Archos Gmini XS 200 Reviews

Click here if this is your business
Archos Gmini XS 200
★★★☆☆
3.1
62.0% of users recommend this
Click here if this is your business
  • Sound Quality

  • Battery Life

  • Features

  • Value For Money

? Ask our helpful community of experts about this product or company
Archos Gmini XS 200 - Ask a question now

Media Gallery for Archos Gmini XS 200

Refine your search

  • Average Rating Over Time
  • Within the last month ***** (From 0 reviews)
  • Within the last 6 months *** (From 0 reviews)
  • Within the last 12 months * (From 0 reviews)

Latest Reviews

“I bought this as a replacement for a Sanyo which had...”

★★★★☆

written by on 28/12/2008

I bought this as a replacement for a Sanyo which had highly user-unfriendly software, to the point that it was actually impossible to make it play or to upload more than a fraction of my collection--some of which predated certain security functions installed on newer CDs. Apart from the starting problems with malfunction it has behaved impeccably. Because of the ease of use I would still stick to something along these lines rather than iPod if I have to replace it; but it's been going strong since 2005 now with no trouble at all and I still have only filled half the disk.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“I bought an iPod for my wife three months before I...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by drtone on 30/05/2007

I bought an iPod for my wife three months before I first bought this player in Jan 2006. I bought the Archos because the iTunes programme was rubbish and I preferred to be able to drag and drop music to my MP3 player.
2 months later the hard drive died. I got a replacement from the internet seller I bought it from (hitech2go). Just over a year later the replacement has died (warranty is useless).
My wife still has her iPod and it is going strong.
I supported Archos as a competitor to iPod but I will certainly be buying another brand of product when I replace my mp3 player... at the moment I am singing to myself.
I am awaiting the 16 GB flash players to be released at the end of the year and will be going for one with a replaceable battery.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“Archos' warranty is worthless. I have had the Archos...”

☆☆☆☆☆

written by george0307 on 27/07/2006

Archos' warranty is worthless. I have had the Archos Gmini XS 200 MP3 player for three months before it started having power problems. I sent the unit back to Archos under warranty. They wrote back saying the unit had been dropped and the hard disk had to be repaired. Not covered under warranty - cost £130. I'll put the money towards a Creative. Incidentally, the unit had not been dropped.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 1 0

“This Archos Gmini XS 200 is the 1st mp3 player I...”

★★★★★

written by adamba on 12/02/2006

This Archos Gmini XS 200 is the 1st mp3 player I purchased and I spent a lot of time researching them. The research paid off because this player is great.

I am more than happy with my Archos, it does everything i need. The sound quality is good and the volume is loud. The menu is easy to use once you are used to the joystick.

It holds plenty of files and the organisation is simple. The best thing is that it syncs directly with media player and that i can also transfer other file types on it.

This Archos is also very small and lightweight, perfect for something that's portable.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“When I first purchased the Archos Gmini XS 200 almost...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by RonWeil1964 on 26/10/2005

When I first purchased the Archos Gmini XS 200 almost 12 months ago, it seemed ideal. Over this time I have become accustomed to the menu layout but recently have become very frustrated. The hard drive has decided to not work from time to time, tracks are shown incorrectly.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“The menu system on the Archos Gmini XS 200 MP3 player...”

★★★☆☆

written by Clemech on 15/09/2005

The menu system on the Archos Gmini XS 200 MP3 player is a bit cumbersome (too many layers to get through to update the library and switch to random play).

The sound quality with WMAs 192kbs is remarkable, but see error in bad points!

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“What a fantastic little player the Archos Gmini XS 200...”

★★★★★

written by jslsys on 04/09/2005

What a fantastic little player the Archos Gmini XS 200 MP3 Player is. I was fed up of needing special software to download music to my player (I had an old creative labs player). What I wanted was a machine that I could transfer files with windows, whether they be music or not, in the same way. That's just how it works! You plug in, and the XS200 appears as a removable disk, drag and drop files and folders, and your done.
The player can build its own database of any music you download from any ID3 tags that are there (it only searches for files in the music folder - it assumes the other directories contain only data). You can browse files and folders from the built in back-lit screen, which is easy to read. The interface is simple too.
The sound quality is good, and the supplied headphones aren't too bad (I've had a lot worse). They have a built in volume control on the cord.
Battery life is OK. 6 hrs or so in the real world.
The bad points:-
Not many really! If the battery fails, you may struggle to replace it. I have found that some lower rate WMA files won't play (but at least it supports WMA), and it may not be what you want if you expect seamless integration with media player or iTunes.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 1 0

“I bought the Archos Gmini XS 200 a couple of weeks ago...”

