Archos 605 WiFi 30GB Review

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2.6 stars
Average rating for this product is: 2.6 out of 5

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bob woodman's Review of Archos 605 WiFi 30GB MP3 Player

9th Aug 2008

Overall Rating

4 stars
  • Value for money
    2.5 stars
  • Sound Quality
    3 stars
  • Features
    4 stars
  • Time MP3 Player Owned
    6 - 12 Months
  • Battery Life
    1.5 stars
  • Memory
    1650gb
Good Points

looks, functionality, screen.


Bad Points

cost of extras. poor website. instructions difficut to decipher for the layman.


General Comments

I have the Archos unit, the 605 wifi 160gb for about six months. I have music, films and photos loaded on to it. It is easy to double the cost of your purchase by buying plug- ins from the archos site. Without them certain video formats wont play which can limit the usability. All the plug-ins should be free and archos' point that customers can purchase plug-ins if needed is rather a shallow marketing ploy which I feel it is now.
THe PC /Laptop connectability is straightforward. Drag and drop very simple.
As one of your other reviewers stated using the features (paticularly the plug-ins) is not at all straight forward but I suspect it could be with a little access to plain english. The sceen quality is very good and I have been delighted with the video reproduction. The built in speaker is poor and so are the bundled earphones. I purchased the docking station ( £75) which enables me to play videos(avi plug in purchased), games ( £40 extra) and view my photos on the TV screen. I still havn't worked out how to stream video via wi-fi or to use the 605 as a PVR. Web access (plug-in purchased) is very slow certainly not worth persuing, its quicker to use the laptop.
Battery life average.Video (main reason most purchasers buy the archos 605)very heavy. I bought a battery pack (not Archos) that powers the archos through its USB port to extend usability when power points aren't available. This particular model has a built in battery that can't be changed.
I have experienced freezing although not to the extent of your other reviewer. I switched off for a few minutes and rebooted and all was well.
Does this review sound negative? I still feel that the 605 160gb is still the best all rounder for all its faults.

If you only want games/photo viewer buy a PSP
If you only want slick web access buy a iPhone
If you only want to watch video on the move buy a portable DVD player
But if you want all these, then the 605 tries to be all these things and in some respects pulls it off and in others it fails.


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Members' Comments onbob woodman's Review

  • iamapirate on 1st Sep 2008

    Thank you very much for the review. How is the UI? Is it too crammed in or is it spacious?