Manage updates with the Download AppArchos 605 WiFi (4GB)
Manufacturer: Archos Part number: 500951
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Archos 605 WiFi portable video player is one of the best mobile distractions money can buy.
Read more
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CNET editors' review
Archos 605 WiFi (4GB) price range: $49.99 - $199.99
- Reviewed by: Donald Bell
- Edited by: Lindsey Turrentine
- Reviewed on: 08/30/2007
- Released on: 08/30/2007
The good: With top-notch video resolution, incredible viewing angles, and integrated support for wireless movie downloads, the Archos 605 WiFi is the best of its breed.
The bad: Battery life is only average. Many users will need to shell out extra for software and hardware accessories they'll wish were included.
The bottom line: The Archos 605 WiFi portable video player is one of the best mobile distractions money can buy.
User reviews
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Improves on the 604 significantly
by dkdavis5252 on September 28, 2007
Pros: Video server, video codec variety, picture, improved bowser
Cons: Need computer or dock to charge.
Summary: I have owned the AV120, AV 500, 604 WiFi, and an IPod. Just got the 605 WiFi and played with it for a couple of days.
I am not an ...Summary: I have owned the AV120, AV 500, 604 WiFi, and an IPod. Just got the 605 WiFi and played with it for a couple of days.
I am not an IPod fan, primarily because of the proprietory codecs and the lack of a bookmark feature. But, it is definitely the easiest to use (load music/video and go).
That being said, and despite the fact that I really didn't like the 604, I have been mostly pleased with the 605 wifi.
The browser is better (don't know why Archos didn't upgrade the 604 to provide the same function).
The resolution is better.
The variety of codecs is still excellent.
The ability to stream audio and video through the wifi is still the best feature. (Beware - it will not stream VOBs - the bit rate is too high). Divx video, even at fairly high bit rates (1500 Kb/s), is handled very well (Haven't tried Divx HD).
The need to purchase additional software is fine - it helps to keep cost down. Though I suspect it is very rare that anyone would buy the 605 wifi and not intend to use the browser.
I don't like the fact that as shipped you have to connect it to a computer to charge it. This really limits portability...If you are going to be carrying around a computer, why not just use the computer as your PVP?
You can buy the docking station (okay, adds significant functionallity but not vital so offer it as add on) and take your docking station with you or buy a travel adapter (actually, I can use the USB adapter with my car audio's powered USB).
Finally, they have no satisfactory cases ... wait, they have NO carrying cases. The shipped "case" is just a sleeve.
Archos has a reputation of poor support for their devices. If they choose to actually support their Generation 5 devices with consistent and useful firmware updates as well as accessories this could be a 9. (It could only get a 10 if it worked with 802.11n so that it could stream VOBs).4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great screen, very poor UI and usability
by davidepope on October 14, 2007
Pros: Bright screen, great video resolution, feature-full (on the surface)
Cons: Poor touch interface, hidden/poorly organized features, poor WiFi portal
Summary: I bought the 605 WiFi based on the CNET review and after using it for a couple of days, I'm very disappointed in the product.
The main problem (and, ...Summary: I bought the 605 WiFi based on the CNET review and after using it for a couple of days, I'm very disappointed in the product.
The main problem (and, in hindsight, an aspect not covered at all by the CNET reviewer) is that the user interface is terrible. Touch buttons are all different sizes. Some functions you can do via touch, some with the dedicated keys, and some with both. You have to double-click in order to select an item with the touch interface, and who would realize you have to click "X" in the corner in order to simply go back a level in the interface? (Windows user would, I suppose.) The options for each app are communicated by tiny indecipherable buttons. And the touch interface itself is not very responsive at times (which, combined with the need to double-click some times, but not others -- makes you never sure if the unit heard you or not). I could go on and on -- have the reviewers never tried an iPhone to see what a real touch interface should work like?
Unit itself has a nice form factor and a beautifully sized screen, but the overall fit and finish is a bit lacking. For example, the dedicated buttons don't have a very nice feel to them (and their poor arrangement is another usability issue).
After using the unit for a day or so, it started trying to get a software update, but if I used the unit, it kept having problems with the WiFi connection dropping. Finally I left it untouched for an afternoon and it succeeded. (In other words, you can't use the product while software is downloading in the background.)
