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Portables Media Hardware

Archos' Upgraded AV500 Jukebox Detailed 179

Posted by simoniker from the geek-toy-heaven dept.
An anonymous reader writes "According to a piece on Mobilemag.com, the Archos AV500, newly shown at Cebit 2004 in Germany, will be the all-in-one answer to the clutter of handheld devices - this is a PVP [personal video player] and PDA combo handheld around the size of a Jornada with 20 or 40 gigs storage. Watch movies, read emails, connect your digital camera for backup, the list goes on.." The piece also notes: "Archos also added EPG (Electronic Programming Guide) technology, to allow you to control the AV500 with a remote control as a video player/recorder."
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Archos' Upgraded AV500 Jukebox Detailed More

Archos' Upgraded AV500 Jukebox Detailed

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  • What's the world coming to? Why can't we simply limit ourselves to portable music? Must we *always* have 2.9 billion forms of electronic media at our fingertips in the ever rare chance that our natural surroundings ever become boring?
    • What's the world coming to? Why can't we simply limit ourselves to portable music? Must we *always* have 2.9 billion forms of electronic media at our fingertips in the ever rare chance that our natural surroundings ever become boring?
      Where does it say the device is soley for entertainment? Can you not see the business implications of this device?
      • Well, it would make it easy to tape business meeting without the boss knowing. They would THINK you were taking notes on your PDA, when in reality you were spying on them for the NASD.

        Oops, I've said too much again...

    • Re:What's going on here? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by lukewarmfusion ( 726141 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:39PM (#8636475) Homepage Journal
      I asked myself the same question (though probably in a different tone)... the device seems cool, but I have to wonder "why?"

      Does anyone here see a future where every person has a PDA-type device, uses it for all kinds of communications, storage and features (entertainment)? I remember sci-fi stories that had these types of devices, but a lot of them were more like avatars or "digital companions."

      With the slew of PDAs (I have an Axim) and "feature"-loaded cell phones, plus digital media players and whatnot... is this our future? All-in-one?
      • With the slew of PDAs (I have an Axim) and "feature"-loaded cell phones, plus digital media players and whatnot... is this our future? All-in-one?

        Yes so, and I suspect that with the average amount of brain cells usually actively available (to humans) it will soon be realized that it is more convenient to upload the contents of those (cells) to the gadget in order to be totally absorbed - erm ... all-in-one, so to speak.

        CC.
      • I think the devices we use to access both our private and publicly available data will eventually be integrated physically into our bodies. The data itself will reside elsewhere, and will be accessable through some kind of wireless protocol.
    • Uh, this is Slashdot: YES!

    • Oh, come on! Surely you see the sillyness of this argument. Let me provide you with some more:

      What's the world coming to? Why can't we simply limit ourselves to horse-and-buggy transportation? Must we *always* have faster/cheaper forms of transportation at our fingertips in the ever rare chance that we need to get from point A to point B faster?

      What's the world coming to? Why can't we simply limit ourselves to 3 network stations? Must we *always* have a large variety of television entertainment at o
      • There is a difference between using technology and being up to your neck with technology for the sake of having technology.

        Allow me to explain...

        Horse and buggy. Sure, maybe the environment would be better...but I like my car. We have cars. No big deal. But I don't want nor need my car to be the entertainment and living center of my life.

        "Simplicity. Simplicity. Simplicity."

        The swiss army knife tech toys are overdone. We let our toys with their options and media dictate to us users what we value

        • So if I have this correct, as long as *you* see the benefit for something, it's a good thing, otherwise, it is wasteful and a reflection on our society's dependence on TV? Gotcha.

          I have no need for multiple pairs of scissors. So should I complain that companies make and sell different models? Can we be entertained without always turning to different forms of shearing devices?

