Yet again Archos pulls out all the stops and brings us a fully featured portable device, only this time a few previous issues have been addressed...
The Archos 605 Wifi comes in different capacities, the 40GB model being the one I am now a proud owner of.
Out the box:
When I first ... Read review
(+) Good screen size for the price. Easy to use. Good sound quality. Not too heavy or bulky. (-) Takes a long time to charge. Battery life could be better.
Advantages: Excellent sound quality, features, price, expandability. Disadvantages: Screen quality in daylight viewing, minor bugs
Yet again Archos pulls out all the stops and brings us a fully featured portable device, only this time a few previous issues have been addressed...
The Archos 605 Wifi comes in different capacities, the 40GB model being the one I am now a proud owner of.
Out the box:
When I first unboxed the Archos I was struck by the look of the model. Ever since the 605 Wifi was released I assumed the model was silver, ... ...USB cable:
Archos have decided to stick to their unit-specific USB cables, of which is different from the 504 cable, as there is an additional notch on the end of the cable. The cable fits to the bottom of the unit, and is also used to charge the device from your computer's USB port.
Quick start guide:
Basically it just says charge the unit before use, only in a more glamourised manner.
Yet again Archos pulls out all the stops and brings us a fully featured portable device, only this time a few previous issues have been addressed...
The Archos 605 Wifi comes in different capacities, the 40GB model being the one I am now a proud owner of.
Out the box:
When I first unboxed the Archos I was struck by the look of the model. Ever since the 605 Wifi was released I assumed the model was silver, but was absolutely shocked when I found a white device staring me in the face. All surprises aside, I was quite happy with the overall look, which is what pushed me more to buying the unit.
I took the device out of the box and it was surprisingly light, weighing a little less than the previous model, the 504. I also noticed something strange about the battery too; tapping the back of the unit shows hollow space between the battery and the hard drive, of which neither are removable, unlike the previous model which supported swapping batteries.
The unit is ever so slighly smaller in width to the previous 504. I noticed a slight difference in the feel of the product too; the plasic buttons being one of the things that changes it's texture.
Before switching the unit on I had a rummage around inside the box to see what the device came with (okay okay, maybe I did have a little play around before looking in the boxes :) ), and what I found was the typical contents as featured previously. It come with a DVR saddle (explained later), a quick start guide, two styluses, a USB cable (which is specific to the device, also explained later), a pair of sub-standard earphones and a case.
DVR saddle:
Along with the unit itself was a DVR saddle included. It is a grey piece of plastic which sits on the DVR station itself.
From my last model I own a DVR station for the Generation 4 series, and I can confirm that this DVR station is fully compatible with the 605 Wifi. So unless you require the fancy remote control that comes with the Generation 5 DVR station, the Generation 4 DVR station will suffice for this unit.
USB cable:
Archos have decided to stick to their unit-specific USB cables, of which is different from the 504 cable, as there is an additional notch on the end of the cable. The cable fits to the bottom of the unit, and is also used to charge the device from your computer's USB port.
Quick start guide:
Basically it just says charge the unit before use, only in a more glamourised manner.
Case/pouch:
Archos have mastered the art for years in making top line, good quality products. Maybe they should stick to just making electricals because they have a nack of making their carry cases either too small or evasive of use of the unit itself. In this case, the case was slightly too small for the device and took me 5 minutes to remove from the player, once it was fitted inside. Also it took some force, so you have been warned. If you do use the case make ure you go careful in removing it, as a cracked screen is something you don't want to be dealing with, especially with this device.
Earphones:
You need to be made aware that the earphones that are supplied with these units, (even previous models), are purposely of a poor quality. The earphones are purely for testing purposes, and aren't expected to be used with the device as a permanent solution.
Stylus:
The unit comes with two black, plastic styluses.
The box itself:
You may also notice that the packaging for the device is slightly different. The box was slightly smaller than expected, and was filled in on one side. Opening the box and sliding the inner box out I was greated by an advertisement for DailyMotion. You may have the same if you purchase the unit.
I also noticed that they have upped the looks by using a foamy type packaging to seat the unit into. If anything, I would have to describe this as "velvety". Underneath this velvet tray was a piece of card which you lift up (attached to the box) whereby you see all the included items, all wrapped up in little bags.
The unit:
Screen:
The screen was what surprised me the most, but in a perculiar way. The screen is more vivid than the 504 in shady conditions, but in daylight almost unreadable. The screen is a high resolution touch display (800x480) and smudgeproof. That is something that did please me, the fact I dont have to keep wiping the screen every five minutes. But the screen brightness in daylight did somewhat disappoint me.
Audio player
The audio player is a bit fiddly, and should you just wish to use the buttons to queue songs, you may run into difficulty, as it is impossible to go back to the top of the library using the buttons, while within an album. If you are familiar or a previous owner of the 504 you may notice a few slip ups when it comes to learning the controls, quite often accidently pausing the song instead of turning the volume up.
Apart from this the audio player seems fine, they have used the same graphic equalizer as the previous x04 series, but have ditched the VU meter, instead replacing the space with buttons for skipping back/forwards songs.
Video Player:
You may want to ensure your videos are encoded at a high resolution because where the screen is higher resolution you will notice everything from ringing and blocking right through to jaggies.
The video player is of a great quality, and supports all the typical formats. Also included within the screen settings are options to turn the screen contrast/brightness/gamma up and down, to make video appearance as good as possible.
