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At 7in, The 704 Wifi houses one of the biggest screens yet for a portable media player (PMP).
Archos believes this is the maximum viable screen size for PMPs – any larger and they would too closely resemble laptops.
The 704's weight and brushed aluminium chassis gives it a sturdy feel, while a metal prong folds out at the back to give it a picture frame physique, enabling it to sit comfortably on a table. An optional headrest adapter for in-car use is available for £27.
Videos and pictures appear detailed thanks to the relatively high 800x480 resolution. Brightness control is limited, but colours appear vibrant and viewing angles are good, except from below.
The device houses two speakers behind hexagonal grilles. They're good for a PMP and can be comfortably heard from a few metres away. However, they are a little tinny, and using the supplied headphones is a better option.
The 704 is a touchscreen device, which means navigation can be performed with one of the two styli provided or by pressing fingers onto the screen. Alternatively, you can use the supplied remote control.
The unit sports Wifi for wireless file sharing, meaning it can connect to a wireless home network and other computers can transfer media to and from the device. Wireless setup is a little cumbersome and only Wep encryption, not the more secure WPA/2, is supported.
A simpler method is to connect it directly to a PC using one of the two USB2 ports on the device. By default, the drive appears as a removable hard disk when connected to a PC so you can simply drag and drop up to 40GB of any type of data onto it. It can also access connected external hard drives and USB keys.
A mode is also included to turn it into a Windows Media Device, enabling it to be coupled with Windows Media Player for file transfers.
Archos includes a web browser, Opera 9.2, to take advantage of the Wifi functionality.
In practice, surfing the net with a virtual keyboard is a little clumsy. Flash animations aren't supported by the 704's internet browser either, ruling out websites such as Youtube. Furthermore, websites aren't always formatted correctly due to the odd screen size.
The Archos 704 runs a Linux-based operating system and there are some online communities dedicated to providing programs for Archos gear. Enthusiasts will benefit from this and the persistent can even get Bittorrent working so files can be downloaded directly to the device bypassing a PC.
Mpeg4, Wmv video files and most DivX files are supported for playback. The unit will also happily play most audio files out of the box, with the exception of Aac files (used by iTunes) and 5.1 surround sound, which cost £15 extra each.
Mpeg2 file support (used by DVDs) is also sorely missing, but is made available when 5.1 surround sound is purchased.
Playback is simple and fast, although not bullet proof. The system froze when we tried playing back a protected audio file from an external hard disk; this occurred because we hadn't assigned the 704 digital rights to play back the track.
In contrast to iPods, the 704 uses a replaceable battery, which is good for 25 hours audio and 5.5 hours video playback.
The £70 DVR Station is an essential buy in order to get the most from the 704. It lets you record TV, make scheduled recordings with any set top box or satellite receiver and capture video from DVD players. It can also play back content stored on the device back onto a TV using a range of video and audio outputs.
The Archos 704 is one of the biggest PMPs on the market, and one of the best in terms of features. An 80GB version costs £400, which is overpriced and we think the DVR Station and extra codecs, which are crucial to get the most from the 704, are overpriced.
The basic 40GB version, however, costs £330, which is a reasonable price for the most impressive PMP currently on the market.
See also:
Microsoft attempts to displace Apple, but the UK launch date remains a mystery 19 Feb 2007
Open-source web tablet, video-phone and media player has potential - shame about the Vista-style mark-up 21 Feb 2007
All Gadgets Tags: PMP
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