          Seriously, that's great that you have no need for some of this new technology, but why do you feel the need to complain that oth

    • And now I'm curious (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Nakito ( 702386 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:44PM (#8636541)
      Last week there was a long Slashdot thread on the so-called "iPod Killer" proposed by Microsoft. That product was soundly critisized for missing the point -- the consensus among posters appeared to be that the product was too big and combined too many capabilities into one device, and thereby had lost the single-purpose elegance of the iPod. Now comes another product that appears to be conceptually similar to that Microsoft multi-purpose device. But this time it's being offered by a smaller company that a number of people like. I think it will be very interesting to compare the two threads. Was it just the words "iPod Killer" that prompted the strong opinions, or was it the underlying concept of a multi-purpose device?
      • Or was it the fact that one was made by Microsft?

        And given that this is Slashdot, do I really even have to ask?

      • Re:And now I'm curious (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Gadzinka ( 256729 ) <rrw@hell.pl> on Monday March 22, 2004 @04:23PM (#8638183) Journal
        Was it just the words "iPod Killer" that prompted the strong opinions, or was it the underlying concept of a multi-purpose device?

        It was neither.

        It was the idea that overpiced, overblown, heavy as hell device that hardly fits even in oversized pockets could compete with slick, cheap, cute device that does one thing very well, weighs next to nothing and works three times longer on single charge.

        Don't get me wrong, I am not ipod owner. I don't even consider buying ipod or ipod mini -- they don't support vorbis, which is large part of my collection.

        But I'm sure I won't buy any heavy brick that's even bulkier than my current minidisc and lasts less than 10hrs on single charge.

        Robert
        • Just so you're clear, the only have LESS battery life when you use them to play VIDEO. If you use them for music only, they have LONGER battery lifes than the ipod.

          But in general, I have to agree that if all you want is music, an ipod is better. Though the market for PVP's does overlap a bit with the market for ipods, for the most part, its not fair to call any of these devices "ipod killers" yet.

          Nevertheless, that doesn't make them neat little gizmos by their own right. I think alot of the people askin
      • Was it just the words "iPod Killer" that prompted the strong opinions, or was it the underlying concept of a multi-purpose device?

        How about the fact that the aforementioned "iPod killer" make by Creative (only the software came from MS) was 8" long, 7" wide, and cost at least $700, combined with the fact that we're not morons?

        I mean, talk about comparing apples and pineapples...

        The Archos player seems to be a much smaller size (there's a picture of one in a guy's hand in the article) and thus actually s

    • What you say? (Score:3, Funny)

      by ackthpt ( 218170 ) *
      What's the world coming to? Why can't we simply limit ourselves to portable music? Must we *always* have 2.9 billion forms of electronic media at our fingertips in the ever rare chance that our natural surroundings ever become boring?

      This thing is like a PDA with a Remote Control . If that ain't progress, brother, I don't know what is!

      ...now if it only had a few blades and bottle opener...

    • Re:What's going on here? (Score:5, Funny)

      by pragma_x ( 644215 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:58PM (#8636660) Journal
      in the ever rare chance that our natural surroundings ever become boring?
      You've never lived in Ohio, have you?

    • yes. yes we do.

      And I for one welcome our new electronic overlords.

      seriously, i have my eyes on the pixelicious (yet still affordable :) Nikon d70 [nikonusa.com] and have been wishing for a device that i can carry around that can hold both my music AND be a backup for my images. (i haven't been too keen on spending the bucks for a high capacity CF card)

      (random desperate shout): where can i get these 2.9 billion forms of electronic media?!

      (equally desperate answer): maybe they're in this truck!

    • All this gadgets have been designed to stop you thinking.
      It's give you the opportunity to put you brain at the off position
      and just eat stupidity made to move you from free thinker to free wanker to stupid a** h*le !

      It's made you think that you need it and forgot all the lies made by the politician
      forget the cousin, brother, sister, neighbor that at been kill by the lies of you politician !

      forgot the cousin, brother, sister, neighbor that at been kill far from you eyes !
      Forget the pain you have i
    • The "natural environment" in line at the dmv is a majestic thing to behold. You, sir, have missed this point.
    • Must we *always* have 2.9 billion forms of electronic media at our fingertips

      Yes, we must.

