Customer Reviews
Best portable player on the market!! 
2008-07-25
Archos knows portable media. They are the Gold Standard by which all others should be measured. This device plays DVD movies ripped in the raw .VOB format. Amazing. You have to buy the plug-in to perform this, but it's wonderful they even offer the option. Videos, photos, music, GPS or streaming media from your computer to the TV. Outstanding. I also have the Archos 605 and it has all the same functionality as the Archos 705, but the 605 is more portable. Either way, you can't go wrong. It beats the pants off of the iPod.
I don't even know how this company is still in business 
2008-07-03
If you want to pay a ton of money for a product that will break within the first couple of weeks of ownership, then archos products are where it's at. If you like spending hours of time on the phone talking to incompetent representatives who say one thing, and don't follow through, then once again archos products are for you. If you are like most people, and don't want to waste your money, stay away from this company.
Great Product (Almost) 
2008-07-02
I purchased an Archos 705 (160GB) about two months ago and am just now getting around to leaving a review. Thus far, it has been a great product...NEARLY perfect.
The good:
Plenty of space...I have my Archos filled up with all the music, movies, photos, and games that I need.
The Archos plays nearly every file type. You are only really limited by the resolution.
The Archos is built very well. Feels sturdy in hand and can take some abuse. My Archos has fell off my bed onto a wood floor a couple times and hasn't missed a beat.
The Archos is beyond easy to use. It has a very slick dashboard and allows you to easily access your media.
Things that need to be improved:
1) This first one is HUGE in my book....Why they didn't include an external volume control is beyond me. There is an external control on the included head phones, but I like to use my noise canceling headphones so am stuck with using the clunky on-screen volume control. This BY FAR is my biggest complaint with the unit.
2) Overall volume output leaves a lot to be desired. Volume is great when using head phones, but when plugged into external speakers it lacks. It does get loud enough for a small room, but I use Bose Companion 3 Series 2 speakers to provide music in our airplane hanger and while other, smaller MP3 players (combined with the speaker volume control fill the hanger; the Archos does not.
3) The Archos does occasionally "lock-up" and needs to be restarted. I should also say that it didn't start happening until I loaded it up with flash games. It doesn't happen a lot, I would say probably once a week or so.
Overall this is a great product that I would buy again. I spend a lot of time in very remote places and the Archos allows me to relax to my own music and movies at night. I haven't got to test out the WiFi yet. I have purchased two extra Archos 704 batteries and they work for the 705 unit. If this unit had external volume control it would get 5 stars, but as is I am giving it 4.
I REALLY wanted this to be a great unit 2008-06-21
I went ahead and bought this unit even though I read the reviews that said the sound was not very good. I thought the reviewers were just being picky. This unit is EVERTHING (and more) that you could want in a PVP but the sound is so faint on uploaded media that even with my Bose headphone I could barely hear the dialog in the movie. Looking back over the reviews I am wondering if this is a hit and miss thing because all of the real positive reviews say nothing about this low volume problem.
This unit is so far beyond the competition why did they cheap out on the sound ?? This is the best unit out there bar none but the low sound level is a KILLER for this unit.
Even after calls to the tech support (which were VERY helpful and friendly) they said it was just a "small problem" that they didn't anticipate would turn off the consumers so bad. Sorry, I paid over $550 for this with accessories and I liked EVERYTHING about this unit but COULDN'T hear it !! My trusty DVD player is too loud for me at ΒΌ scale - I couldn't hear this at full volume. What a shame !
I am very glad I bought this thru Amazon because the return was hassle free and fast but I would like to have been able to keep the unit and enjoyed it.
I hope Archos fixes this and gets a unit out with better sound - they will sell a billion of them. If not, I'm afraid all they will have is a billion of them returned in a pile on their floor.
To quote Maxwell Smart - "They missed it by THAT much !"
Play my media, baby! 2008-05-29
The first one I ordered died within 3 days of receiving it... not good
I contacted the vendor and it took a week for them to reply with an RMA website.... VERY not good
I contacted Amazon 5 minutes after I mail Archos and I had an email from customer service within an hour stating that a new unit was on the way (shipped on Amazon's dime) and gave me instructions to package and return the bad unit. Amazon customer service RULZ!
Back to the unit... It's HUGE, it's awesome, does exactly what I wanted it to.. but has all the flaws that other reviewers stated:
-volume control is wonky and doesn't get that loud (it was hard to hear on a plane, but at the hotel was perfect)
-why do I have to buy the webbrowser and divx plug-ins to make the thing fully functional?
-battery life was good so far (bought extra battery just in case though)
-picture was crisp and clean, very easy to view (although not "high-def" but what do you want from something you're holding in your hand?)
