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**Archos 704 Portable Media Player Wifi 40GB** -----------------------------------------------------------------
-- Archos – The portable entertainment manufacturer --
Archos; was established in 1988, it is a global electronic manufacturer leader for portable components in the field of entertainment and digital content storage. They specialise in UI (User Interface) technologies, more known a ‘touch-screen’ technologies.
Since 1988, Archos have expanded their technologies facilities into infra-red – body temperature – body movement – and laser. The 704 Media Player; is the first ‘touch-screen’ portable media player, that has been launched in UK and Europe since April 2007. Archos have released the 704 Media Player, with the help of ‘Mediatechie’ ahead of schedule. It is already been regarded as a pioneering portable media player of it’s time. Archos’s, involvement in the hugely inventive Nintendo Wii; was a big factor in the Wii’s success. Being a global leader in portable technologies Archos are not that well-known. However, anyone has been through an electronic door while on a shopping trip, or had had their credit card scanned or even used a ‘touch-screen’ for map reading, or purchasing items, have at some point been in ‘touch’ with Archos.
During the ‘digital revolution’ of the 1990’s the company has evolved, though has not lost their original mainstay ideology, in producing electronic components. While setting up Archos, Frenchman, Henri Crohas, decided to use an anagram of his surname that incorporated a global recognition of a pioneering establishment > Crohas > Archos.
The URL for the global market leader is: http:// www.archos.com The site is one of the biggest in global features I’ve seen. It reminds me of Sony’s site yet has not got the marketing savvy. The choices of languages are endless. For a company that originated
in France, Archos’s tentacles have reached all corners of the globe.
--What’s the difference between the earlier 604 model and the ‘new improved’ 704 portable media player?--
There is no doubt that this product has taken every aspect of what a portable media centre should be like, comparing it to the 604 version; no comparison. The 604 had a 4 ½ inch screen size that is only 1 inch bigger than an average mobile phone screen. For a, portable media player running ‘primary’ digital media coverage, this is a very small area. The 704 version boasts a 7 inch screen. Archos stated in a forum that the size of screen had become a major cause for discussion while producing the 704. The 604, has all the same media capabilities, yet lacked direction when compiling a ‘menu’. In layman terms many consumers had problems in navigation around the portable player, and therefore were not using the whole media player’s digital capabilities. Archos decided earlier in the product prototype of the 704 that the updated version would be a UI (User Interface) ‘touch-screen’; with a better use of button management. On the 704, the button commands are at the side of the device, instead of on the right of the screen as designed on the 604. In doing this you are ‘freeing up’ more visual space, without making the device bigger. Archos were also very aware that the 704 will not become a touch-screen laptop based design, which was a serious concern, for global marketing of the 704. Instead the 704, was introduced as a pioneering touch-screen media player, slick, compact and well designed. Taking all the good factors of the 604 and re-branding it as a pioneering force foe UI touch-screen technology; which it certainly is.
--The 704 portable media player (PMP) and extras--
There is no mistaking that when you first see the delivered package, you will think it being very similar to a mobile phone. Archos have been clever in this department as well. The 704 takes up practically the whole of the boxed package; however, hidden away are the: Battery Charger > Remote > 2 touch-screen pointers > Pouch (to clip on your person) > Manuals (PDF Format) // > Adobe Acrobat Software is required to view the document > Stereo headphones > CD with download options > USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable for the PC/Mac; of course, it depends on how techie you are; the actual descriptions and manual is easy to install and follow. There is an after sales Customer Support contact online on the web site http://www.archos.com.
· * A useful hint, while using the 704 is to use the pointers for the ‘touch-screen’ menu’s etc. What tends to happen is when using fingers the natural oils on the finger tip is left on the screen, and can get dirty especially when viewing digital media; another problem that can arise depending on size of your finger tips of course is that the 704 screen is in my opinion too small to deal with average size fingers; also it is not so effective to navigate through prompts, compared to using the pointers provided, then it works 100% to any prompts. *
The Archos 704 is certainly very compact and is much more stylish compared to the 604, which in my opinion looks as if it has been manufactured by Creativ – The 604 has uncanny ‘Creativ’ look and feel to it. I’m glad that Archos decided to completely change the 704 as I can tell already that it will be an award winner in 2008. For style and UI reasons; also it was a major factor of mine when purchasing.