      On Friday, I bought a 40GB iPod. I wanted an MP3 player that would hold a huge collection of music, and this one fit the bill perfectly. However, it isn't everything I want in a device. I also carry a cellular phone around everywhere I go, and I've completely outgrown it's "life management" abilities. It's useless for email and almost useless for taking quick notes. The calendar is great and helps me manage my life,

  • So (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Pingular ( 670773 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:33PM (#8636423)
    A device that does all the things you want, and some you don't, very poorly. Mabye I'm just being a bit cinicle, but I've seen to many devices such as this that haven't lived up to expectations.
  • Gotta admit, it looks pretty badass. I saw the older model a few months ago and I was really impressed, but I didn't see the real value in it.

  • Bah (Score:5, Insightful)

    by afidel ( 530433 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:34PM (#8636432)
    Another 'PDA' with no battery life. For me the Palm III series will never be beat for PDA usage because it lasts up to six weeks on a set of good rechargables. My IIIxe has enough memory to fit a ton of programs, all of the appointments I could ever hope (dred) having, etc. I have used PocketPC's as portable computers (vertical app for my fathers business) but I would never champion them as a PDA. The need to recharge em every ~8 hours makes them impractical in that role IMHO.
    • Good point... My Dell Axim usually holds a usable charge for a week or two. With almost no use (I know...), it seems to last three or four. As soon as I start using it heavily (playing media files, anything CPU intensive) it drains pretty quick.

      I'm still pretty satisfied. My cell phone lasts maybe two days before I need to recharge it, and that's not a huge inconvenience.

      If they (I don't know who) would standardize the power adapter, keeping it charged would be a cinch.

    • Re:Bah (Score:3, Insightful)

      by !ucif3r ( 713159 )
      Battery Life is a serious problem with all portable devices. Despite several pointless marketing campaigns by Energizer and Duracell there has been little if any inovation in chemical energy storage technology. Hopefully something new will come along soon, because these devices are using more power every year, not less.

      Energon cubes perhaps?
    • Another 'PDA' with no battery life.

      A while back, I bought myself an Archos Jukebox Multimedia 20 because I let myself get caught up in a whiz-bang feature list (and a promised but never delivered Firewire add-on) when all I wanted was an MP3 recorder capable of taking 6+ hours of dictation in a single stretch. After using it for the first time, I learned that the device had a terrible limitation -- despite claims of 7 hours MP3 playback before needing recharging, I found out that it lasts no more than 90
    • "Another 'PDA' with no battery life."

      No, it's a video player that has some PDA functionality. The PDA stuff is icing.

  • Hmm... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by odano ( 735445 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:34PM (#8636435)
    So a DVD Player is better at playing DVDs and video...
    An MP3 player is better at playing MP3s...
    A PDA is better at being a PDA...

    And I am sure all of the above have a much longer battery life and are cheaper than this unit.

    I really just don't see why anybody would buy this.

    • Re:Hmm... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by harlows_monkeys ( 106428 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:39PM (#8636481) Homepage
      Separate DVD player, MP3 player, PDA take up a hell of a lot more pocket space.
      • Separate DVD player, MP3 player, PDA take up a hell of a lot more pocket space.

        You'd think that, but a PDA will fit in one pocket, and an mp3 player will fit in my other pocket. A combined device will fit in none of my pockets.
    • It's not really about this item now, but the fact that the technology is now in place to get better and better, and cheaper to boot.

    • Re:Hmm... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by X_Bones ( 93097 )
      So a DVD Player is better at playing DVDs and video...
      An MP3 player is better at playing MP3s...
      A PDA is better at being a PDA...

      And I am sure all of the above have a much longer battery life and are cheaper than this unit.

      I really just don't see why anybody would buy this.

      Um, besides the facts that there'd be two less devices to haul around to perform the same functions and that it'll probably be cheaper than a $250 MP3 player + a $500 video player + a $200 PDA? Sure, it's not gonna be the best yo

  • the real ultimate device (Score:3, Insightful)

    by m_c_rose ( 102215 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:35PM (#8636439) Journal
    For this to be the ultimate handheld it would need cellular, gps, and WiFI. probably a couple other things too.
  • And this nifty little device could be yours for just $4999.99!

    I might just bite if it had a cell phone.

