Review: Archos 604WiFi. The Movie Theatre, Concert Hall, and Art Gallery In Your Pocket Media Player.

Posted by: dgoldring on May 26 2007

For some time now, I have been hoping to have the opportunity to review the next generation of media players. You’ve seen them out there. They have wide screens, huge drives, and can play all manner of media: video, photos, music; they eat this stuff for breakfast. The first to respond to my request for a review unit was Archos, who generously provided me with the 604WiFi.

Not only does the Archos 604WiFi play music, video and photos, it also can record audio, and record video direct from the TV. It seems the only thing this can’t do is cook breakfast, but I keep hearing rumors that Archos is working on that as well. So, while there was no kitchen sink in this box, I was certainly not disappointed by what I did find. Let’s take a closer look.

What’s In The Box: In addition to the media player, you will also receive:

• stereo headphones, which are your standard in-ear generic headphones. They were functional, but nothing fancy.
• a case, which Archos refers to as a protective pouch in the quick start guide. As it turns out, however, this was more than the cloth pouch I was expecting. This was a nice slip style case with stiff sides and elastic edges. I felt the Archos was completely safe when I carried it in this slipcase.
• Archos DVR Saddle, which is used to connect your media player to the optional DVR station. Note that if you did not purchase the DVR station, then you will not need this saddle.
• a stylus, which I did not care for. It is small and flat, not unlike those included with the old HP Jornadas. My hand cramped almost instantly trying to grip the stylus. I rarely found the need to use it.
• a USB cable for syncing and charging the Archos. Notably, however, there is no AC adaptor, only the USB cable.

Setup: There was virtually nothing involved with setting up the Archos. Simply plug it into the USB slot on your computer with the included sync-charge cable. This will charge the battery and also allow you to sync any content from your computer to your Archos device. I use Windows Media Player, which automatically synced all of my media files (photos, video, music) onto my device. I did have one problem, however, the Archos 604WiFi is not compatible with the Windows Vista Operating System. This was extremely frustrating for me, and probably the main reason that I would not purchase it myself. Fortunately, however, I still have my XP machine running and was able to sync from that computer.

Look and Feel: I spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out the best way to show you an overview of the Archos 604WiFi. Then, I thought, why not just show you. So, we’ll start with the front.

The Archos sports a 4.3 inch, 16 million color LCD touch screen. I started thinking about the 16 million colors part of that sentence. That is 2 million Crayola eight packs. That’s a lot of Burnt Sienna. To the left of the screen are the control buttons. There are five buttons which are exactly the right size for easy single handed navigation. Beneath the buttons there is a built in loud speaker.

On the top of the device are two buttons. The left button controls the power. The right button toggles to an external LCD TV screen.

The bottom of the device contains the release switch for the battery and two proprietary connections. The first one is for the sync-charge cable, which is a proprietary connection; and a second for the optional DVR Station. Although having the power cable connection on the bottom does mean that it is tucked neatly out of the way, it also makes it difficult to rest the device on your desk and use it on external power. This is a problem for me, as I tend to listen to music throughout the day, far longer than the battery will allow.

The right side contains the headphone/AV out jack.

The left side contains a microphone for recording audio and four LED lights. The top light is the power light. Second is the charging light (on for charging, flashing when the battery is fully charged). Next is the hard drive light, which flickers when the hard drive is active. Finally, on the bottom, is the TV LCD light, which turns on when the image from the Archos is being displayed to an external monitor.

One thing I do want you to notice in both of these side views is the way the device practically disappears when viewed from the side. This thing is slim…0.7 inches slim.

The back of the device contains the battery. Remove the battery and you will reveal a reset button. This seems an odd place for the reset button, as typically removing the battery will cause a reset anyway. Nonetheless, you can also reset the device by pushing and holding the power button. Besides the battery is a thin kickstand which folds out to allow you to stand the Archos on your desk to facilitate viewing your video content. As I mentioned, however, the kickstand does not work well when you try to use external power since the cable connects to the bottom of the device.

Overall, I liked the size and feel of the device. It was a little too large for my pocket which was a nuisance. I wish Archos had shaved a few more inches off, so that it would easily fit in my jacket pocket. Nonetheless, I suppose that is also the price you have to pay for such a large screen.