★★★★★

written by Michael Collis on 08/05/2005

I bought the Archos Gmini XS 200 a couple of weeks ago and (after upgrading my usb host) have been copying over my cds and mp3 files non-stop.

The compatibility with iTunes, windows media player etc, leaves a lot to be desired, but after a little bit of messing around I managed to figure out the best and quickest way of transferring files over (drag and drop through windows).

The headphones are a bit shoddy but I can live with them until I've managed to save enough pennies to upgrade to something better.

The fact that it also doubles as an external hard drive adds to the versatility of this little machine and I'm sure I'll be kept entertained by the Gmini for months, if not years to come.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“I purchased this Archos Gmini XS 200 to be the main...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by headcase1972 on 05/05/2005

I purchased this Archos Gmini XS 200 to be the main store for my CD library, and as such it does this in a fashion. I am VERY disappointed that it has no drivers for ITunes (PC), Win Media Player 7 or even MusicMatch Jukebox. This makes synchronising a pain, with Windows "drag and drop" the only method of administering files. I feel that I could have just bought a FlashDrive or other external HDD - it spoils the whole product, and whilst Archos promised me in January that they were "working on it" they have confimed today that they are no nearer. Pity - I therefore do NOT recommend this product.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“I bought the Archos Gmini XS 200 just after Christmas...”

★★★★★

written by formulaone on 09/04/2005

I bought the Archos Gmini XS 200 just after Christmas as my previous one kept crashing. I was looking for something very affordable small and reliable with a large amount of memory space on the hard-drive. I was going to purchase the iPod Mini but they were too popular. I've never heard of the manufacturer before but I can say they are a very creative and intelligent putting the customers needs first. The large screen takes up most of the space of the MP3 player which allows for easy understanding of whats going on. The easy procedure for creating your own playlists comes handy when on the move, also coming with a digital keyboard to rename files. The sound quality is great as the song being played can be listened to very high allowing for the ultimate music experience especially rock songs. The linux operating system comes in very useful when speed is needed and sorting your songs through the built-in library. However perhaps the company could have created a letter based search instead of the slowly listed songs to scroll from. The battery life is great, as nearly everyday I listen to it constantly playing all the way through the day from 7am til when it needs charching at around 8pm. I would definitely recommend it for people looking for MP3's with great sound quality, fast loading speeds and easy to understand menus. A must have.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“Although I've only had the Archos Gmini XS 200 for...”

★★★★★

written by billbilby on 08/01/2005

Although I've only had the Archos Gmini XS 200 for just over 1 week, I've been using it constantly, working out every single feature of it and thinking over the good and bad points of this. I had been wanting to purchase a large hard-drive MP3 player for a while, after owning one of the first ever ones (32meg and very expensive), and a CD based one. I decided over this one for three main reasons: The price, the size, and the reviews. Firstly onto the size.

This thing really is small, a lot smaller than the Creative Zens and even the Ipod, with the screen taking up a majority of it's size. The fact that not only is it small, but the screen is the main part of its size makes it not only convenient to carry around in your pocket, but also very easy to see which song is playing and view such other things such as your play list and file lists. Some people have complained that it is only a basic black and white screen, but this shouldn't be an issue at all, as the screen is fully visible and also much easier on batteries than if it were colour.

The navigation is made very easy with a LINUX based operating system. Basically, it is controlled through the use of icons on the main screen such as 'Music' and 'Browser' which when pressed take you to either another screen of the same type, or lists such as Artist etc. It really couldn't be much easier to navigate considering you've got 20gb of data to rummage through. The only problem I have with the control is that scrolling through mass artist lists or, god fobid, your entire files is made very slow by the joystick used to move up and down. Admittedly, the IPod deals with this much better with the scroll wheel of varying speeds.

The price of this unit is what is attracting most buyers. It comes in at about £40 less than the Ipod, mostly due to the brand name which is relatively unknown at the moment, although the company does seem to be growing. I really cannot see whay anyone should pay so much more for effectively to same system, but bigger. Sure it's more well-known, but what does that really mean in the product you are getting.