  • battery (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AnonymousCowheart ( 646429 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:37PM (#8636455)
    Doesn't mention the battery life, but with the price of flash cards decreasing, it seems like all the things this can do could be done by a Palm Tungsten|E. I know there aren't 20gig MMC/SD cards yet, but something to consider. Again, depending on the battery life, I've heard palms don't come close to MP3 Players with regards to battery life.
    • So Plam Tungstens have 704x480 screens with hardware acceleration and enough CPU power to do DiVX decoding on the fly? My toshiba e805 with a 2MB ATI video card and 400mhz XScale CPU has a hard time with DiVX at 640x480 (the PDAs native rez'), if this thing does what it claims to do it is very cool. Otherwise its just a toy.
  • Figures.

    The day after I replace my dead Palm IIIxe with a new T2, THIS is announced. I could have gotten a $35.00 Palm III to tide me over if I'd known.

  • It's cool (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The upgraded Archos 500V is cool and all, but does it run Linux?
    • I know that the parent post is a cliche, but I was about to ask this for real.

      It's hard to tell from the shots that they had in the article, but that screen layout sure looks a lot like QTopia to me...

      So, maybe.
    • Does it run Linux?

      Surely looks like it already IS running Linux!
      The screenshot's menu bar looks almost exactly like Qtopia/Opie's qt-embedded based framebuffer interface. This thing's gonna kick ass if it gets the same kind of community around it as the Zaurus.

  • There is a season - learn learn learn ... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by foobsr ( 693224 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:40PM (#8636489) Homepage Journal
    ... my coach and colleague does not stop telling me that most of her other clients (I prefer paper and pencil to keep my basic structure) are not very much aware about how to handle the current gadgets and many times loose all their data due to incom(not patibility but petence).

    Well. What will the future bring to improve this?

    CC.
    • An old girlfriend of mine used to work in internal customer service for a major pharm company. She dealt with a lot of reps who kept doing the wrong thing and blame the CS people for it. The motto around her office was, "It's not my fault that you're stupid."

      I think that motto applies here.

  • Bah! (Score:2, Funny)

    by spellraiser ( 764337 )
    No keyboard -> No programming -> No fun

  • Hello? No Ansible? (Score:5, Funny)

    by hoggoth ( 414195 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:41PM (#8636503) Journal
    Without a standards based ansible this device is worthless to me. Try again Archos - I only want to carry ONE device.

  • Can someone just ... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rcastro0 ( 241450 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:42PM (#8636511) Homepage
    PDAs that Play MP3 and have digital cameras. Digital photo cameras that shoot video. Cell phones that have PDAs. MP3 players that play video. Laptops getting smaller -- sometimes loosing their keyboard (as tablets). Emulators, emulators, bringing the best from the past. Which you get for free as abandonware. Everything connected to high speed wireless data -- Bluetooth, 802.11g. Huge, enormous hard disks becoming ever so small. World becoming portable and inexpensive. Gadgets doing more and more and more for you.

    Now, can someone please
    COME UP WITH BETTER BATTERIES ???

  • Rock Box (Score:5, Informative)

    by djhertz ( 322457 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:44PM (#8636537)
    I have the Archos 20 gig FM recorder (mp3 player that has a radio and record function) and had some really bad issues with it crashing. I got no help from Archos at all, but found this site: Rock Box [rockbox.haxx.se] which has an open source OS for it and never had a problem since. I have also found numerous other people in forums with the same story.

    Now, what I don't understand is how come Archos wouldn't get involved with the Rock Box guys and try to just use their OS, or buy it from them, or something. I mean, the Rock Box os fixes so many bugs, and adds all kinds of features. The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. -- Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

    • > I mean, the Rock Box os fixes so many bugs, and adds all kinds of features.

      Those features probably mean patents. Why do you think a sony devices have generally such good ratings for user interface and others dont exactly copy them ? (yes I know sony dosent make a device in this product category. No major old manufacturer does. I wonder why ? RIAA pressures ?)

    • Re:Rock Box (Score:2, Informative)

      by Some Clown ( 586320 )
      I'll second the comments on Rockbox... definitely a better OS than the stock Archos version (on supported models - which at this point are limited to the Player/Recorder versions.)

