I am looking for a new portable media player and i have read many good reviews about Archos products and after looking into them, i have found out about two new Archos products, the Archos 5 and the Archos 7.

I was wondering if anyone has one of these, or even any older Archos products, what are they like, and where would you recommend getting one from?

Any help will be brilliant, thank you.

I really wanted one of the high capacity ones, but it was so much more than a refurbished ipod that I reluctantly submitted myself to the dreaded itunes.

Someone said that the battery life is poor (a consequence of the big screen perhaps?). Also I believe that most of the apps that give you full functionality (even the browser IIRC)are paid for extras.

However in lots of ways it looks like a great device. If you want a slightly lower capacity than the biggest ones, have you considered looking at a Cowon? When I was researching it seemed that this was universally praised. Although I have a feeling it might be even more expensive.

I want an archos but it looks like i wil have to settle for an ipod touch. By the time you've bought an archos, the dockin station and whatever plugins u want its very expensive. I want one tho

That is very true, its such a shame they charge you extra for all the plugins.

i'm still looking into it all.

Quite a few people have complained about the paintwork rubbing off of the archos 5, also there are quite a few complaints about archos customer services (personally I have always had good CS from Archos) Also the newer models seem to suffer with bugs, one being quite a few people have complained about lip synching when recording from tv with the dock.
Your have to search for a forum for archos fans you could say its a archosfans forum ;@) to see how good or bad these units are, personally I would steer clear from the 5 and 7 due to the bugs and paiintwork issues mentioned on archosfans forum

Oh i didn't know about those issues. Its a shame as the 5 and 7 look so nice. I know looks is not everything, you want something that actually performs right first, but it is always nice to have a good looking thing and to show off the odd occasion

I will do as you have advised and look for forums and reviews.
Thanks

like me. im determind to bag maself a real bargain on this. search ebay, gumtree and loot

I had a look on ebay. Found one with 1 day left at £70 then i refreshed the page in about 5 mins and it had gone up to £130

I will keep looking though, i'm not going to rush into it.

Me neither. These are very popular on ebay and hard to get hold of other than ebay. Try and get one with plugins and a docking station included, save u some cash

Have a look at the Cowon media players.

Very similar to the Archos ones.

The newer A3 is pricey but you might be able to pick up an older A2 quite cheap now.

Plays DivX, you get all the wires and cables you need in the box, only extra you might want to buy is the inline remote,. Far better battery life for video (on the A2 anyway) than any Archos or the iPod Touch. Drag n drop .... no drivers, software or any of that crap required.

Had an A2 for a couple of years now. Excellent device. Big in the far east, big-ish in the USA, virtually unheard of in Europe & the UK.

Although, if you're hoping to get something along the lines of an Archos 5/7, iPod Touch, or a Cowon A2/A3/Q5 for under £100, you're going to have to get VERY lucky. They're not cheap for a reason ..... they're good kit!