Home Screen and Menus: The home screen on the Archos provides one touch access to all of the important functions on the device. In the upper left portion are symbols showing which screens are currently open. Use these icons to toggle between different screen to control your music, video, pictures, or other media. In the screen shot above, only the home screen and the settings screen are open. I really liked having this toggle bar in the corner. It is discrete, but still allows you to easily switch between functions if you need to.

The upper right corner contains your status icons: from left to right: speaker/headphones, volume, battery, and time. Again, this information will be displayed on every screen, which means it is always readily available.

Along the right hand side are your menu icons. These icons show which menu items are available on this screen. Depending upon which mode you are in (music, video, photos,etc…) these icons will change. Simply press the menu icon or the hard button on the right to access these menu options.

The main portion of the home screen shows all of the different modes in which the Archos 604 can be played. Beginning with the top row are:

• video
• music
• photos
• web
• browser
• resume
• TV scheduler
• video recorder
• audio recorder

To select a particular mode, simply scroll to it using the hard buttons on the right or just double tap on the icon. This menu is extremely easy to use. You can quickly jump directly to the mode you need, and even activate multiple modes at the same time (for example if you wanted to play music while viewing a slide show of your photos).

A few final notes about the home screen. When you stop playback of your media, the Archos will automatically save your spot. Just push the resume icon to begin playback exactly where you left off. Finally, the TV scheduler and VideoCoder require the DVR Station. These features go a long way toward separating the Archos from the myriad of portable media players available today, so it was disappointing to find that a separate $100 component is required to access them.

Settings: The Settings Screen can be accessed from the toggle in the upper left of the main menu. The eight icons on this screen allow you to control:

• the language
• display options
• appearance
• clock
• power
• TV control
• system information
• file server

Again, I liked the fact that I could use the toggle to access this screen from almost anywhere on the device. From here you can change the background, color the icons, and control virtually any aspect of the player. That can be easily accomplished by toggling to this menu screen without stopping playback of your media.

Controls: One of the things I really liked about the Archos 604 was the ease of the controls. Everything you need to do can be accomplished using either the touch screen controls or the hard buttons on the right hand side. To control the volume, for example, you can use the volume slider on the screen, or push the up and down buttons during playback. Once I figured out that everything on the screen could also be controlled via the buttons, I found myself almost ignoring the touch screen. For me, Archos almost could have not included the touch screen with this device, and I would have been perfectly happy. The buttons are extremely intuitive and easy to use. Nonetheless, some of you may prefer the touch screen, while others may prefer the buttons, or some combination of the two. This is why I was happy to see Archos included both, ensuring that this device would be comfortable, regardless of which set of controls you prefer to use.

Video: I was impressed by the quality of the video on the Archos 604. Frankly, I have always had hesitations about watching video for an extended period of time on such a small screen. It always struck me as an odd compromise that we will put 60 inch televisions in our homes, and then watch a movie on a 4.3 inch portable device. Nonetheless, I was happy to see that there was virtually no loss to the video quality on the Archos.

I watched several videos on this device. First, I watched Napoleon Dynamite (shown above), an extremely funny movie, which was preloaded on the device, along with a few other shorts. I also loaded several home movies onto the Archos, which was a great deal of fun. I have always been able to bore people with photos of my kids from anywhere, however, transferring video was never an easy task. The Archos easily synced my video with Windows Media Player, making it a simple process to bore my friends with all of my son’s soccer videos.

I am pleased to say that the Archos made a “video viewing” convert out of me. The viewing experience was much better than I expected. The Archos also ensures that the on screen controls are accessible, but won’t interfere with your viewing by making them visible only when you need them. They will disappear from the screen during viewing, allowing you to use the full screen without distractions or interference. If you need to adjust the settings, just tap the screen at any time during playback. All of the information you need will be instantly displayed, with the volume indicator on the left, menu on the right, and progress bar across the bottom.

Music and Audio: My main purpose in using any media device is listening to music. I have an extensive CD collection, and the ability to load it all into a tiny, pocket sized device has always astounded me.

One of the things I liked about the music player were the numerous options for organizing your listening experience. Once the music is loaded, you can choose to listen by album, artist, genre, even by song title. Heck, you can even create a custom playlist, or listen to a podcast. In fact, if there is a way to reorganize your music collection, the Archos can do it in seconds. I was extremely impressed by this. Personally, I like to shuffle my entire collection and just let it play, never knowing what the next song might bring.