      I'm an avowed Archos fanboy, no apologies given. That being said, I'm still not sure how much I need a device with so many different functions. Cost is an issue of course too, as is storage. Archos led the pack with 20GB back when, and now they've been pushing the limits with the AV380, going to 80GB. What I need now is 120G

  • Portable Movie, Picture, Music Survey (Score:4, Interesting)

    by oscast ( 653817 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:47PM (#8636562) Homepage
    osViews is holding a survey [osviews.com] which asks that people rate their liklihood of buying one of these types of devices.

    The results are very telling...
    • Although 20 votes total is probably not statistically significant ...
    • The results are very telling...

      No, they aren't. The first choice is "Gimme features baby!... Size, weight be dammed!" Does that sound like an unbiased, fair way to present a survey question?

      This device is about the same size and weight as a Jornada, as the article summary says. Nobody is saying "size and weight be damned" -- but many of us would say "sure, an extra half ounce is no big deal".
      • Its a bit bigger than a Jornada and the weight is much heavier...

        In either event, its not conducive for portability, which is what the initial question in the survey seems to be eluding to.

  • Why? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Why isn't this termed an "iPod killer"??
    • I think it's because this one includes the posibility to view videos too, and the iPOD only offers a music serviice, so they are basically different products...
    • Because it's not?

      How are you even gonna get a movie on that thing? Run DeCSS to rip it, and all that good stuff? To get 2 movies on it?

      It seems like an MP3 player with 8 MB of Flash. I never bought one, didn't even consider it (I was thinking of going Mini CD at the time). Then the iPod came along, and changed what was possible (okay there were other devices before, but they were 2x the weight of iPod).

  • Closer to Fine (Score:4, Insightful)

    by unfortunateson ( 527551 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:50PM (#8636593) Journal
    I am of course concerned with battery life -- and the price -- but this could be my next PDA. I can't live without a PDA. But I'm getting tired of looking like Batman when I go hiking: GPS, PDA, phone, camera. One of the reasons I haven't bought an MP3 player is that it's one more barnacle on my hip or pocket.

    If this puppy has a CF or SD slot, I can easily use it as my GPS. I don't see using it to replace my cam, but knowing that I don't need to get home to the laptop when it's full is a nice thing.

    Now what someone needs to market is a WiFi casette so that audio can be received in my car.
    • If you're carrying your GPS, PDA, phone, and camera when you're hiking, then you need to rethink your recreation strategy. or are you the type that gets to the top of the mountain, or finds some quiet lake, and whips out their phone and yaks to all their friends?
      • I carry GPS to keep me safe when I can't see far enough to use compass and topo maps, I carry a phone to call for help in case of injury (and in fact my father saved a guys life with his, he was hiking on a mountain in Mexico when a climber fell and slid over a half mile down an ice field, his head was very bady injured. He was unable to get through to the cottage at the base directly so he called my dad and she faxed a note to them =), and of course I take my digital camera to capture the moments on my hik
        • Did nobody hike before then? Was it "too dangerous"?

          I've had this discussion with tons of gadget freaks who say they just won't go anywhere without their cell phone and GPS, but what did they do before those things? Just stay at home and read National Geographic?
          • No, they died. Really, non-backwoods hiking has become a LOT less dangerous than it used to be due to cellphones and GPS. I can guarentee you that the guy in Mexico would have died if my dad hadn't had his cellphone on him, he had lost 2 liters of blood out his scalp in under 15 minutes when my dad came upon him. Getting help to a person seriously injured in the first hour is THE most critical thing for survivability, ask any trauma surgeon, and you aren't going to get that without a cellphone.
      • A PDA that can store the geocache descriptions (often critical for the tougher finds) is a lot more portable than a sheaf of printouts, and more ecological too with rechargable batteries. The camera is also useful for the same sport. The phone? I don't plan on calling anyone, but sometimes someone needs to get a hold of me.

        Actually, the new Garmin 60CS can store cache comments (old models couldn't), and has some PIM functionality. The Garmin iQue has similar features, as it's integrated with a Palm. B
  • But when will the it's remote control have a remote control? I'm not getting off the couch for that.
  • Too many Gadgets, too little time... This product is cool, if I got it for free... otherwise i would NEVER buy it. One thing I do want.. a tablet PC. THAT's the whole thing already...

