Last week, I mentioned just receiving an Archos 504 [archos.com] personal media player (PMP). This is Part 1 of the review of the device. [Go to Part 2 or Part 3.]
When you receive the device, you get the player, a data cable (which doubles as the charger), a set of headphones, and a half-decent case.
A lot of people have written reviews complaining about the lack of accesories that come with the device. For instance, you don't get an A/C adapter. To charge it, you have to use the included data cable, and charge the player via your computer's USB port. It's true that it would have been nice if they would have included an A/C adapter (since where I want to charge it isn't near a computer, and I don't have USB ports in my car), but the iPod doesn't come with an A/C adapter either (and that hasn't stopped iPod from crushing all of its competition).
You also can't buy an A/C adapter that connects directly to the player. You can buy an A/C adapter, but it plugs into a dock (which is yet another accessory that you will need to buy). You can't buy another data cable directly from Archos either. I will probably buy a 3rd part data cable, and then buy a USB Power Adapter [amazon.com] to turn that data cable into an A/C adapter. It's annoying enough that you have to buy extra accessories, but the fact that you can't buy the ones you want (such as an A/C adapter or another data cable) directly from Archos is even more annoying.
It is marketed as a DVR, but you can't record video (or display video on an external source) without an optional accessory (a special cable). This is fine with me, because I am not intending to use it as a DVR. The list goes on and on. I wanted a device that would primarily be used to play MP3s, and occasionally play video that I have ripped from a DVD. Everything that I need for these jobs is included.
There seems to be a feature on the device that detects shock, and parks the hard drive to protect it from damage. If you shake the device too much, the screen will fade out (telling you that it has parked the hard drive), and then after a few seconds, it will restart automatically. Unfortunately, this is a feature that is undocumented. And not a lot of people were too specific about it in their reviews (although enough alluded to it to give me confidence that it is not a defect). I can tell you that the feature was overly sensitive when I first received the unit. When I had it in my car, every time I hit a large bump, the hard drive would get parked. It was pretty annoying. However, after I upgraded the firmware, the sensitivity shifted to more reasonable levels. I carry it around hooked to my belt all of the time (where it is constantly shaken), and it almost never detects too much shock anymore.
The device is large, as you can see from the pictures. It is quite a bit larger than the iPod both in facial area, and in thickness (obviously, the protective case on the iPod is going to make it look a lot thicker than it actually is). Although I do carry it around in my pants pockets when I'm around the house, it is not really comfortable to do so, and I can't imagine anyone doing it on a regular basis. The tradeoff for the large size is, of course, the huge screen. The screen is not only large and bright, but it can be viewed from any angle (see above and below). The beautiful screen makes it easy to show movies or pictures to friends. It also is nice, because if you put the player down, you can still easily read anything on the screen, even when it is sitting at an odd angle.
Go to Part 2 or Part 3.
Labels: electronics, review
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