Tried to register for downloading content from the WiFi portal -- it was pretty confusing to get registered, and I think when I finally entered my credit card to start downloading something, something went wrong and I would have had to start over again, so I never bothered.
On the positive side, the screen is very nice and videos look pretty good once you manage to get content onto the device.
As a music player, though, it took way too many taps to get it to play a song. And when I accidentally copied over some songs with DRM (I have subscriptions to Rhapsody and Yahoo music services), it just silently refused to play. There should have been some sort of error dialog at a minimum. Don't know if it's supposed to be Plays4Sure compatible or not...
Overall, this product has great "specs", but in everyday use, the usability is poor.
If all you want to do is copy some video content onto it and watch it on the plane, I suppose it's fine.
But if you expect this product to "just work" and fit seamlessly in your life as a WiFi-enabled portable music and video player, the implementation is half-baked.5 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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So Close To Perfect
by emoslayer6224 on February 20, 2008
Pros: Hackable, hi resolution, wifi, sd expandability
Cons: no pda features
Summary: Makes a great device for videos, supports usb host, has component outputs, everything. period.
Summary: Makes a great device for videos, supports usb host, has component outputs, everything. period.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good, but needs some serious debugging
by Chaku01 on February 5, 2008
Pros: Easy to use, Gorgeous screen, Excellent audio, supported audio/video formats
Cons: Device freezing 5 times in 2 days, slightly unresponsive touch screen, absolute necessity to buy wall charger, No SDHC support by default
Summary: I've been using the device for 2 days and it managed to freeze 5 times, and seriously slowed down a few others. After 24 hours charging on my laptop'...
Summary: I've been using the device for 2 days and it managed to freeze 5 times, and seriously slowed down a few others. After 24 hours charging on my laptop's USB, the battery is still not considered full by the system; I will test it with a wall charger. The screen is sometimes a bit unresponsive. But all this is nothing compared to the absolute pain in the a** to find a compatible SDHC card to upgrade the 4GB unit.
After searching on internet's forums, I stumbled across a user created list of compatible SD cards with the Archos 605. It seems according to a post, that customer service asserted SDHC is not supported by default, for the High Capacity SD cards to function with the device, it requires a line of code in the firmware FOR EACH BRAND AND MODEL of SDHC. As such, Adata 8Gb class6 will work, but Adata 16Gb Class6 will not, but Integral 16Gb Class4 will... Added to this madness, Archos does not provide a list of compatible SDHC cards, has apparently only tested Sandisk SDHC cards, and yet, still maintains the device is upgradable with SD cards up to 16Gb... This behaviour is intolerable. How can you say to support SD upgrade up to 16Gb and not be compatible with ALL SDHC cards? Why screwing up people that buy your device by making them buy memory cards that won't work?
This device has the potential to be the King of PVP's, a few serious firmware updates should do the trick.
As a music player, sound is perfect, but would have liked some more visual customization during playback.
If your emphasis is on video don't hesitate to buy the 605 but with a 40Gig hard drive or more. It's a tad heavier, but you'll avoid the hassle of upgrading with unsupported SDHC cards.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Device, just not so great out of the box!
by andresg01 on February 25, 2009
Pros: Multi format support (With Extra Plug-Ins), good looking display with great resolution, steady construction, easy to use.
Cons: EVERYTHING IS AN OPTIONAL EXTRA! Meaning you will end up paying a lot more after you buy the device! Additional plug-ins go start at $19.99. Accessories are even more expensive, to have a fully operational Archos you will end up paying around $500!
Summary: It is a really flexible device, its got really nice features (Cost Extra), so I recommend you do a really good research and see how much you will need to ...
Summary: It is a really flexible device, its got really nice features (Cost Extra), so I recommend you do a really good research and see how much you will need to spend for it to do what you want, other that that, I have no complains! So be ready to pend some bucks on this device if you want it to do what Archos says it can do. Read the * next to each feature!
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Video looks great....when working
by TYIshikawa on January 6, 2009
Pros: Video playback is stunning, nice large screen, navigation well thought out
Cons: quality, relaibility poor customer service
Summary: Stay away....recently bought my Archos 605 WiFi at Blockbuster. Had it for three days and then got the dreaded white screen. Tried both a soft rest and hard reformat. ...