  • Why, oh Why do they put d-pads on the RIGHT? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by raygundan ( 16760 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:55PM (#8636632) Homepage
    This has been driving me nuts. Do cell-phone designers not realise that we are all trained by nintendo to expect d-pads on the LEFT side of things? There are a staggering number of "would be great for handheld gaming if only they'd move the d-pad" devices. PocketPC centers it. Treo 600 centers it. Sidekick/Hiptop puts it on the right. Even that shiny new Motorola MPx everybody's drooling over has the damn thing on the right. You'd think somebody besides Tapwave would figure out that putting a dpad on the left, buttons on the right, and a couple of shoulder buttons makes just about any PDA into an awesome portable gaming platform.

    Oh well... I can dream.
    • Not only the d-pads, but pretty much most of the arcade games that I cut my teeth on in the 80's were that way also. When I play mame, my timing is always off because the control pad is on my right, instead of on my left. Same thing with first person shooters - left hand controls movement, right hand operates fire buttons.

      Even worse, I didn't see any buttons on the side of the archos - it's going to be awkward trying to play a game in landscape mode.
    • You are aware that you can simply flip the bloody thing and solve it in software (rotating the screen 180)?

      • ummm... sure, that will put the dpad on the left, but won't that put the screen under your palms instead of above your thumbs? Flipping the MPx would also either put the screen under your palms or to the right side or your hand. I have a treo600, with dpad in the center, so flipping does nothing (and since the buttons are close to the dpad, it is difficult to hit A and Right at the same time).

        Unless you are talking about a hardware hack where you physically move the screen to the other side of the phone/

  • Technical Data, Including Battery Life (Score:4, Informative)

    by hng_rval ( 631871 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @01:59PM (#8636663)
    Can be found on Amazon [amazon.com]

    3.5 hours of video
    10 hours of playing mp3s

    Not too bad, and at $500 it's not too much more than an iPod.

  • at first, i was with most everyone else in wondering where the market was for these devices. folks are pretty sharp in realizing that for the price, these things don't deliver commensurate ease of use and battery life, not to mention legal content.

    but i believe very strongly that these devices are the precursors to what will, in the future, be a single catch-all portable device that does do all of these things ... phone, pc w/ lots of storage, media player etc. of course, in the future, battery power wil
  • the older archos jukeboxes were really poorly made. and the sound section really sucks (you hear hard drive spin-up whine quite loudly). and their plug-in jacks break quickly, too.

    its hacker heaven (rockbox) for some of their players. but an ipod, it isn't. don't expect good build quality - that company has never figured that part out, yet.

    fyi.
    • I've had an Archos Jukebox Recorder 20 for close to two years now. In fact, I'm listening to MP3s on it as I type.

      I've dropped it about four times, banged it into walls, and taken it on my motorcycle numerous times. The thing still works great.

      So I'm at least one person who says that their build quality isn't too bad. And it's also a great portable 20GB USB 2.0 drive!
  • I think this does have it's place although it needs a better price point. I sometimes will go grab a bite to eat because I'm busy and eat in my vehicle and I could see watching something on the device while I'm eating.

    How many people read in the bathroom?
    How about watching something instead of reading and, this has to be mentioned, a portable pr0n device. I am serious this would be a great selling point but I know they'll stay away from it.

    I can also see using the pvr function if you want to catch up on n

  • Rockbox (Score:3, Informative)

    by wtfover ( 741996 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @02:24PM (#8636906)
    I bought (what is now an older) 20 Gig MP3 recorder/jukebox made by Archos. I haven't RTFA, but going by past experiences with my recorder and what i've heard from others, i'm guessing the firmware will be junk. Thank god for open source and the good people at Rockbox [rockbox.haxx.se]. These guys have made my MP3 player useable, and continue to develop a darn fine product.

  • In Case you were wondering (Score:3, Informative)

    by Blasphemy ( 78348 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @02:43PM (#8637059)

    YES it runs linux.

