Amazon.com Product Review
The Archos 605 generation 5 portable media player comes with a convenient Wi-Fi feature, an attribute that offers the fastest and easiest way to access digital entertainment. You can use the built-WiFi capabilities of the Archos to download online media content from the Archos content portal: All you need is a usable Wi-Fi connection, and you're good to start downloading (fees may apply). With the Archos in hand, for the first time you can download favorite movies, TV shows, and music wherever you are, without being tied to the PC or Mac. Other great features include a full-color 4.3-inch touchscreen that crams in an amazing 800 x 480 picture resolution for superior picture quality and 160 GB of built-in memory.
The Archos 605 features a touch screen, high quality screen resolution, and Wi-Fi capabilities. View larger View bottom - View side. |
Download your favorite movies, TV shows, and music, and bring it with you. |
With full Internet access, the player's Opera browser plug-in offers Adobe Flash support, which lets you access and enjoy YouTube and other Web video sites on your Archos device. By using the player, you can view and post YouTube videos wherever you are with an active wireless connection. In addition to downloading media straight from the Archos content portal, you can stream and watch videos from your home PC or laptop. For added video playback versatility, the player is compatible with MPEG4, AVI, and WMV video files. The player features robust music playback features, too. On-board music file playback capabilities support MP3, CBR, VBR, WMA, protected WMA, and WAV files.
To help round out the player's multimedia superiority, the Archos even comes with photo viewing capabilities. JPEG, BMP, and PNG files are 100 percent compatible with the player, and the player can pull up PDFs for portable review -- an ideal means to take bigger documents or e-books in PDF format on the road with you. Because of the Archos's USB 2.0 compatibility, files can be quickly transferred to the device in the absence of a Wi-Fi network connection. Charging the device can also be accomplished with an active USB connection. An AC adapter is sold separately for additional charging options. Other great features include mass storage capabilities, automatic firmware downloads, and a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. With an advanced Li-Poly battery, the player supports up to 17 hours of continuous music playback and 5.5 hours of continuous video playback. Weighing in at a scant 9.17 ounces, the Archos generation 5 605 measures 4.8 by 3.2 by 0.6 inches.
New widgets for the Archos 605 include a calculator, currency converter, unit converter, news, and weather (above) as well as a note writer and data vault (below). |
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New Free Widget Pack Archos has launched a new widget pack that is free for the 605. A widget is a piece of software that adds new features to your player. It gives you fun, quick, and easy access to hundreds of tools, right on the device. The package contains seven widgets, including a calculator, a currency converter, a unit converter, news, weather, a note writer, and a data vault.
To be able to use the widgets, you need to purchase the Web Browser plug-in (about $30). Then, you can download the free widget pack via Archos.com.
New Dish Network plug-in for the Archos 605. |
New Dish Network Plug-in With a new plug-in, you can transfer recorded movies and TV shows from your Dish Network set-top box directly to your Archos 605. Play back Dish Network-recorded movies and TV shows on the go or on TV--in DVD quality.
Multi-language is supported. The plug-in is compatible only with Dish Network STB models 622 and 722.
What's in the Box Archos 605 Wi-Fi portable media player, headphones, USB cable, DVR Station Gen 5 adapter, protective pouch, quick start guide, and legal/safety notice.
The device comes with photo viewing capabilities, supporting JPEG, BMP, and PNG files. | 
Play any content that resides in the Windows Media Player library of your home PC or laptop. |
Most Advanced PMP
Featuring the highest quality screen resolution, highest quality video, touch screen, Wi-Fi capabilities for streaming content to the device or a TV, the Archos 605 Wi-Fi is the top product in the line-up for flexibility, portability, features and price. | |
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 | Touch screen The Archos 605 Wi-Fi features the highest resolution screen (800 X 480) and highest quality screen in a PMP. Use the touch screen to easily operate the device with your finger or stylus. | | |
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 | Personalize your Archos Make it yours: personalize your Archos 605 Wi-Fi to fit your unique lifestyle. Abundant plug-ins and accessories are available to customize your device to work the way you do: Go online for full Web surfing, video your friends and family in action, record your favorite TV shows and movies, and share your photos. | | |
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 | WiFi - Download content wirelessly and directly to your Archos 605 Wi-Fi via the Archos Content Portal and our partners' online stores.
- You can also stream movies, TV shows and music that are stored on your computer.