Unit is great, Amazon is better! Thanks!
I like it. 2008-05-21
Plays all your digital entertainment movies, TV shows, photos and music / 7" Touch Screen / Store up to 200 movies, 1.6 million photos or 95,000 songs View, zoom photos and make slide shows with music and transition effects, for viewing on the PMP or on TV Listen to all your favorite music in more formats than in any other player Transfer photos directly from your digital camera onto your ARCHOS, using the USB 2.0 host port Capacity on average based on 3.5 mins/song & 64 kbits/s WMA, on 1000 kbits/s MPEG-4 audio/video encoding and 1h30/movie (for near DVD Quality), on JPEG, VGA
So much potential! 
2008-05-05
I just bought one of these (the latest in a list Archos devices I've owned), and while I really like it, there a few buts:
First, with previous devices you got pretty much everything you need in the box. You had to buy extra batteries and an auto adapter, but that's pretty standard. With the Archos 704 wi-fi, you need to buy a DVR station if you want to hook it up to your TV for another $99. Almost all of the connection ports are proprietary. It comes with a web browser, but if you want to take advantage of all the features, then you need to download the Opera plug-in for another $29. You can download movies from Cinema Now, but if want access to your past purchases, you need to download another plug-in for $19.
You can use it to play simple games, but you have to download those in packs, no ala-cart, for $9.99 each. Very reasonable, but it you only want one of the games, you're stuck with the whole pack.
This device would make a perfect ebook reader, but there's no software. I read on one of the blogs that you can transfer PDF of HTML books. I haven't tried this, but it appears there is no way to autoscroll or change size of fonts.
As for audio books, you can convert Audible books to MP3 formats with third-party software. It also does allow you to bookmark audio files. Audible tells me it has no plans to develop programming for this device.
Archos does make GPS model 605. How hard would it be to write software for use with an external antenna? It's a large device for a portable GPS, but no larger than most in-dash GPS units.
Lastly, from what I read on the forums, the Archos OS is so proprietary, that it's nearly impossible for third-party software developers to create new applications. Oh, and would an expansion slot be too much to ask?
Overall, I'm pleased with it and will keep it with the hope that Archos will consider some of these options, but I should have done more research into other devices to get what I really wanted.
Bad product 2008-03-21
After waiting 2 months for firmware updates that could solve some of the problems with the Archos 605, I decided to put an end on this so far bad experience.
At first glance, this product indeed presents advantages to its competitors but firmware is poor and it does not allow customers to have the type of experience promised by the manufacturer.
Please find below some of the problems I faced with this product which for my surprise are not being addressed by manufacturer based on several similar notes/complains I found on the internet.
- It freezes and crashes repeatedly;
- Cannot download movies or other type of videos online making the wireless connectivity almost worthless;
- Cannot listen music and browse or read a podcast (book/newspaper) at same time. A complete nonsense;
- Browser and plug-ins (flash) are outdated what prevents from watching sites with live-stream radio or TV.
- You cannot load application on your own and so any sort of upgrading must be incorporated within the firmware itself.
I just wished I had not bought this device and its accessories. I felt I had been stolen and with no other way to recover the money I spent because the product is so bad.
PATHETIC Sound Level!! Really Sub-Par!! 
2008-03-19
So far, I am VERY unhappy with my Archos 705 Wi-Fi!!!
I can't believe how LOW the volume settings are!
Even if I use an external headphone amp (mine is called a Boostaroo), the volume is way too low!!
Put is this way: If I am on an airplane and eat anything crunchy, like a pretzel, I can't really hear the dialog!
And as for a "theater-like experience" -- forget about it!!
I have spent a great deal of money so far for my unit -- nearly $500 for the unit itself, $100 for the DVR station, $100 for extra batteries (my flights for work are almost all over 12 hours) and hundreds for downloads and driver add ons. For all that I have spent so far, I could have purchased a mini-PC!
But I DO like this unit -- and I DO want it to work better!!!
The features and navigation is very good -- as is the picture quality.
But the sound level is so low that I just can't enjoy this thing at all.
Shame on Archos!
Awesome Video Player 2008-03-10
I reviewed several video players prior to purchasing the Archos 705 160 GB. Then once I chose the 705 I had to wait about 2 months to actually find one in stock (more time to see other options). I have nothing but the highest praise for this device. But it is not one to carry around everyday in your pocket. This is a big 7 inch screen and rather heavy but it is exactly what I wanted. I can put it in my briefcase or just use it around the house. If you know what your main reasons for purchasing this is, then you will easily decide for yourself if the 705 meets your needs. If it does, the product is very nice.