    I have a Zaurus SL-C760 (great PDA) and I reconize the
    Qtopia interface in the pictures. The Qtopia PDA apps
    aren't all that great but the do the job. The best
    part is that they should be able to be easily replaced...

    With the huge hard-drive, you may even be able to run
    evolution on it.

  • PLEASE combine these 2 items!! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by usascholar ( 744639 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @02:55PM (#8637163)

    I would love this setup...

    The linux webpage has been .. edited. (they redirect you to the homepage now..grr..)

    So here is a pic of the AV500:

    http://www.shanebrinkmandavis.com/homepage/Archos/ Main/ArchosRumors.html [shanebrinkmandavis.com]

    AND

    http://www.jonescam.tv/lipstick_camera.html [jonescam.tv]

    Why do video camera manufacturer's insist that I need to carry around my video camera?? I don't want to!

    Come on guys, can you hack one of these av300 or av500, and let me have my hands free video camera ?? I'll pay for it, really PLEASE?!?!?!

    Thanks
    Mabidex

    (I am lazy, but so what)

    • Ohh, good call. I didn't think about that. Lose the stupid camera and sell a better one that transmits the video right to the device via bluetooth. Then you can actually get a decent lens, zoom functions, flash, etc, and the cam would still be tiny (no tape mechanism).
  • A PDA with a hard drive! Someone has been listening to my prayers! Now if Apple would just add a color screen and a stylus, I'd be in heaven.

    LS

  • I like my Archos (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DaveOf9thKey ( 599178 ) on Monday March 22, 2004 @03:49PM (#8637714) Homepage Journal

    A lot of people here are complaining about their Archos MP3 players, so I feel the need to offer a contrasting opinion. I've owned an Archos Jukebox Multimedia 20 for the last nine months, and while it's needed a firmware update or two over that time, it's been a pretty reliable little MP3 and movie player.

    The 1" screen is generally too small for watching most movies, but it passes in a pinch on an airplane, and I can plug it into a TV and watch it there if I want. Somewhere in my video folder you'll find a couple dozen Looney Tunes classics, a couple of movies and a handful of Firefly episodes, all in DivX format and ready to play at a moment's notice.

    The camera attachment is crap -- 1 megapixel, no flash -- but I find use for it anyway, because I like the novelty factor and don't do much with pictures beyond posting them to the web.

    So while Archos may not be the best company out there, their multimedia players are still pretty nifty, and if nothing else, a device like the AV500 -- which is definitely on my radar now -- might push the bigger players in the PDA and PocketPC market to add hard drives to their own units. There's obviously a market here for convergence in PDAs, or we wouldn't see devices like this. Hopefully, we'll start seeing more of them.

    (And yes, hopefully we'll see better batteries to power them, too...)

    • Re:I like my Archos (Score:3, Interesting)

      by dspyder ( 563303 )
      Whoa, I could have written exactly that myself (and have in other threads).

      So many people say "but who wants to watch a DVD on a tiny screen". Well, not me... but I do want to watch a movie on a plane or bus from a device that I can keep in my pocket or at least on the outside of my carry-on luggage. "Just get a laptop"? Ya, what about weight... and a fragile screen... and battery life... and having to take it out for security checkpoints. Ha! "Buy a portable DVD player"... sure... might as well deal
  • The first archos unit was ok, a bit bulky, but its main probelm was it's inabillity to support most currently encoded Divx files. You'd have to re-encode them to a lower resolution to get them to play. If this one lives up to spec, it will have solved both of those problems soundly -- since the average divx file usually clocks in at 640x480@30fps.

    I guess all you ipod owners must live much more active lifestyles than me -- since you talk about not being able to watch video while jogging or other such nons
  • As is my battle cry.... "Be a late adopter". Leave the headaches to the people who want to go through the hours on the phone with tech support and endless firmware upgrades and hearing "oh, that's not a bug, it's a feature".

    If you're like me... wait until it's tried and true, most of the bugs have been worked out (I'd say all the bugs, but that's a pipe dream), and the price has dropped in half. Then you can buy something that will meet your meeds without driving you crazy, and without making you feel l

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