--Performance and Media Quality--
I’ve always been interested in these types of media packages whether it’s HD quality or Blu-ray quality. The 704, is HD quality. HD (High Definition) is now on most audio/visual models whether it’s a feature for a TV or devices such as this one. The display quality is 800 x 480 dpi (dots per inch) For a 7 inch screen this is a high specification and it shows while viewing digital media. The fact that it can store up to 40 GB of memory is as much as a modern PC. Yes, that is interpreted as up to a 1000 media type files. Then again it depends on the amount of compression the files have been put through before transferring to the 704. Being aware of compression and quality, I’ve transferred digitally data via USB from the PC to the 704 in multiples of (4) at a time files of up to 5MB; for files of up to 40MB or more I always do it one at a time. It saves any devices from crashing and it is always a quick transfer. For those of you who have a quick broadband it is much more efficient to originally download media files via your PC, then transfer them to the portable 704. The Wifi wireless connectivity allows browsing with mozilla firefox and Internet Explorer. The speed is 320 kbps so therefore too slow to download any media content via any websites. It is perfect for emailing ‘on the run’ checking news and blogs; articled based sites etc. The next version, I’m sure will incorporate a wider range on Wireless services.
The feature I was impressed with is the range of media formats that the 704 can support> from mobile media files (MP4) to PCM files which is another version of WAV. The supported file content is vast > MPEG>AVI>PNG>BMP>JPEG>WAV>ADPCM>WMA>WMV> It also has a recording format set at 30 FPS (Frames Per Second) This is a tad slower than what is regarded as web quality. (I believe it is 35 FPS, let me know if I wrongJ The video record back/ voice record back is excellent quality. Not jumpy and is crystal clear. Once it is in MP4 format the digital file is available for most USB enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or a MP3 player.
--The 704 -- Model Specification--
Device Type: Digital AV recorder Key Features: Digital audio player, voice recorder, digital audio recorder, digital photo viewer, external HDD function, video capture from external source, digital video player, digital video recorder, file transfer operation Compatibility: PlaysForSure Audio Width: 18.2 cm Depth: 2 cm Height: 12.8 cm Weight: 0.6 kg External Control Devices: Remote control PC Interfaces: Hi-Speed USB, IEEE 802.11g Features: Opera web browser, e-mail client, PDF viewer, USB host function Display Type: TFT 7" - colour Display Form Factor: Built-in Image Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Display Format: 800 x 480 TV Standards Supported: NTSC, PAL Display Features: Touch screen Memory / storage>HDD Capacity: 40GB > size not noticeable. HDD Form Factor: Built-in Still images Supported Still Images Formats: BMP, JPEG, PNG Photo Playback Modes: Auto slide show, zoom in, zoom out Digital audio Supported Audio Formats: WAV, WMA, PCM, MP3, ADPCM, protected WMA (DRM) Supported Bit Rate: 30 - 320Kbps Audio Output: Built-in stereo speakers Microphone: Built-in microphone Features: VBR, equalizer Video Playback Formats: MPEG-4, WMV Video Capture Supported: Yes, via DVR station Video Capture Formats: MPEG-4 SP Video Capture: AVI - 640 x 480 - 30 fps Headphones - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm Hi-Speed USB - mini-USB Type B Audio / video output USB - mini-USB Type A Rechargeable Battery: Rechargeable Battery Enclosure Type: Internal Technology: Lithium polymer Battery Life Details: Video playback - up to 5.5 hour(s) Audio playback - up to 25 hour(s) System requirements Operating System: MS Windows XP, MS Windows 2000, MS Windows ME, Apple Mac OS X, Linux, MS Windows XP Media Centre Edition, MS Windows Vista Miscellaneous Firmware Upgradable: Built-in Included Accessories: Stereo headphones, USB cable, remote control, carrying pouch, USB host cable, 2 x stylus
--Price--
The price -- £269.99 > When come to value and features the Archos 704 is very good value for money. I give it 8/10.
--Recommendation--
Yes, this is the first time that I’ve ventured off and made a quick decision about a product – The 704 is the kind of machine that brings home new technology. Touch-screen has improved much over the recent years. Long are the days when I for one was designing tiny pixel graphics for a touch-screen project for the disabled in 1994. No stylus’s pointers were about—Due to the fact the graphic buttons were 3 centimetres square, so big you could change the option menus by sitting on it. Personally, this product has been a real eye-opener for me as I at one ‘stylus’ point thought ‘touch-screen’ technology had it’s day. How wrong I was.
Thank you for reading this review, let me know if I can help further.
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