Once you have selected a song, you will find yourself in the Music Playback Screen while your song is playing. I am someone who always wants to know as much information as possible about the song to which I am listening, so I loved this screen.

In addition to displaying the album art, the screen also shows the song title, artist, and album name. The only thing missing was a link to an online store where you could purchase additional music (but I shouldn’t give them any ideas.) The display even goes so far as to show the titles of the last track and next track, so not only will you always know what is coming up next, but also you’ll always know where you have been. Across the bottom of the screen is the progression bar which shows how far into the song you are, and how much time is left. Next to that is the volume level indicator. You can adjust the volume by using the touch screen slider or the up and down arrow buttons.

Although the Archos 604WiFi is intended to be primarily a video player, I was extremely impressed by its ability to play music. The myriad of options and information provided by the Archos when playing music places it among the best I have ever used.

Pictures: Who doesn’t love a wall of your favorite photos. The photo wall is the default viewing mode for easily scanning all of the pictures on your device. In one, easy to view screen, it will display all of the pictures in the selected folder. From here, you can scroll through the pictures and select the one you want to view, or switch to the photo library by tapping the icon on the top of the screen and you can switch to a different folder, or change the way photos are sorted (you can sort by folder, by date, or by name).

To view a picture, simply double tap the icon on the photo wall. You can even view a slideshow of the pictures in the selected folder by simply selecting the slide show option in the menu. Use the settings to control how long each picture is displayed on the screen and what effect is used to fade from one picture to the next. I thought the Archos did a great job of storing and displaying photos. My only complaint was that there is no way to shuffle the pictures in a slide show. During the day, when I am at work, I prefer to, “set it, and forget it.” I like to just put the music and slideshow both on shuffle and let it go. Although you can shuffle the music, there is no way to shuffle the slideshow and display pictures in random order.

Of course, as I mentioned, my favorite way to use a media device is by setting up a slideshow of my pictures along with shuffled music playing in the background. So, let’s see how this works. To do this, simply select the music and hit shuffle. Return to the homescreen, and select photos. Start your slideshow, and you are ready to go. Although the music and photos played exceptionally well together, it would be nice to include the song title along with the other information displayed on the screen (like videos, the information will only be displayed when you call for it). Likewise, there is also no way to control the music without toggling out of the slideshow. If both photos and music are playing together, there should also be a volume control displayed on the screen.

Overall, however, I was extremely impressed by the organization of the photos on the device. When you sync your photos using Windows Media Player, the original file structure is transferred along with your pictures. I liked this, because it meant that I could find all of my pictures were located exactly where I expected them to be.

Sound Quality: The Archos includes an internal loudspeaker, which is the default mode for listening to music or videos. I was not impressed by the sound quality of this tiny speaker. It was almost impossible to hear dialogue in a movie with this speaker unless you held it directly up to your ear (in which case you could obviously not see the video.) Of course, it is also a mono speaker which does not add to your listening or viewing experience.

Additionally, the Archos also offers a headphone jack, which allows you to listen to music or video via stereo headphones (the V-Moda Vibe earbud headphones shown above are not included, but work great). Frankly, this was the only way to use this device. With the headphones, the audio quality was crisp and extremely clear. Without them, the built-in loudspeaker simply could not perform as needed. There is also a proprietary portable speaker available from Archos. This is sold separately. I was disappointed by this option, which did not allow you to connect the Archos to other sets of speakers. I would have preferred to see an Audio out jack to allow me to connect the Archos to my desktop speakers.

Hard Drive: Before I move on to discuss the connectivity options, I just wanted to take a quick moment to mention the size of the hard drive on the Archos. Thirty Gigabytes is enormous. That means you can store all of your digital photos plus your entire music collection and still have plenty of room for several movies. According to Archos, 30 GB translates to 40 movies, 300,000 photos, or 15,000 songs. Like I said, enormous. More than enough to satisfy all of your media cravings for weeks at a time.

Connectivity: The Archos 604 includes the capability to connect to your wireless network via an integrated 802.11g WiFi radio. Use the included Opera web browser to download content directly to your device.

