Archos 605 Becomes the Ultimate Travel Companion

A week from today, Archos plans to announce they'll be adding GPS to their already feature heavy personal media player, the Archos 605.

Unfortunately, for those of us in the New World, the news of this announcement comes from the island nation of Great Britain, via Pocket-lint. So, you shouldn’t expect this GPS functionality stateside until at least the end of the summer; by then the ‘hommes et femmes’ over at Archos should be able to hammer out an agreement with a GPS provider, in the United States, to become their partner in mapping.

Who knows really? We’re talking about a French company after all. They might get too caught up drinking wine and eating baguettes to remember about us silly Americans.

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iLuv i1155 is iNcredible

The iLuv i1155 is an ingenious combination of iPod dock and DVD/CD player. Its screen is ridiculously large at 8.4in. But, if that’s not enough screen for you, you can always jack into your TV via Composite Video or S-Video, (NTSC or PAL). While you’re at it, don’t forget to pump up the audio too. The audio output is also analog. If you’re not really into waking the dead with your home audio system…there, of course, is the option to plug in headphones.

Adding versatility to the player is the addition of a second headphone jack. Now, you can share your cinemaphile tendencies...while getting cozy with those closest to you. If you have more than one other person you want to entertain with the iLuv, there’s a 2x1 watt built in speaker system so you can broadcast the good times on the go. Some prefer staying in one place to view their cinematic preferences. Well, the adaptable built in stand helps free your hands for other, more interesting, endeavors.

The noble folks at iLuv, in order to stay current, have released an updated version of this PMP dream machine, (it hit selves last month). The new upgrade, which uses a special Apple authentication chip, enables you to play the newer iPod Classic and Nano videos along with your 5^th Gen joints.

Powering options abound with the iLuv; the unit comes with a built-in rechargeable battery and is packaged with a wall adaptor and car cigarette lighter adapter. As with any good iPod accessory the i1155 charges your iPod while you play. Battery life on DVD playback is a scant 3 hrs, video playback from iPods is a bit better at 4 hrs, and you’re fully charged ready and to go, after 4-5 hrs. The biggest problem, I see with the iLuv i1155, is stopping people from looking over your shoulder.

..via Coolest Gadgets..

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Archos 605, Wi-Fi PMP for the Techie

The Archos 605 Wi-Fi PMP, isn’t going to score you any cool points in the eyes of hipsters, they're hypnotized by shiny apples. But, as far as you and your cohorts are concerned this Wi-Fi enabled touch screen PMP is straight off the pages of Buck Rogers, and excruciatingly hip. Its elegance is not in its presentation. The beauty lays in its functionality, functionality that isn’t tied to a one-way file transfer or DRM video content from the manufacture’s own media store. Archos 605 mounts its internal memory as a drive on Mac or PC via USB, pretty basic (for any non-Apple PMP). You can then transfer whatever media or data files you wish, to and from the player’s memory. The memory offerings, which are substantial, come in 30, 80, & 160 Gigs capacities.

Screen size is always a draw with portable video players. Archos 605 has one of the largest on the market at 4.3-inchs. It displays in 800x480 resolution, so movies, pictures, and WebPages look the same as they would on your PC. They’ve also made the touch screen smudge resistance, somehow.

The best design features on any electronics are practical ones and because nothing screams impracticality like having to hold your video player while watching a two hour movie, this player has a sturdy metal stand built in. Also built into the unit is a speaker for sharing your movies in group viewing sessions. Archos 605's design drawbacks are the proprietary USB connection, its scratch magnet of a case and dirt prone white front buttons.

Archos 605 is a standalone player for music, videos, photos, and PDFs. The content portal, which is like online store, allows you to buy or rent movies and music from different providers, (how novel, competition in digital media distribution).

As with many devices from Archos, the 605 is a base for many add-ons. Marketing fluff aside, what you get in the box isn’t going to allow you to fully utilize the player’s capabilities. But then you wouldn't want to pay extra for stuff you might never use. At 20 bucks a pop, plug-ins allow for high definition playback, Wi-Fi internet radio, reading multiple video file formats, and more. If you plan on using Archos’ Wi-Fi connectivity to browse the net you need to purchase Opera web browsing software, $30. This mobile browser is highly rated and the flash plug-in gives you more of the web than Mobile Safari browser, which has no flash plug-in.

The most expensive, and consequently the most useful, add-on is Archos DVR Station, or dock. It adapts the video signal to your television, then, turns your digital video player into a digital video recorder, hence the DVR in the name. The DVR allows you to record and playback your favorite television content on the portable player, or on your television. Why pay a charge to watch shows on your PMP that you’ve already paid for in your cable subscription? Archos DVR Station also includes a physical keyboard on the DVR’s remote making web surfing and emailing while lounging in the EZ-Boy much more viable.

