Archos Archos 605 WiFi 30GB Portable Media Player

Reviewed by: supaspecial

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: Large screen size, nice LCD, playback for a wide range of video formats, touch screen

Weaknesses: Cheap headphones, USB charging only, plug-ins cost extra

Overall Evaluation: I purchased the Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player mainly for watching video on long flights (I do a lot of traveling). I choose this over the iTouch as the screen is much, much larger - 800x480 vs. 480x320. It's also a 4.3 versus a 3.5. It's much thicker and heavier than the iTouch but I think the trade-off is worth it for the larger LCD. Another big selling point, was the price. I purchased my Archos 605 30GB from Amazon for $225.97 (the price has since gone up). The 32BG iTouch is $499 which is double the price of the Archos. In hindsight, I do wish that I bought the 160GB version as I've had to remove movies and tv shows to make room for new ones. As for the device itself, it works great as a compact video player and photo viewer. I still prefer my iPod for playing MP3s but the Archos can do this as well, just not as nicely as the iPod does. I haven't used the WiFi features as you have to pay extra for the Web browser plug-in. This doesn't bother me much as I didn't purchase this device for that purpose.