Mr Buckshot
June 5th, 2008, 06:49 PM
I was at Futureshop after school shopping for a new HDMI cable, and I was distracted by the portable gadgets section:
http://technomix.vibgior.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/archos-705-wi-fi-portable-media-player-160-gb.jpg
At seven inches, with a 160 GB hard drive, the model I toyed around with really tipped the scales for a portable device.
The features:
1. Built-in wi-fi. The salesman told me that the wi-fi was enabled, so I checked it out. Not bad, but it couldn't access Flash sites like Youtube. I did like the onscreen QWERTY board though.
2. Support for almost all popular file formats, including AVI. Since I don't have a Blu-ray ripper, I can't copy my Casino Royale Blu-ray movie to my PDA (it's my media player), so I have to download an AVI rip and convert it to MPEG-4, which takes a hell of a long time. The ability to support AVI out of the box is really good. The Archos 705 I played with had an Iron Man trailer in AVI format stored on the hard drive. Quality was exceptional.
3. Advanced TV-connection capability. I didn't get to test this out, but apparently this features makes it the smallest DVR ever. I use a full-size DVR to record movies streaming from Movie Central High Definition, and then I record the ones I particularly like on DVD. Of course, I have to jump through a few hoops to get the recorded movies onto my PDA...
4. QWERTY remote. Not something I see very often.
I only had about 5 minutes or so to look at this hulk of a PVP, but my overall verdict was that it just was not practical. My PDA may not support many file formats, and it sure can't match the screen, but it has the very important ability to fit inside my pocket.Previously, I never imagined that anyone would build such a massive product. It even felt heavier than my 13.3" laptop.
Another flaw was that this damn thing was just too heavy to hold steadily in one hand, unlike my PDA or an iPod-sized device. One point down.
On the other hand, a hands-on experience with this device was quite thrilling and the next time any of you go to an electronics giant, be sure to stop by and give this a go. This thing is just...scary. And don't ever buy it. At $400+, it's more worth it to buy the 705's little brother - the 605, which has a PSP-sized screen and is much, much lighter. Even then, the 605 ain't exactly handheld, either. If you're just looking for a DVR, just buy the DVD-player-sized hulks that cost $100 or less.
I can just imagine some technogeek sitting on the crapper and attempting to hold the Archos 705 steady while he watches Futurama and takes a shit at the same time...
http://technomix.vibgior.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/archos-705-wi-fi-portable-media-player-160-gb.jpg
At seven inches, with a 160 GB hard drive, the model I toyed around with really tipped the scales for a portable device.
The features:
1. Built-in wi-fi. The salesman told me that the wi-fi was enabled, so I checked it out. Not bad, but it couldn't access Flash sites like Youtube. I did like the onscreen QWERTY board though.
2. Support for almost all popular file formats, including AVI. Since I don't have a Blu-ray ripper, I can't copy my Casino Royale Blu-ray movie to my PDA (it's my media player), so I have to download an AVI rip and convert it to MPEG-4, which takes a hell of a long time. The ability to support AVI out of the box is really good. The Archos 705 I played with had an Iron Man trailer in AVI format stored on the hard drive. Quality was exceptional.
3. Advanced TV-connection capability. I didn't get to test this out, but apparently this features makes it the smallest DVR ever. I use a full-size DVR to record movies streaming from Movie Central High Definition, and then I record the ones I particularly like on DVD. Of course, I have to jump through a few hoops to get the recorded movies onto my PDA...
4. QWERTY remote. Not something I see very often.
I only had about 5 minutes or so to look at this hulk of a PVP, but my overall verdict was that it just was not practical. My PDA may not support many file formats, and it sure can't match the screen, but it has the very important ability to fit inside my pocket.Previously, I never imagined that anyone would build such a massive product. It even felt heavier than my 13.3" laptop.
Another flaw was that this damn thing was just too heavy to hold steadily in one hand, unlike my PDA or an iPod-sized device. One point down.
On the other hand, a hands-on experience with this device was quite thrilling and the next time any of you go to an electronics giant, be sure to stop by and give this a go. This thing is just...scary. And don't ever buy it. At $400+, it's more worth it to buy the 705's little brother - the 605, which has a PSP-sized screen and is much, much lighter. Even then, the 605 ain't exactly handheld, either. If you're just looking for a DVR, just buy the DVD-player-sized hulks that cost $100 or less.
I can just imagine some technogeek sitting on the crapper and attempting to hold the Archos 705 steady while he watches Futurama and takes a shit at the same time...