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Archos 605/705 & Cowon A3 - Any opinions?
Roy22
Posts: 189 Forum Member
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I'm considering buying one of the above and would love to know what actual owners think of them?
I'd like to play video, possibly stored internally or else streamed over a WiFi 'g' network. Use as a web browser is also of some interest.
What are people's opnions of screen size? Is the 4.3" of the Archos 605 really enough to watch properly? The 7" 705 model's quite a bit dearer.
Opinions on general quality and reliability would be appreciated, likewise if something else of about that screen size is should be on the list?
I'd like to play video, possibly stored internally or else streamed over a WiFi 'g' network. Use as a web browser is also of some interest.
What are people's opnions of screen size? Is the 4.3" of the Archos 605 really enough to watch properly? The 7" 705 model's quite a bit dearer.
Opinions on general quality and reliability would be appreciated, likewise if something else of about that screen size is should be on the list?
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The A3 looks nice for the HD output and high res screen .... besides that, it looks like a tweaked and updated A2 so it's built on a solid platform.
Like the look of the 605 but never actually used one.
The Archos 7 range was just too bulky when I was looking ... dunno what the current model is like.
you may also want to have a look at the Cowon Q5. Expensive, but 5" touch screen and the spec is awesome. Initial response to the UI wasn't good but they've released a few firmware updates which have apparently helped quite a bit. If I was in the market for a new PMP myself I'd be having a very close look at it ....
It's a great little gadget and I wouldn't worry about the screen; it's very crisp and clear. In fact, the only downside about it is that as it has to accommodate such a large screen it becomes less portable. I can get it into a pocket on my jeans...JUST.
PROS
* Plays pretty much every format you throw at it.
* Plenty of Gig for your money
* Great picture quality
* Fantastic at streaming (great to hook up to the TV with the DVR stand).
CONS
* Plug-ins galore to do a lot of standard things. ££££
* No "memory" on the unit. If I switch off half-way through a song or video, I want to pick up half-way through when I turn back on. Or at least have the choice.
* Button lock is irritating to use. Takes about 5 seconds to action (rather than having a switch). As a result, if you need to mute the unit suddenly, it's not fast.
* Occasionally hard-drive stalls. No crashes as of yet, but worth bearing in mind.
* Too bulky.
* Battery life is pretty bad. It's OK if you're listening to an album, less so if you're switching from song to song and causing the screen to come alive each time.
My conclusions from using it for a relatively small amount of time, is that I will get a smaller MP3 player (Creative or Apple) for more day to day use and leave the Archos plugged into the DVR stand for streaming etc. It will come with me on trips/holidays etc.
CONS
* Plug-ins galore to do a lot of standard things. ££££
* No "memory" on the unit. If I switch off half-way through a song or video, I want to pick up half-way through when I turn back on. Or at least have the choice.
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Yeah the plugins cost way too much, when i switch my unit of whilst playing a song and turn it back on it continues from where i left off?
Yup.
The A2 does that as well.
There is a setting in the options on the A2 to switch "resume play" on or off (I think it's off by default). Maybe something similar on the 605?
I've not used a 4" screen before, I realise that it's loads bigger than some of your more ordinary MP3-sized players, but I wondered how people find it when watching films for any length of time? Do your eyes just adjust to the screen size, or does it get tiring after a while? Suppose you need to be pretty close to watch it properly?
Has anyone any experience of streaming video over a WiFi network with the Archos models? I'm just wondering if it works well enough to make a larger HDD model unneccesary if in range of a wireless networked PC drive? Price goes up a fair bit from the 30/40Gb model to the 160Gb 605 model.
On a train, it sits quite happily on the wee table in front of you. On a plane, I tend to use the seat table folded in to hold it suspended in front of me (using the carry case). I have a headphone splitter to connect to sets of headphones to it and I've watched a few films with the wife using this way and that was fine as well.
Also use mine for e-books a lot (converted to plain text files .... it can't actually handle e-book formats) and I can read happily on it for ages.
Can't comment on the wireless streaming as my A2 doesn't do that .... the Q5 does though, I suspect that may be my next player!
Oh .... and the 704/5 was too bulky for me. Thats a comment that usually comes up when they get mentioned on here.
It has played pretty much everything I have thrown at it video wise but recently I started getting problems with it freezing up after starting video or MP3. I reinstalled the drivers and that seems to have sorted it. They must have become corrupted at some point.
Anyway, Im no tech geek, but I can say that I like what I have in the A2, it has some nice features, good screen size (but appalling built in speakers that are next to useless) and efficient battery and wouldnt have a problem recommending it.
I stream loads of films from my laptop over my network to my bedroom, I have the DVR station plugged into the back of my TV in the bedroom. The only problem that I ever encountered is falling asleep whilst watching the film. I have the 80GB version.