Just about to invest in a new MP3 player – currently have a creative zen touch 20GB MP3 Player and a Shinco SDP1720C for DVD’s and want to upgrade to something that plays video and MP3 and can be used for viewing photos and access the internet via WIFI.
I’ve narrowed it down to either an Archos 605 80GB or an iPod Touch – now I love the look of the iPod but hate the fact that Apple ties you in to their technology and also the memory size is currently limited. The Archos 605 requires an extra payment for a widget to get Opera working.
Now before I shell out on something like this I like to do a bit of ‘WEB’ research. And found a good video on youtube that compares the two.
Comparison
Price
Archos 605 80GB – £208 iPod Touch 32GB – £276
Technical Details
Archos 605
| Capacity: | 30GB* hard drive stores up to 40 Movies, 300,000 photos or 15,000 songs3 80GB* hard drive stores up to 100 Movies, 800,000 photos or 45,000 songs3 160GB* hard drive stores up to 200 Movies, 1 million photos or 95,000 songs3 |
| Display: | High resolution screen, 800×480 pixels, 4.3″ TFT LCD, 16 million colors Touch screen |
| Video playback**: | MPEG-4(4) (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution) WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) With optional software plug-ins (available for purchase on www.archos.com): - Video Podcast plug-in: H.264 up to DVD resolution and AAC - Cinema Plug-in: MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound (5.1) |
| Audio playback**: | Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WAV (PCM/ADPCM). With optional software plug-ins (available on www.archos.com): - AAC5 stereo audio files - AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files |
| Photo viewer***: | JPEG, BMP, PNG |
| PDF viewer: | Reads PDF documents (may not implement all PDF features) |
| Video recording6: | Via the optional DVR Station/ DVR Travel Adapter. Records NTSC/PAL/SECAM in MPEG-4 AVI format with stereo sound, VGA resolution (640 x 480) @ 30 or 25 f/s |
| Audio recording: | Via the optional DVR Station/ DVR Travel Adapter: Stereo line-in, WAV (IMA ADPCM or PCM) format |
| Interfaces: | USB 2.0 High-Speed Device (compatible USB 1.1): Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Media Transport Protocol (MTP) USB 2.0 Host: Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) with optional Mini Dock, Battery Dock and DVR stations |
| Connections: | WiFi (802.11g) connection. Optional Internet plug-in (Opera® Web browser and Adobe Flash® Player) for Web browsing (for purchase on www.archos.com) 3.5 mm mini jack for headphones Docking connectors to connect DVR Station and other ARCHOS accessories |
| Battery life: | Music playback time: 177 Video playback time: 5.57 |
| Power source: | Internal: Lithium-Ion Polymer battery Device charges via computer USB port External: Power adapter/charger (via optional accessories) |
| Scalability: | Device automatically downloads latest firmware updates |
| Dimensions & weight: | Avg 122 x 82 x 15 mm/4.8″ x 3.2″ x 0.6″ (For 4/30GB* models) – 150gr/190gr Avg 122 x 82 x 20 mm/4.8″ x 3.2″ x 0.75″ (For 80/160GB* models) – 260gr |
| Package includes: | ARCHOS 605 WiFi, headphones, ARCHOS USB cable, DVR Station Gen 5 adapter, protective pouch, Quick Start Guide (QSG), legal and safety notice. |
| Minimum system requirements: | For PC: Windows ME, 2000, XP, Media Center; Macintosh®: OS X or higher (with USB Mass Storage Class support), Linux (with mass storage device support), USB port. For PlaysForSureTM video and subscription services: PC with Windows® XP SP 2 or higher, Windows® Media Player 10 or higher, USB 2.0 port. For uPnp : Windows XP SP2 or higher, Vista SP1 or higher, Windows Media Player 11 |
iPod Touch
Capacity
- 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB flash drive1
- Holds up to 1,750, 3,500, or 7,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format2
- Holds up to 10,000, 20,000, or 25,000 iPod-viewable photos3
- Holds up to 10 hours, 20 hours, or 40 hours of video4
Display
- 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
- 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 pixels per inch
Audio
- Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
- Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
Video
- H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
Wireless5
- Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
- Maps location based service6
Input and output
- Dock connector
- 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
Power and battery8
- Built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery
- Playback time
- Music playback time: Up to 22 hours when fully charged
- Video playback time: Up to 5 hours when fully charged
- Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter (sold separately)
- Fast-charge time: about 1.5 hours (charges up to 80% of battery capacity)
- Full-charge time: about 3 hours
Summing Up
Having looked at various videos, reviews, price searches etc… I think that I’ll probably go for the Archos 605 as the features are so much richer albeit that I’ll have to pay extra for a dock to record from TV and also a widget to access the Internet – Dixon’s are selling it for £214 so may take a trip there and see if I can have a play with it. I like the ability to store loads of movies, and record from TV plus download games etc… – I think the Archos offers so much more expansion – plus it accepts mirco sd cards – handy for transferring photos from my digital camera.
Decisions decisions……