WiFi Internet access has become the latest craze in portable media devices. Started by the Microsoft Zune, almost every new device coming onto the market features WiFi connectivity. To be honest, I never understood why. Sure, this allows you to download content directly to your device, but who cares? It really is not significantly more complicated to download it to your computer and sync it onto your device. And really, who needs to browse the web from their media player? That is what Pocket PC’s, Smartphones, laptops and computers are for. The included WiFi in this and other similar devices is nothing more than a cheap gimmick which has little to no practical value. If the manufacturers of these devices wanted to include a worthwhile option for connectivity, they would have included Bluetooth 2.0 compatibility. Bluetooth stereo headphones are become more prevalent every day. They are able to reproduce sound with incredible clarity, however, they are virtually useless because almost none of the media players offer Bluetooth along with the A2DP and AVRCP protocols. Frankly, this is outrageous to me. Do you want to impress me? Do you want to make your player indispensable? Then drop the gimmicky WiFi and add a real Bluetooth radio with A2DP and AVRCP controls. This would truly allow me to use my media player the way it was intended…without any wires.

OK, sorry about that, Archos. That was not all directed at you. Nonetheless, I have never understood the decision to include a WiFi connectivity in these devices, rather than Bluetooth (any thoughts on this, readers?). As Steve Jobs said, if I want to share my music with you, I will just hand you a headphone (did I really just quote Steve Jobs in a review??) I did not find the WiFi feature to be the least bit helpful in using this device. If anything, it was a frustrating distraction because every time I accessed it, all I could think about was how much more useful a Bluetooth connection would have been (particularly as I was untangling my headphone wires). So, Archos (and any other media player designers who are reading this) drop the WiFi idea…or keep it, I don’t really care, I won’t be using it. If you want me to shell out hundreds of dollars for one of your media players, though, start adding Bluetooth and do it soon.

Battery and Power: I have to admit I was extremely impressed by the battery in this device. I like to listen to music during the day while I am working. With the screen on, so I could see all of the displayed information, I was able to listen to music for a full six hours without charging the battery. With the screen off, this could have almost tripled to nearly 18 hours.

I was not quite as impressed by the included charging options, however. The only cable included in the box is a USB sync-charge cable. As I mentioned, the proprietary end connects to the bottom of the player, while the USB end connects to your computer. In this manner, it can sync or play content, while charging.

I had a few problems with this external power solution. First, with the popularity of the mini-USB connector, there is virtually no need for a proprietary cable anymore. Because the included cable uses a proprietary connection, I now have to carry multiple cables with me when I travel. Second, the cable connects to the bottom of the device. This seems nonsensical to me. When the cable is connected, it interferes with the kickstand, and does not allow it to stand flat on your table or desk. This makes viewing it while charging extremely inconvenient. Finally, because it charges via a USB connection rather than an AC adaptor, charging occurs extremely slowly. It takes hours to charge the battery to full capacity. This is simply not an acceptable solution.

I have not had an opportunity yet to try the newest Archos model, the 704WiFi, however, I certainly hope that Archos has devised a better solution for external power than that found in the Archos 604WiFi. Frankly, there is simply no excuse for failing to include an AC adaptor in the box.

Conclusion: I will admit that my first impression of the Archos 604 was not overly positive. The more I used it, however, the more I came to enjoy it. Once you learn the controls, they are extremely intuitive. Most of the time, when I needed a feature, it was exactly where I expected it to be. I thought all of the main features (video, music, and photos) worked exquisitely. I was, however, disappointed that the player would not sync with Vista, and Archos seems to have no Vista drivers on their download page. Like other players which have been released lately, Archos has opted to include WiFi Internet access on this device, rather than (or even in addition to) Bluetooth connectivity. This is a decision which I have never understood, and I hope Archos and others will change their course and begin standardizing Bluetooth in all media players. Additionally, I simply cannot understand the decision not to include an AC adaptor in the box with this device. Nonetheless, despite these and other minor drawbacks which I have noted throughout the review, the Archos 604WiFi, with its enormous 30 GB hard drive proved to be a durable media player with exceptional audio and video quality and, in the end, isn’t that all that really matters?

Vital Statistics:

Name: Archos 604 WiFi

Manufacturer: Archos

Where to Buy: Archos website

Price: $449.99

Technorati Tags: archos - 604 - wifi - media player - movies - video - music - audio - photos - just another mobile monday

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