugins we needed, including the Web browser and the video podcast plugin for AAC sound, cost an extra $50 total. A $50 would be nice, considering the 5 hours of battery life wouldn't last us a cross-country plane ride. Our favorite optional accessory, the Helmet Camcorder, which is a small, wired camera that records directly to the device, at a $150 premium, but we hardly think it's a necessity.
Price and availability
The Archos 605 will start selling for $230 to $400 () in September 2007.
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