- Your device is Internet ready! With the optional Web browser plug-in, you can surf the Web and enjoy videos from online videos sites like DailyMotion and YouTube. | | |
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 | Your movies, your videos - Store and play up to 40 movies1
- Play the most popular video formats: MPEG-4, WMV, protected WMV, MPEG-2*, VOB*, and H.264* (*with optional plug-ins).
- Play the movies you shot on your camcorder. | | |
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 | Your photos - Transfer your photos from a PC or most mass storage devices via the USB 2.0 high speed interface.
- Store and view up to 300,000 photos1 (JPEG, PNG and BMP formats).
- Display slideshows with music and transition effects.
- Manage your files and folders directly on the device for a better mobility. | | |
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 | Your TV - Record your favorite TV shows or series directly on your Archos 605 Wi-Fi with the optional DVR Station Gen 5.
- Easy programming with the TV Program Guide.
- Record the most video sources such as satellite/cable box, VCR, DVD player in MPEG-4 format. | | |
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 | Your music - Store and listen up to 15,000 songs1
- Play the most popular music files such as MP3, WAV, WMA and protected WMA.
- Easily organize songs with the enhanced ARCLibrary.
- Customize your view by artist, album, type of music, and title, and create your playlist on the go. | | |
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 | Easy navigation Through the home WiFi connection, you can enjoy the entire shared digital media library of your home PC in your living room, not just in your office. | | |
(1)On average; based on 3.5 mins/song & 64 kbits/s WMA, on 1000 kbits/s MPEG-4 audio/video encoding and 1h30/movie (for near DVD Quality), on JPEG, VGA
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(372 customer reviews) 155 of 159 people found the following review helpful
It's not perfect, but I'm happy with it,
October 19, 2007 H Lackey (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (80 GB) (Electronics)
I bought this to replace a Creative Zen Vision:M 30 GB MP3 and Video Player (Black) that had been stolen. I really liked my Zen, but I wanted to see what new stuff had come out in the time since I bought it. This led me to getting the Archos 605 80GB instead, mainly because of the optional TV hookups. I've never liked to watch movies or TV shows (or even music videos) on my PC monitor because I can't relax and enjoy something passive while I'm at my computer. I'd also never used the Zen's video capabilities much because the screen was too small. The Archos 605, on the other hand, could be hooked up to a TV (with the DVR station or other accessories--I bought the DVR station), which would allow me to watch downloaded TV shows and movies in comfort--and even better, with other people (it's difficult to crowd around a computer desk to watch a...Read more
184 of 190 people found the following review helpful
Nice, but not without quirks,
November 11, 2007 C. Cornell "raconteur" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB) (Electronics)
I have owned this device for about a month now (after waiting for quite a few weeks for the backorders on Amazon to fill). Overall I am pleased with it, but I cannot say I endorse it whole-heartedly. There are enough little quirks and annoyances that I would caution anyone thinking of buying one to reconsider before clicking that Purchase button.
Don't get me wrong: the nice features are very nice indeed. The screen is bright and clear and the capacity can't be beat. The UI is pretty and the wi-fi works well. As others have addressed all of these points, I'll concentrate on the things I found somewhat surprising upon opening the box. The quirks range from minor annoyances to serious issues, ranked below accordingly.
- The audio is indeed *much* too low. It's fine for quiet situations, and usually not bad if the particular audio track is recorded at a high level. However, I have tried to watch certain movies on a commuter train (with what I would call a...Read more
140 of 146 people found the following review helpful
The Bar Is Raised on Mobile Video,
September 4, 2007 This review is from: Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB) (Electronics)
While I'll probably never use this as an MP3 player (I have smaller devices for that), it makes one nice video player. I've been playing with one for a little while and here are my impressions thus far:
Positives:
1) The video. Wow!!! I doubt there is anything this clean and crisp out there that is this small and portable. The video looks fantastic and I've yet to have any hardware lag while viewing it.
2) 160GB. That is massive and just the right size for carrying around video.
3) Intuitive user interface. I've got a Zune for my mp3's and I often find that complicated (and irritating) to navigate around but this is quite easy to figure out. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to get this to work the way you want it to. Navigating around a movie is fantastic as well because it is so easy to pause, fast forward, or do anything else you would want to do on a video player.
4) Responsive Touch-Screen. Using the touch screen was quite...Read more
