ARCHOS 5 4.8" 250GB MP3 / MP4 Player

Pros: This is my 3rd Archos product. It's getting better as long as you stay away from Ipod. Huge storage capacity, decent video display would say quality is 8/10, good web connection, wonderful free web tv and radio

Cons: poor speakers, screen that gets dirty from finger printing, occasional freezing up

Other Thoughts: search for plugins that are available elsewhere besides archos

Pros: plays most video formats

Cons: weak on internet browser and slow when surfing. Very long time to charge via usb(8 hrs). Couldn't find any apps for it.

Pros: Lots of tech--web, web radio, web tv, file management, all well implemented. Battery life is decent considering the moving parts. Web experience is not awful.

Cons: Forget what anyone has told you about the great screen. The company switched to a MUCH cheaper matte screen that looks horrible. The screens on my cellphones from 2-3 years ago look better and my wife's cheaper MP3 player screen is 10 times better. You can no longer buy the old glossy scrrens anywhere that I am aware of so don't think you're getting a nice screen when you buy one.

Other Thoughts: In many ways this is an alternative to the ipod touch and so should be compared in some basic ways:
This thing had MUCH more drive capacity but it's not flash
This thing has a larger screen with higher res but you'll probably like the way things look on the touch better due to the new cheap matte screen
This thing has attachments that let you not only use USB slave but also USB host. This is a major selling point for me because it lets me move files directly from my video and still cameras without toting my laptop around and is especially good combined with 250GB
Forget what they say about widgets and flash apps. There really aren't any, nor are there likely to ever be any since Archos is moving to new OS(s). If you want to have cool programs galore go for the ipod.

Pros: HDD Size, Screen quality, WIFI (Mobile Web), Supports Streaming. Has added hardware for HDMI out 720p video, Turning your HDD into a DVR, Helmet cam attachment, even GPS (those added hardware are extra $$, but can so be worth it).

Cons: Heavy, but I expected as much. Its a 250g HDD... That alone should tell you its going to be alil on the heavy side. Does take a bit to charge, and you do have to be some extra add-ons/hardware to do somethings that SHOULD already come with the pirce tag.

Other Thoughts: Have yet to find any mobile device that does anything close to what this does. Video and Audio streaming, mobile web, HD Video playback, GPS, DVR (TV or Helmet cam) and much more. I purchased it when it first came out, endured the breaking period with the firmware and have NEVER looked back. Best Media player I have EVER come across.

For those who may not be tech savy, if you see something that says maybe 100g's plus in HDD size, its prolly going to be a bit heavy so dont comment that its heavy!

Pros: Great screen if you get a glossy one, great HDD capacity, the OS it well optimized for touch with a finger, so the only time you might want some type of stylus is on websites with small links. Battery lasts a couple days if you are primarily using it to listen to music.

Cons: Archos seems to have primarily switched to a matte screen, which is a TN panel as opposed to the PVA glossy that was initially used. As expected, the TN looks much worse. Some users have reported multiple dead/stuck pixels. When working the hardware hard (decoding larger videos, long file transfers, etc.) it will sometimes overheat and shut down. Flash used is actually Flash Lite (thanks Adobe), so not all flash sites are actually supported. The hardware is very locked down, making it difficult to impossible to replace the HDD (a standard 2.5" SATA HDD) or unlock the OS.

Other Thoughts: I bought mine primarily to listen to music at work through the day, and for that it it has worked well. I also use it for portable internet browsing and download files from my 40D to it when on the go. I don't watch video on mine, so I can't speak to battery life in that situation, but it is only rated for something like 7 hours of video, so don't expect to watch through cross-country flights. The USB ports on my monitor are powered whether the computer is on or not, so I leave it plugged in every other night to charge, the charge time doesn't bother me. I have the battery dock (which comes with the quick charger) but rarely use it to charge. The primary reason I decided to write a review is to point out that the Newegg images are wrong; the first one shows an Archos 7 (7" screen version of the 5) and the remainder show the 60GB version of the 5, which is slimmer and had buttons in different places due to using a 1.8" HDD instead of 2.5". So look up photos of a 250GB before buying

Pros: Fantastic screen, good interface, huge drive, solid web browser, plays any format (for a price), plays (some) free flash games, array of add-ons available. Plays ogg files... not that I have any or plan to.

Cons: Worst customer support ANYWHERE - every rumor you've ever heard about how bad their support is absolutely true. The device is also heavy. The battery life is sub-par. And it takes forever to charge it unless you want to buy EXTRA HARDWARE to charge it in 2 hours! (A total and unforgivable scam!)

And speaking of scams, EVERY feature your'e going to want is an additional add-on or hardware option. When I tried to buy a couple of them, their system broke down and I was TRIPLE CHARGED for a $20 add-on and they never replied to emails about removing those charges. Worse than that, I have yet to get the proper licensing to work at all and I can't play any video that was with AC3 audio until I get this resolved. So many of my DVDs that I've ripped to take with me on road trips have been absolutely useless so far.

Other Thoughts: Initial versions of the firmware were a mess and very unstable. More recent versions have been better, but not flawless. The latest firmware allows you to play some 720p content (WMV and VC-1 at up to 6Mbps). (I'm sure another license pack is required to make use of it.)

And while I can forgive charging add-ons for things like AC3 support (which have licensing fees associated with them), I cannot forgive charging for a device to charge the unit in 1/3-1/4 of the time. If the unit is capable of charging that quickly, then give me the cable to do it when I buy it.

The only saving grace is that I think they're offering a 3 pack of features when you buy a 250 GB now. But plan to get about 2-3 hours of any real use of it and then plan on charging it overnight. If that sounds like your idea of fun, this unit is for you.

Pros: better resolution than the iPODs. Wide compatibility range of media. Low cost per gigabyte. great screen size. records video. not tethered to itunes, WMP11 or any other software. functions like a portable PC in terms of file management. Supports USB devices like keyboard and mouse. Simple interface is easy enough for my tech illiterate dad to operate.

Cons: tons of firmware updates, but still a tad buggy. Doesn't support WEP2/EAP wireless. A tad bulky. Not yet compatible with itunes DRM protected content. I suggest a program called sound taxi to fix that.

Other Thoughts: It's great storage, as I have my entire music colleciton, all the office and house episodes, with more room for additional movies or misc files. It's big, but for the storage size you can't complain. The larger screen is great for internet browsing. Pictures are clear and unless you look very very closely, you can't see the pixels. Archos will also nickel and dime you for additional media format support. I just got the AAC and podcast package which supports all ipod formats. All things considered, if you hate itunes dependency, and want storage, this is for you.

Pros: Has the potential of being a great item.

Cons: LOUSY.very unresponsive customer service.Touch screen broke after 1 DAY,which they didn't cover. called SIX TIMES. Not a company that I would deal with again.

Pros: Screen Size, Screen Resolution, Storage Capacity, User Friendly, DVR capabilily with optional add on.

Ability to play VOB files directly.. with OPTIONAL add on that I did purchase.

Cons: Heavy..... options..options..options..

System freezes occasionaly, usually when launching the add-on game modules....

Other Thoughts: I purchased this unit from another company, and am happy with the feature set.
I am disapointed in the need to add additional features to be abke to watch videos. (The Cinnepak), althought with the option came the ability to simply copy the VOB file directly to the device.