The product is also very easy to connect to the PC or Mac to transfer data. Basically, all that is involved is copying the music from your computer and pasting it into the directory on the drive which represents the Gmini. The only problem I have had with transferring music across is that out of 1,500 tracks, 4 are labelled as being from an unknown artist, although when clicking on them the Gmini does display exactly who it is and the song name. Also, as mentioned in another review, the ArcLibrary must be refreshed each time you transfer anything new across, but this only takes a matter of seconds, and is easy to get used to.

Altogether, I would definitely recomend this item to anyone wanting to purchase an MP3 player. Take a good look at this before you opt for the more popular but much more expensive Ipod. You may be pleasantly suprised.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“Although having only bought this today, I am quite...”

★★★★★

written by Audiophreak on 29/12/2004

Although having only bought this today, I am quite fond of it.
When I was going to the store to purchase a 4th gen iPod (Had two more, I have several mp3 players) I saw this, and noticing the price was better decided upon buying it (Note: The price difference may not be so obvious outside of Canada)

Based on first glance, this is a rather attractive mp3 player.
It's capacity is 20gig, yet it looks more like a 512mb player (going by physical dimensions). The size of this gadget is remarkable. Not only is it small but it is designed to be useful: With the button to power-up directly labelled, and a menu button to allow easily putting a current song in a playlist etc...

The player has three LED's on the top right corner (one power, one HDD activity, one Charging). There are two nice blue LEDs and a third red one, making for a nice effect and clearly displaying when the hardrive is spinning. The buttons are placed nicely.

My only complaint is that I cannot browse between songs while listening to one. Although you can resume where you left off, I still see this as a hassle.

As for the benchmark (iPod) some things you may miss are the internal clock and the scrollwheel. The scrolling in this is controlled by a small "dot" in the bottom center of the appliance, which does not nearly scroll as fast as the iPod Scroll-wheel.

I personally am very happy to see how easily I can load songs in it without any applications. Not only can I put songs where I wish, but I can put into folders, and playlists are easy to create with a text file.

Upon opening the package you may notice no manual or cd. The folks at Archos cleverely put their in-depth pdf manual inside the mp3 player, which must be open from the computer.

Several features in the SX220 that are not in the iPod include a L/R stereo monitor in the "now playing" screen, a 5 channel customizable eq (with several genre-based presets included) and a "virtual keyboard" allowing you to name folders, songs, and playlists. The screen included with the SX220 is also larger than any iPod to date, and displays more information at the play screen (Stereo/Mono, format, bitrate, total length, time remaining, time elapsed along with all track info all at once) the greyscale screen is nice, and you can work in a "windowed" mode with two lists open simultaneously.
Along with this package came a DC adapter (US standard, but inside the package were UK and Europe socket adapters) the USB cable is also included, along with a set of headphones. Though the headphones are not fancy, they have a good sound, I have yet to hear them crackle on full volume. The headphones have a cheap-looking volume adapter, which although not very aesthetically pleasing, functions properly.
Overall I am very impressed with this player. It's size is remarkable, along with this is it's reliable battery, (note, The SX220 looks to be easy to open so I hope replacing the battery won't be a hassle). For it's price it is definitely worth considering over an iPod.

For the record I am on a Mac, I'm a loyal Mac fan, But I love this thing.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.

185350_Clusterm2's Response to Audiophreak's Review

Written on: 14/03/2005

You can actually 'browse' whilst listening. Press the power on button this opens a drop down then select browse...simple.

Reply to this comment
If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 0 0

“I have been wanting to get hold of an MP3 player for...”

★★★★☆

written by Robert Dowell on 24/11/2004

I have been wanting to get hold of an MP3 player for some time but I was always concerned with the lack of memory that these devices provided.

It all started after the popularity of MP3's fired the imagination of the public.

Diamond Multimedia released the controversial RIO and all hell was let loose as the music industry tried to contain the inevitable slide towards a more free music society. As with IBM and the PC, Apple released the sexy iPod and the scene was set for something of a revolution in personal music.

Nowadays the music industry is riding the wave of larger music sales and everyone seems to be jumping on the iPod bandwagon creating new and interesting ways to store more and more music for personal consumption.

Personal opinion.
-----------------
I have had a number of personal music players in the past but all of them have had a variety of limitations that prompted me to hold back until I'd found something that was both small enough and had a decent battery life for a days constant listening. The Archos was priced right and also was about the correct size for my needs. It has so far been very good at its primary function, which is too play music and its secondary function which is to store files as a backup.

