Advantages: Long battery life, vidid colours, easy to use, excellent value for money.
Disadvantages: screen can get scratched.

...As a previous customer to Archos (i have brought the Gmini400) I was keen to try out their new product. Gmini402 is a device that plays videos, music, and you can view photos, it is small, stylish, and can fit easily into a pocket. The Gmini is very simple to use, there is no installation required, you simply plug it into your computer (via usb 2.0) and it appears as external hard drive, you can then simply drag and drop songs, videos and photos onto the device. Unplug it, and they appear. It is much less complicated than using I-Tunes or any other similar software. The sound quality is great, and there is an equaliser should you want to change the settings. The video quality is outstanding, when you get the device out of the box, it comes with an amazing tropical video that just looks breathtaking the vivid colours really stand out... Read review

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Advantages: Good quality, looks nice, easy to use, value for money!
Disadvantages: Screen can get scratched easily

...As a previous customer to Archos (i have brought the Gmini400) I was keen to try out their new product. Gmini402 is a device that plays videos, music, and you can view photos, it is small, stylish, and can fit easily into a pocket. The Gmini is very simple to use, there is no installation required, you simply plug it into your computer (via usb 2.0) and it appears as external hard drive, you can then simply drag and drop songs, videos and photos onto the device. Unplug it, and they appear. It is much less complicated than using I-Tunes or any other similar software. The sound quality is great, and there is an equaliser should you want to change the settings. The video quality is outstanding, when you get the device out of the box, it comes with an amazing tropical video that just looks breathtaking the vivid colours really stand out... Read review

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Advantages: Great sound, great video, great price
Disadvantages: Perhaps not as stylish as some other players, bundled earphones not great

.... Getting video onto the payer is also quite simple as windows media player actually automatically converts the videos on your hardrive to play on the Archos when you sync. For example, you pick a video from your media player library and add it to the sync list, and when you click sync media player will automatically convert that video into an Archos compatitble format and then put it on the player. You can also drag and drop music and video (or indeed any other type of file) into the Archos, and it can be used as a portable hard drive. The gmini can also be used as a photo viewer and it can also function as a games console. It comes bundled with some demos - most of these games suck though and are more like mobile phone games than PSP. Finally, the Archos gmini 402 comes bundled with a whole bunch of accessories - you get an AC charger... Read review

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Advantages: Crisp vidid display, video music and photo playback, easy to use, excellent value for money
Disadvantages: replaced by the newer gmini402 with few differences, screen can be scratched easily.

...is required, it just appears like a flash usb memory stick, making it perfect for the transfer of files to or from other (or your friends) computer. This saves alot of hassel compared to installing Itunes, scanning your computer for music... etc.. I would recommend this great device to everyone who is in need of an mp3 player but wants something a little more, or to someone considering buying an ipod because the Gmini has way more features. It can be found for a relativly cheap price now, however it has been replaced by the newer Gmini402 model, if you seach ebay you should be able to pick one up for between £120 and £160, i purchased mine back when ipods had only just come out and its much better value for money, and the batteries have a much better life-time unlike alot of ipods where the batteries need replacing after a year or so.... Read review

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Advantages: Audio, video, photo for a reasonable price
Disadvantages: May be obsolete already

...to their website Archos has already ceased marketing the Gmini 400. They have replaced it with the Gmini 402 which is basically the same device with greater flexibility for file formats, and the Gmini 402 Camcorder which is the same as the Gmini 402, but with a built-in camcorder. Nevertheless I have seen the Gmini 400 still on sale in Dixons and this insignificant upgrade may actually help prices drop on the original. I bought mine at Heathrow Duty Free for under 200 quid. I have seen them in the high street for £240+. Amazon currently have them New and Used only from £194.99, but if you have a way of doing it, your best bet is to pick one up in the States and pay Dollars for it. Customer Service To date I have had only used Archos's customer service once as detailed above. I found them genuinely concerned and keen to help. At one point they even... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Plays Videos, Small, Nice Design, Connect to TV
Disadvantages: Battery Life, Browsing Songs,

...... Read review

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Advantages: Can play SNES and GameGear Games
Disadvantages: Poor headphones. Interface can be cumbersome

...The Archos GMINI 402 comes in two versions; one with a camera/camcorder, one without. This review is for the version without the camera/camcorder functionality. Without the camcorder it retails for £199 but can be found on Amazon much cheaper. I purchased mine there for £129.99 about a year ago. The French company Archos make many fairly well rated hard disc based music/video players. They've got a few smaller flash players but, to be honest if you're looking for a good flash player, looking at the Korean companies such as Samsung or iRiver or of course, America's Apple. if it's a hard disc player you're after, read on. The Archos GMINI 402 is the successor to the GMINI 400. It is about the size of a gameboy mini and has a very similar design. The unit has a 20GIG hard disc, a 2.2" LCD screen in the centre with three soft buttons... Read review

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Advantages: Plays music, video, games and shows photos (20gb)
Disadvantages: Will make all your friends jelous

...I brought the Archos Gmini 400 when i wanted to buy an mp3 player, i had considered almost every one (ipod mini was almost certainly going to be the one i chose) untill i stumbled up this little baby. The Gmini can do everything the average mp3 player can do, and a whole lot more! Videos photos and games! and for less than an ipod. It has 15hours battery whilst playing mp3s and 5hours when watching video. It can be hooked up to a tv and can be played though that. The display has vidid colours and you can choose your own background and theme (from any of your photos) The display shows all the mp3's information whilst playing and even shows the album art. The Archos Gmini is attached via usb cable, and no installation is required, it just appears like a flash usb memory stick, making it perfect for the transfer of files to or from other... Read review

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Advantages: Spacious, good battery life, robust
Disadvantages: Doesn't play videos, simple screen

...The Archos Gmini is not an mp3 player like the Apple iPod - it doesn't benefit particularly from its image, as it is something of an ugly little brute! That said, it is actually very small and surprisingly capacious, transfers to and from the player are fast, and unlike the iPod, the player uses the standard mp3 formats and no special software. The player does have one major shortcoming - it does not play videos, and the screen is basic but a good size. However, the battery life is very good, and the charge time is excellent. Also, the stock headphones are a tad poor, but for the money they are acceptable. The Gmini is an mp3 player that does exactly what is asked of it - it plays music files to a high quality and is surprisingly easy to use. For this, it comes highly recommended.... Read review

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Advantages: Blocked out the annoying lady at work.
Disadvantages: No volume control

...I bought a pair of these earlier this year to use with my Archos Gmini 402 jukebox. They costed me about £60 when I purchased them from Argos. At first I felt a little bad at the cost of the headphones, however, after using them I was so glad that I'd bought them. Using the headphones to listen to music without the noise cancelling feature is fine. The sound quality is beautiful and all types of music that I've listened to (pop, rock, rap, classical, electric) sound amazing. The treble is great and the bass is nice and strong. Using the headphones without the noise cancelling feature requires no battery power and is very good. The actual design of the headphones means that a lot of noise gets supressed since the headphones effectively block the ear canal. The headphones are supplied with three different sized soft rubber earpieces so... Read review

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