Archos has released a versatile, relatively inexpensive, customizable portable player that is unmatched in screen resolution. You may have to drop some additional cash to enhance functionality, but the investment is completely worth it, especially when you travel. If you are thinking iPod consider what you’ll be giving up, drag and drop hard drive support, wirelessly rent movies and music, and DVR. Sure the presentation is a bit lacking, but do you buy PMPs to impress others or yourself?

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Kenwood’s Foray into PMPs

posted by Andrew Harris D55

[images courtesy of Kenwood]

Kenwood’s leap into the competitive market of portable media players (PMPs) is a slim, minimally design, and visually attractive offering. The Kenwood “Media Keg’s” claim to fame is the high attention to sound quality that is synonymous with Kenwood, plus they don’t skimp on the output end. The headset is an ear canal type, not cinchy “earbuds” so once the unit is paid for you don’t have to replace the supplied equipment in order to get the full enjoyment of the player. Music/Data transfer is drag and drop or uses Windows Media Player. Supported file formats are MP3 & WMA with DRM compliancy. The “Kegs” will come in 1&2 Gigs capacities (M1G/M2G)and two design configurations (D55/D50). The D55’s seem to be a more seamless in their look and come in sliver, black, and red…D50's D50

are a bit bubblier and are available in red, white, and blue. The new PMPs’ prices are listed as “open” by Kenwood. Contrary to what the color line up would suggest the U.S. market availability has not been announced, but Kenwood’s new PMPs are being rolled out in Japan this month. Looks like you’ll have to get on Facebook and hit up your Japanese friends if you want to be an early catcher of one of these.

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Samsung YP-P2: an iPod Alternative?

[Image courtesy of Samsung]

Posted by Andrew Harris

Well, as an apple user so I'm a bit bias...I, however, will remain impartial in order to provide the most objective comparison. Will the Samsung YP-P2 live up to its new nickname "iPod Killer"? The reasons for this menacing moniker are: the lighter weight (2.8oz vs 4.2oz), more battery time (35hrs vs 22hrs [audio]), plus the unopposed features of an FM receiver, and the big'ens...smaller size and Bluetooth connectivity. Samsung has optional Bluetooth earphones and speaker accessories as well. The Samsung PMP offering also uses "EmoTure" touch technology, apparently this reacts to your emotional state in some way, not sure how it does this. Some reviewers are liking it to a "really cool click wheel". The 8GB Model sells for $250 which is a bit cheaper than iPod. Just as with Apple, Samsung has already began shipping the units to early orderers. So choose sides and pick your poison, though in the end it's a bit like comparing "apples" and oranges.

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This is Not Your Dad's Walkman®

Posted by: Andrew Harris

Maybe, it's just my ornery old self, heading into middle-age, but the moniker "Walkman®” congers up images like Crazy Eddies’ electronics stores and the beginning of the fitness craze. These days Sony Walkman® has gone through some ups and downs, from the debunked Minidisc, to the unleashing of the market swarming iPod. It goes undisputed that Digital music is it. Steve and company would like you to believe that theirs is the best, if not only, option for you and your digital media savvy on-the-go lifestyle. Not true. Sony has come out the box with their Sony Walkman® NWZ-S610/A810 Digital Media players, basically Sony’s answer to the iPod Nano’s new video capabilities. The Sony Walkman® NWZ-S610 is equipped with a 1.8 LCD and the NWZ-A810 flaunts 2.0in LCD, both display in 320x240 resolutions at 30fps with clarity and brightness. Plus no more proprietary audio format Sony's "Connect" service is dead (thank you). Instead the player supports WMA, AAC, and MP3 on the audio end and JPEG, AVC, MPEG-4 on the display end. Need to convert formats? Sony's offering a free-ware converter to users. As far as uploading the thing you can use "most" subscription services and it is DRM compliant. Non-DRM content is uploaded via Windows Media Player; the unit comes with the latest version. The Sony Walkman® NWZ-A810 series player has an integrated FM tuner, 8hr video battery time, while the Sony Walkman® NWZ-S610 series players give you a 1.5hr more play time due to the smaller display. They both have a staggering music play back battery life of 33hr and are available in 8, 4, & 2 Gigs. The size of the Sony player is bit larger than the nano...it makes up for it in it's ability to transfer content both ways (without a hack), this far outweighs a small size difference. Plus "It's a Sony".

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