Overall I was quite inpressed with the video quality.
Photos:
Something I did notice with the photo viewer was an issue with the photowall where the thumbnails are missing, but this may change as firmware is released. Photo quality was excellent.
Internet connectivity:
The Internet connectivity is quite resourceful when it comes to consuming the battery, as it will disconnect when it's not being used. Connection was good and solid, and acceptable for mobile use.
Overall I am quite happy with the device, minus the daylight use of the screen. I would recommend this device over the previous models, for the fact that you get more features for your money.
Also plugins are available for additional formats and the web browser. For information on the file formats the unit plays, please visit www.archos.com
Advantages: Record directly from TV Disadvantages: Costly upgrades needed to achieve the units full potential
I bought the new Archos 605 wi-fi with some trepidation, as I was replacing a 604 which had died after less than a year. I felt compelled to stay with the brand as I had built up a stock of peripherals (chargers etc) which will only work with Archos machines.
First, the good:
The 605 is more than capable at playing films, music, displaying photos, and going online. The touch screen is a nice gimmick, although I find that I don't use it much apart ... ...tall and thin. Finally Archos have adressed this problem and the unit can now truly call itself a widescreen recorder/player.
And now the bad:
All Archos products do not feel as well built as other alternatives (Apple products for example). Archos also operate a firmware upgrade system so that any bugs can be eradicated following the launch of the player, however this does lead me to believe that insufficient testing is undertaken prior to full ...
Frayner 21.11.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Archos 605 WiFi 160 GB
Advantages: Large Screen, Lightweight & WiFi Enabled Disadvantages: Only 4Gb, WiFi could be quicker
...===Whats In The Box?===
Archos 605 Unit
Earphones
Player Sleeve ARCHOS USB cable
Adapter for DVR Station Gen 5
Instruction Manual Written In French, English, German, Spanish & Italian
===Features===
The Archos 605 allows you to read PDF files, Create your own photo slideshows with music and transition effects, Full player customisation is possible if you download the relevent plug-ins from the manufacturers website, It has a built in loud ... ...===My Opinion===
I purchased my Archos 605 from E-Bay just before christmas and really couldn't be happier with it although it only has a 4gb memory capacity it can be upgraded via an SD memory card it is really easy to use and customise and is compatible with near enough all of the files i have tried playing on it and plug-ins are available for all the files it doesn't play. The WiFi connection is a little slow but is still really usefull as it ...
Gangsta-ash 27.12.2007 (02.02.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Archos 605 WiFi 160 GB
Advantages: Superb video, easy to record from TV and DVD, excellent screen and easy to use Disadvantages: Nowhere to store stylus, rubbish case, expensive extras to get best out of it
...they should be included anyway ARCHOS people.
The Archos 605 is an MP4 player. You can listen to your mp3 music and also watch movies, look at photos and store documents. Movies can be recorded fom TV or DVDs. MP3s can be added by using Windows media player. Other files can be drag and dropped when attached to a pc.
In the box came the 605 which is built well, but not a shiny boys toy like the Series 4 ones, that was a little disappointing. It ... ...It also came with a usb cable, headphones, quick start guide, 2 stylii and earphones.
The extras I got were the docking station, needed to record the TV and DVDs. It is very good as it has connections to allow surround sound. Also included was a nifty litttle remote control to help record and use the internet.
I also got a travel battery pack which doubles the the operating time of the unit and allows connection to a TV or computer without the ...
jasonalakija 24.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Archos 605 WiFi 160 GB
Advantages: Screen quality, navigation, Disadvantages: slight hum from HDD when loding data
i purchased the Archos 605 Wifi 160Gb model last christmas and there is only one word that could describe this player AMAZING, the wide range of features that the palyer offers to the user is unbileavable, the ability to drag and drop files from pc or mac directly o to the player without the need for any third party software makes it quick and easy to to load data, the player supports a wide range of file formats including some HD formats but additional ... ...through a pc from the archos website, the image quality of the display is far supirior to others that are on the market the navigation is simple and easy to follow with the large screen it makes it a dream to use. to use the web browser additional plugins are required to acces the net, but it acts like a personal internet cafe where ever there is a wifi connection, perfect for students at university or business users. the device can also be used ...
Mattrob199 02.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Archos 605 WiFi 160 GB
Advantages: More functions than any other player on the market Disadvantages: Have to pay for almost everything extra
I bought Archos 605 WiFi for two reasons at first instead of other MP3-MP4 players because of it's WiFi browser capabilities and the Linux system it operates but I found myself with a surprise when I received it.
The got my MP4 player charged it through the usb cable provided and the tried to connect it to the internet but it said I had to buy the internet browser from the website. After much thought I bought it for 30 euros and did regret it the ... ...have been officially released from Archos to get more you have to be copy them manually from the opera widgets website to the device but still they work fine.
About the Linux system the fact that they mention it is a joke probably from archos since the system is so custom that you can't run/develop any application for it so I wouldn't consider it as a Plus anymore but it's very reliable with hardly any crushes.
Another plus when you buy this Archos ...
chaizak 16.01.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Archos 605 WiFi 160 GB
Featuring the highest quality screen resolution, highest quality video, touch screen, WiFi capabilities for streaming content to the device or a TV, the ARCHOS 605 WiFi is the top product in the line-up for flexibility, portability, features and price.