Size and design.
----------------
The iPod design aside, the Gmini XS 200 is both neat and pleasing on the eye. Everyone who sees it wants to know what it is, and it has caught the eye of more than one person who saw it from a distance.
The item fits easily into the palm of my hand and has a solid and high quality look to it. The metal exterior feels as though it was made to withstand everyday use without giving problems anytime soon. The display is well sized for the device and does not need to be any larger for the purposes. Buttons are about the right size, although the joystick on the front does make for some interesting navigation on the unit, it can sometimes be too easy to push it down instead of in one of the other direction desired.

Size is something of a double edged sword in that the smaller the item gets the smaller the functions and various buttons have to be to be compressed into the footprint. I feel they have the right balance in terms of size and functionality within the design.

Functions.
----------
This device is similar to a lot of the other devices out there and they include the normal music selection by Browsing the Hard disk, Artist, Album, Title, Genre and Year. Additionally it is possible to make Playlists on the device without having to use a computer or third party software package. A playlist can be made on the PC manually but no software is provided with the player to allow this and so it is cumbersome and not for the faint hearted.

One nice function of the product is that it is possible to do basic file Management within the unit, again without the need for a computer. It is possible to create, delete and rename folders as well as Move, Copy, Delete, rename files. To accomplish this, the player has the ability to provide a split screen browser allowing you to see where you are copying/Moving from and to. When you get the hang of it, navigation is not so much of problem.

Firmware upgrades are very easy, copy the firmware file to the hard disk and turn it off and then back on. The unit detects the file and performs the upgrade. Any problems and it aborts without doing any damage.

It is possible to also modify Power settings, Playmode and sound with a basic graphic equaliser.

Sound Quality.
--------------
With a good set of speakers this sounds as good as any of the others. A lot of the problems with MP3 and WMA is that they use compression methods that inherently loose some of the quality, so sound reproduction is largely academic and based on the original song and how it was encoded.

With a good encoded song and a good output device, like my car stereo amp, the sound is indistinguishable from a CD player, and is far more versatile than my Multi-changer CD unit.

Criticisms.
------------
The only real problem I have with the unit are as follows
1)When it comes to using it in dark environments the Blue Power LED might look cool from a distance, but it does overpower the backlit display. So I have taken to putting my thumb over the LED when navigating for songs.
2)The navigation joystick does not do itself any favours as it is. I have pressed it down when I meant to push it up on a few occasions, but as I get used to its quirks I will find new ways to get around this problem.
3) The current version of the firmware is not completely without problems. Some include powering off when I start a song either on the mains or not (Minor). Incorrect reporting of the encoded bit rate and playing time of some songs(Minor).
4) The player uses a function called ARCLibrary to track all songs on the hard disk. If the user changes any file on the hard disk then they need to manually update this database. Simple to do, but could have been automatic or performed at startup.

Hopefully the firmware problems should be sorted by a release shortly.

Conclusions.
------------
All in all and despite the short comings listed at the end of the review, I find that this is a very well made product and nicely doubles as a hard disk backup and car stereo library.

If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.

Bertie's Response to Robert Dowell's Review

Written on: 28/11/2004

That's what I call a REVIEW! Great stuff - can't fault it and a real pleasure to read.

Reply to this comment
If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.

Robert Dowell's Response to Robert Dowell's Review

Written on: 14/07/2005

Review update:
<br>
<br>I have been using the Archos Gmini XS200 for the better part of 7 months now and have found it to be without fault. I use the player almost daily and have found that the average overnight charge is more than enough to cover the whole days use, so yes you can get about 7 to 8 hours use out of it on optimum settings.
<br>
<br>To use the well worn cliche, "it does exactly what it says on the tin."
<br>
<br>Additional information : I have been able to confirm that you can browse the music on the hard disk even when you are playing something. Infact you have complete control of all functions by pressing the right (Power on) Button.
<br>
<br>The drag and drop function of the player is the best idea yet devised, none of this proprietary software nonsense that is common with other players.
<br>
<br>With prices dropping all the time it has never been a better time to investigate the MP3 player market.

Reply to this comment
If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.

Mtbab's Response to Robert Dowell's Review

Written on: 14/07/2005

Hey this was a great review, i would just like to know what you think of it now 7 months down the line? thanks
<br>
<br>Martin :)

Reply to this comment
If you are commenting on behalf of the company that has been reviewed, please consider upgrading to Official Business Response for higher impact replies.
Was this review helpful? 1 0

Do you have a question about this product or company? Simply type it in the box below and one of our community will give you an answer

Our helpful community of likeminded people will be happy to answer any questions that you have.

Thanks for asking a question.

Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.

We will email you when the question is on the site

overview