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Archos 605 WiFi

By Ali - Posted on 27 October 2008

The 605 WiFi from Archos offers some really cool features that gadget freaks will simply love. I've just got my hands on one and while its exciting, there is some small print that you simply must know about.

The device I'm holding in my hands is a hard drive based what Archos calls portable media player (PMP) of capacity 80GB. You can also get 160GB, 30GB and a 4GB versions. The 30GB and 4GB version are 5mm thinner than the others. The player uses a hard-drive for storing information.

The 605 WiFi hardware features a 800x480px, 16 million colour, 4.3" TFT LCD touch screen, WiFi 802.11g connectivity, 3.5mm jack for headphones, proprietary port for USB 2.0 connectivity with PC, an internal Li-ion rechargeable battery, built-in speaker and an ARM 9 microprocessor. There are six 2-way buttons on the right hand side, a folding stand at the back that allows the unit to be placed on the desk at a comfortable viewing angle and two push buttons on the top for power and key lock. The unit as a whole feels quite solid.

The box also comes with standard earphones, a USB data cable, two styli, pouch, docking station saddle, instruction manual, warranty information, legal and safety notices and an accessories guide.

In terms of software, the 605 runs a version of Linux that has been heavily locked down. Available features include support for video (Mpeg4, WMV, H.264, Mpeg2), audio (MP3, WMA, DRM protected WMA, WAV, AAC, AC3), photos (JPG, BMP, PNG), PDF viewer, network file browser, Opera web browser with flash video support, parental control, TV recording, alarm clock and an on-screen keyboard is available where text input is required. The bits in italics require that you buy additional software plug-ins to activate.

The 605s interface

The unit is fairly fast in operation and the video and audio playback is good without jitter. The screen is excellent, bright and surprisingly smudge free. You rarely need the stylus and fingers work just fine. The main desktop (home screen) icons are animated. Time, battery, WiFi and volume icons are displayed in a status area on the top-right, though they are not click-able. There is also a small series of icons displayed vertically on the right edge which change based on the particular application you are in. The interface has a Vista-like glossy black look. You can change the background wallpaper and choose icon colours to match.

WiFi support is good and both WEP and WPA are supported. The last WiFi configuration is remembered between shutdowns and this connection is automatically switched on when starting the web-browser. When connected to WiFi the unit can also automatically update the software. Power saving is somewhat customizable but the defaults work fine. WiFi, screen and hard disk switch off automatically if not in use. The audio player supports album art and displays track, album and artist information. It also supports playlist creation. The video player supports video thumbnails. The last audio/video playback position is remembered between shutdowns and can be resumed with one-click from the home screen. The inbuilt file manager allows file copying, folder creation, file deletion and renaming. Overall integration with Windows Media Player v10+ is seamless and UPnP is also supported.

The main caveats are that the web-browser is not included in the price of the unit and must be purchased separately as a software plugin for £20. WebTV and Internet radio again require purchase of separate software plugins. Also TV recording & control require purchase of a separate DVR dock. If you want to charge via mains and not use USB then you will need to purchase a charger (since the port on the 605 is proprietary, a standard USB MP3 Player charger will not do the trick). The battery is not user replaceable (unless you are prepared to rip the unit apart). Battery life is not as good as claimed by Archos and you may need to buy an external battery extender. The inbuilt speaker is not very good quality and may break playing very loud sounds. The software audio-equalizer is not very good either. While you can live without some of the optional features and limitations, some you simply can't ignore.

Free software philosophy disrespected

It feels like this great product is being sold piece-by-piece by the company. Though the players software is based on freely available GPL Linux, the company has locked it down and placed it on a read-only chip in the unit to avoid modifications and variations. It is then selling plugins to enable already available features for an extra cost. Also the hard drive is coded to a particular device, so it cannot be changed by anyone except an Archos technician. All this clearly goes against the philosophy of free software that Linux is based on. It is clear that the company has no respect for free software and is happily making profits off the same.

The verdict

Build Quality: Excellent
Video Quality: Excellent
Audio Quality: Average
WiFi Features: Excellent
Touch Screen: Excellent
User Interface: Excellent
Battery Life: Average
Web browser: Good
Company philosophy: Bad
Price: £175 - £235, depending on capacity

This device is a great piece of hardware that packs a lot of features in a small size. Its not exactly an iPod Touch killer, but comes close with many features being at par. The company has however clearly chosen to disrespect free software and is making profits off essential plugins and already available features. So if you decide to buy it anyway, remember to add in the accessory costs to the cost of the basic unit before making your decision.

Note: This product has been superseded by Archos 7