Archos 2 Video MP3 Player 8 GB (Black)

Comment: Great sound... Atleast with my headphones...

It needs a firmware upgrade... and It's not the most advanced thing out there... If your looking for a player that is expandable, But you want it done intelligently... look somewhere else... Even though the manual says that the media library will incorporate the Micro SD card... It isn't actually possible... So I end up putting My favorite music on the player and other stuff on the card...

This thing is also terrible at reading and Displaying tags... It also doesn't display album art.. just a simple spectrum analyzer... which is ok I guess.... It's really difficult to search for songs... and the menu system is a little slow... It will play video but you'll notice a little ghosting... and the color is alittle exagerated... so skin color looks kinda orange...

If your looking for something that just plays music and maybe has an FM receiver this is a wonderful player... even if the battery life is a little short... I found that I rather enjoyed it at work when I just told it to shuffle everything... so it just played and I skipped a song every now and them... Which brings me to another issue... The buttons symbols are just painted on... they are not coated with anything... so they won't last long...

I like the look of the player... It's simple...

That's about it...

Comment: This would be a fine little MP3 player for exercising to, but not much more. The battery life is too short, at approximately 5 hours, to use for travel or to listen to all day long the way I do. And, while it's charging, it can't be played. Plus, if you're like me and turn your computer off when you're not using it, recharging this guy is a pain in the neck. Much better to have an AC adapter/charger for it.

Comment: I was very excited to get this. I heard great things about it. I am disappointed with it tho. If I pause it for a minute, it will turn off and start you from the main menu each time. Sometimes, if I've been listening to it for a few minutes it will just shut off for no reason. I also have problems whenever I try to change to another song, the button will stick, and I will have to push and push until it will change the song. The sound is alright. I was hoping for something a little better, but I didn't pay much for it so I'm not surprised.

Comment: Initially suckered by the slick design element, I've become an all-around fan. Boosted by microSD expansion, the Archos 2 has become my primary music player. It's a near perfect MP3 player, but only for a certain sector of the market. This product pretty much falls in line with the Archos M.O. - hitting hardware out of the park while delivering substandard firmware. This is something I can work with, but YMMV. The techie-impaired might get stumped by counter intuitive menu functions. For most users, however, I think a quick read of the booklet and five to ten minutes playing around with it should get you acclimated. (well, minus video conversion.)

Photos and video look decent, just remember you're working with a minute screen here. Which is good, because it enhances the unit's portability. Ever go out with just a license and credit card in your pocket? Feels exactly the same. Volume doesn't reach the highest levels, but sound quality, bass levels, and equalizer settings are truly top-notch. I for one am an audiophile with $100 headphones on my $60 player! Battery is tough to comment on, as user accounts seem to vary wildly. All I know is that mine can last a solid 6-8 hr work shift. Oh and it's just an undeniably flashy piece of tech to whip out in public, sixty dollars be damned.

There IS one issue which can scarcely by fixed user ingenuity. The software has zero support for playlist or genre recognition (yikes), so the best you could do is transfer all your Party Music (or whatever) into the same place and then play by folder. It's a little jacked up for now. But a hefty firmware update could fix every single problem, and actually make this a five-star device.

Comment: It worked great for a few months. And then one morning I tried to turn it on and the screen back light goes on, but no image - menus, nothing. It still plays music, but you can't navigate the menus, so what is the point. My wife has a sansa and that is what I will buy to replace this junk.