Before I bought this new 604 Wifi, I had an AV420, which I had for a couple of years and thought that it was very good, so I had high expectations for my new device, and let me tell you it did not let me dow6n.
With my old AV420, in the packaging, you would get all you needed to get started, and also a stand for recording TV, and playing files through your TV. With the new Wifi it is an optional accessory. With this, you get all you need to get started and that is all.
I opened the box with it in and a piece of paper fell out telling me the first thing I needed to do was to calibrate the screen. So I did this and started playing with my new gadget. At first I could not see the difference between the menu system with the new and old devices. But after a few minutes of using it, I seen realised that there was a huge improvement. There are two main menus. The settings menu, and the files menu which appears when it is turned on. It is also very easy to switch between the two menus because there is a button at the top left that when touched switches them.
The touch screen is very responsive and comes with three stylus pens for controlling it. I think that this also helps making the menu system easy to navigate through. Not only can you use the touch screen, but there are also the normal navigational buttons on the right of the device. I was also amazed at the quality of the video and pictures that can be viewed on the screen. It is capable of displaying video of quality up to and including DVD quality files. It can play avi files, which is a highly compressed video file, and also mpeg - 4, which is a high quality file. Although to play the mpeg files, you need to buy a file that is transferred to your Archos to allow the playback. This can be bought from the Archos site and costs around £15.
There is also Wifi capability. This allows you to connect to a Wifi connection and surf the internet. It also allows you to get updates for the Archos while you are using the internet. It is easy to browse internet websites because of the touch screen, and it uses an Opera browser.
There is a built in speaker, but it shouldn't be called a speaker. It is not very loud, and the quality from it at high volumes is terrible. It should only be used when you can keep the volume down so that it does not get distorted too much. Although, the sound quality that can be heard through the headphone socket is excellent, although this will also depend on your headphones.
The device is charged by attaching it to your computers USB port with the cable provided. This cable allows you to charge while transferring data between computer and Archos. It charges the Archos in about 3 hours, and the file transfer is extremely quick.
There is a set user manual for both the Archos 604 and the 604 Wifi. This means that there is no manual for the Wifi. This means that you have to go onto the internet to a website that is given in the box and download the Wifi manual.
It is a 30GB version which is quite a bit for this kind of device. It can hold 25 DVD Quality films, 300,000 photos or 8000 songs. As you can see, this is a lot and will probably satisfy the majority of people.
Overall this is a brilliant little device which allows you to listen to music, watch videos, surf the internet, record TV, record video files and view pictures. There is also a little stand at the back so that the Archos can stand up without any support. The only down side with the device is the speaker.
Although there are also a couple of other bad things. Firstly you have to buy all the accessories that would have come as standard as before with older Archos devices. There are many different accessories including a Video Camera, Wall Charger and High Quality TV Stands.
If you want to watch video files that have been transferred from your PC that are in the MPEG file format, you will have to buy a codec from Archos to watch them on it, which is around £15.
Pictures of Archos 604 30GB
Archos
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
(+) Great screen quality and size, built in speaker and stand. (-) The only downside is that it is fragile, and can be hard to get used to the on screen keyboard.
The ARCHOS 604 is the perfect companion for people on the move: its 30 GB* hard drive ... more
capacity allows you to store up to 130 hours of video5 encoded with a PC, the equivalent of 85 movies5. Play them on the built-in 4.3" LCD color screen or playback on...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The ARCHOS 604 is the perfect companion for people on the move: its 30 GB* hard drive ... more
capacity allows you to store up to 130 hours of video5 encoded with a PC, the equivalent of 85 movies5. Play them on the built-in 4.3" LCD color screen or playback on...
Postage & Packaging: £4.39 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Dec 27th, 2006
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