Summary: Stay away....recently bought my Archos 605 WiFi at Blockbuster. Had it for three days and then got the dreaded white screen. Tried both a soft rest and hard reformat. Was instructed to return it via the dreaded RMA process....hardware problem Archos has had it for close to two weeks now and nothing to date.Their RMA web site is never updated so you end up calling and being on hold for an excessive amount of time. Would not expect to return a brand new device after three days of use. I'm sure I'll enjoy it after I get it back!
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Absurd Reviews
by derekbergey on December 21, 2008
Pros: Screen, ability to drop most movie files. SDHC cards, plays most common music files.
Cons: Does not play AAC files which most people have on itunes. The add on's make you want to spend another 100-200 bucks, Although you don't need to, you want to. Wish I could change the battery. USB upsets me, should be a standard.
Summary: For the people who complain about the screen not working or the machine freezing, that can happen with anything electronic, so I feel for you. I use my Samsung Instinct ...
Summary: For the people who complain about the screen not working or the machine freezing, that can happen with anything electronic, so I feel for you. I use my Samsung Instinct for some movie files. The video and sound are pretty good, not as good as ipods, but none the less passable when your sitting around at work bored. Instinct takes Mpeg-4. I wanted an ipod touch, but I didn't want to spend 250-400 for something that isn't as great as people make it out to be. Don't get me wrong, I would still get one, but it plays H.264 and Mpegs I believe. So, I'm still converting movies with handbrake, toast, popcorn whatever you using. Also, ipod falls into the same pothole, I can play certain music files, but not all. And I can buy silly games for it. but, I own a nintendo ds, do I don't care for ipod games. So, it comes down to what I am actually buying it for. Video player. And The Archos smashing the ipod here. Yes, it's bigger and no I can't just stuff it in my pocket. but, I don't mind. It fits in a coat pocket or front shirt pocket no problem. It plays AVI, and also acts as a hard drive. So, I can drop whatever files I want and switch them out at other computers. Works on Both PC's and Mac's. Interface, is fine. People cry about the interface. I don't understand what is so complicated about pushing an icon on the screen, then clicking either internal memory or SD card. I honestly don't understand where the hang-up's are on this one. I like most full blooded apple pie eating, flag waving Levi 501 owning American's didn't bother to look at the directions. And I figured out how to get the movies to play, how to transfer in 1 click. (one try.) The battery is a little slow, I put a season of Aqua Teen on this sucker and after about 2 hours the battery was half down. But that's with Wifi on, brightness up and speakers loud. I'm sure If I had headphone on and wifi off I could get the 5 hours out of it. That's 2 movies (1 Lord of the rings movie with previews.) The frame rate never drops or skips. The ocmplaint I have is also a positive, it does suck that I have to buy add on codec's or webbrowsers. But, I imagine it saved me money up front, and if you don't need them, then don't buy them. But at least i have the option of playing other music and video files. That's not the case with any ot the other dooda's and PvP's.
I know I'm forgetting something. Oh, The fact that it's a SDHC card reader is wonderrful. I can go walking with my camera, and keep in mind I have a Canon G10 14.7 megapixel camera, the LCD on that is probably better than anything on planet earth. But, I can switch the card from the Camera to my Archos, view my files, and or copy them to the hard drive and keep shooting. This is great for keeping the camera active for....whatever your taking pictures of, and viewing photo's. Making possible backup's. As of this time, I haven;t used the webbrower. My instinct does that for me, probably not as good, but my life will go on, I don't need to be connect everywhere everyday. And most people don't. But, hey you go ahead and keep your imagine up champ, I'm proud that you have your phones on vibrate during movies. Not annoying in the least bit. -
Despite the reviews, Wifi doesn't work at Starbucks, McD
by griffen74 on August 7, 2008
Pros: Great screen, good for moives
Cons: No javascript, Long charge time
Summary: To all those reviewers wrote that Archos 605 WIFI could access the internet at any Starbucks: please try before you write. The Opera browser Archos installed doesn't support javascript, ...
Summary: To all those reviewers wrote that Archos 605 WIFI could access the internet at any Starbucks: please try before you write. The Opera browser Archos installed doesn't support javascript, which is a required to login at Starbucks via AT&T. Trying to login to the T-Mobile Hotspot will actually crash your Archos and require a reinstall of the updated firmware.
For public wifi that doesn't require an account, the Opera browser works well and only freezes once in a while.
Video and audio are good. Screen resolution and quality are great. The built in speaker is great for entertaining children in a bind.
As people have already said, the long charge time and the integrated battery are a bit tiresome.
Some compatibility problems with certain SD cards but I found if you format the SD card with my canon Powershot camera, they work fine. -
yes yes yes
by Reventon42 on April 2, 2008
Pros: great audio and video quality, wifi, huge screen, etc.
Cons: battery life and design. a little too clunky
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Looks nice, doesn't work. constant memory errors
by boydmorrison on May 9, 2009
Pros: Screen size is nice, easy to view
User interface is OK.Cons: It just doesn't work. Purchased a few days ago, constant error messages,
constant reloading of all songs and video. WiFi is gelded out of the box. You want useability, pay up sucker. This thing is a total rip off.Summary: The PSP makes this unit look like a joke.
Yo can't even use it as a portable MP3 player as the buttons get pushed riding around in your shirt ...Summary: The PSP makes this unit look like a joke.
Yo can't even use it as a portable MP3 player as the buttons get pushed riding around in your shirt pocket. Even the little philips player works better than the 605 WIFI, sure the philips doesn't have WiFi, but nether does the 605 out of the box.0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Archos
- Part number: 500951
- Description: 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.
General
- Device Type Digital AV player
- Key Features Digital photo viewer ,
External HDD function ,
Digital audio player ,
Digital video player - Width 4.8 in
- Depth 0.8 in
- Height 3.2 in
- Weight 9.2 oz
- PC Interfaces Hi-Speed USB,
IEEE 802.11g,
IEEE 802.11b - Features PDF viewer
Display
- Display Type TFT 4.3 in - Color
- Display Form Factor Built-in
- Image Aspect Ratio 16:9
- Display Features Touch screen
Memory / Storage
- Flash Memory Cards Supported microSD ,
miniSD ,
SD Memory Card - Integrated Flash Memory 4 GB
Digital Audio
- Supported audio formats PCM ,
MP3 ,
ADPCM ,
WMA ,
Protected WMA (DRM) ,
WAV - Supported bit rate 30 - 320Kbps
- Digital audio features VBR
Still Images
- Supported Still Images Formats JPEG,
BMP,
PNG - Photo Playback Modes Auto slide show
Video
- Video Playback Formats MPEG-4 ,
WMV ,
Protected WMV (DRM) Connectivity
- Connections Headphones - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm,
Hi-Speed USB,
Audio / video output Battery
- Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable
- Battery Enclosure Type Internal
- Technology Lithium polymer
- Battery Life Details Audio playback - up to 17 hour(s),
Video playback - up to 5.5 hour(s) Miscellaneous
- Firmware Upgradable Yes
- Included Accessories USB cable,
Carrying pouch,
Stereo headphones
Product series
-
Manufacturer: Archos
Specs: Digital AV player,
TFT 4.3 in - Color,
PCM,
MP3,
ADPCM,
WMA,
Protected WMA (DRM),
WAV,
MPEG-4,
WMV,
Protected WMV (DRM),
4.8 in x 0.6 in x 3.2 in,
6.7 oz -
Manufacturer: Archos
Specs: Digital AV player,
TFT 4.3 in - Color,
PCM,
MP3,
ADPCM,
WMA,
Protected WMA (DRM),
WAV,
MPEG-4,
WMV,
Protected WMV (DRM),
4.8 in x 0.8 in x 3.2 in,
9.2 oz -
Manufacturer: Archos
Specs: Digital AV player,
TFT 4.3 in - Color,
PCM,
MP3,
ADPCM,
WMA,
Protected WMA (DRM),
WAV,
MPEG-4,
WMV,
Protected WMV (DRM),
4.8 in x 0.8 in x 3.2 in,
9.2 oz -
Manufacturer: Archos
Specs: Digital AV player,
TFT 4.3 in - Color,
PCM,
MP3,
ADPCM,
WMA,
Protected WMA (DRM),
WAV,
MPEG-4,
WMV,
Protected WMV (DRM),
4.8 in x 0.8 in x 3.2 in,
9.2 oz
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Archos products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Archos
- Address:
3A Goodyear, Irvine, CA 92618 - Phone: 1-866-489-4718
- Email: us-sales@archos.com
- Fax: 303-962-3365
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