After a streak of Wi-Fi portable media players this season, including the Sony X-Series Walkman, iPod Touch, and Zune HD, the Android-based Archos 5 Internet tablet is probably the last major portable media player we'll see before the year's end. It would make for a cute read if I said they've saved the best for last, but after a few days with the Archos 5, I'm still not exactly sure where it ranks among its peers.
Fortunately, now that Amazon has officially put the Archos 5 up for sale, there's nothing stopping you from ordering an Archos 5 right now and making up your own mind about its relative worth. With any luck, we'll have our full review up next week. To tide you over until then, check out our First Look video, photo gallery, and some unboxing action from this week's MP3 Insider video podcast.
The Archos A5S, propped up by a wooden block during testing for FCC clearance.
(Credit: FCC)Just when you thought Zunes and iPods would have September all to themselves, the portable video player powerhouse known as Archos drops off two new devices for FCC approval.
The Archos A5S and A5H revealed in the FCC documents look very similar to last year's Archos 5 Internet media tablet, although the photos show a new white color for the A5S (shown above), and close-up shots of the A5H reveal what looks like a microSD slot and microUSB port. There's no mistaking the Archos 5's same gorgeous, 4.8-inch TFT display, though, which still gives us shivers (in a good way).
The FCC's testing report shows both models sporting 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and an FM transmitter and receiver. What's unclear is whether or not one of these models will support 3G mobile network connectivity, just like last year's SIM-compatible Archos 5G. I wouldn't bet against it, especially since all signs point to a September 15 Archos announcement for new devices running Google's Android OS.
Considering that Archos has already pulled back the curtain on its Netbook and PC tablet, I can't imagine that these new Internet media tablets aren't the 'droids we're looking for. Plus, Texas Instruments made it pretty clear back in February that we'd be seeing some Android-loving media players from Archos.
(Source: FCC filing via Engadget)
The Iriver B30.
Iriver may not have the same brand recognition as iPod or Zune, but the Korea-based company has consistently cranked out portable media players with slick modern designs and impressive graphic interfaces.
The U.S. has been treated to a handful of Iriver products, including the Clix, Spinn, and P7, but some of the company's creations never make it to our shores. The Iriver B30 is one such product--a portable media player with a 2.8-inch screen, micro SD memory expansion, accelerometer control, and a suite of features that includes music, video, photo, games, and a text reader. Unfortunately, the B30 also sports a DMB television tuner, which is next to useless in the U.S., and makes the product impractical for export.
Still, thanks to this video of someone expertly maneuvering the Iriver B30 in pitch-black darkness, we can at least appreciate the finer nuances of the product's GUI. It looks pretty slick, bearing a resemblance to the magazine-style aesthetic we found on the Iriver P7.
iPod competitors take note--it is possible to make a refined, stylish GUI without cloning Apple or rehashing outdated motifs. Kudos to Iriver.
Iriver's latest portable video player, the P7, has plenty going for it: big screen, low price, and a stylish design. From the moment we pried its aluminum frame from the package, we were certain this thing was going to be a slam dunk. We were wrong.
The Iriver P7 has a stunning design, inside and out, but looks aren't everything.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)While the P7's design feels like a million bucks, internally, the sluggish touch screen, jerky menus, and surprisingly limited video flexibility show the P7 for the $169 player that it is. We're also living at a time where there are a number of video-worthy options in the $200 PVP space, with products like the Cowon O2 or the oldie-but-goodie Archos 605 WiFi offering better bang for the buck.
Still, it's refreshing to see a manufacturer like Iriver prove that design quality and affordability aren't mutually exclusive. I can't tell you how many all-plastic products land on my desk that feel like they just rolled out of a gumball machine. The P7 is one of the prettiest looking and exquisitely built portable media players I've reviewed since the iPod Touch--but appearances only get you so far.
To read my full report on the Iriver P7, head over to CNET Reviews.
If you want to hear every detail in your music--every breath, every strum, every rattle--lossless music formats are the only way to go. But if you hate the idea of your precious music files being tied up in some corporation's proprietary format (i.e. Apple Lossless and Windows Media Audio Lossless), the most popular choice out there is FLAC.
The Iriver SPINN can deliver a pocket full of pristine, lossless music encoded in the open-source FLAC format.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)You can find free programs for Mac, Windows, and Linux that will play and rip FLAC files, but finding a FLAC-compatible MP3 player isn't quite as easy.
I've rounded-up my favorite FLAC-compatible players into two groups: MP3 players with FLAC and Portable Video Players with FLAC. The distinction is really just a formality to keep our comparison charts from busting apart, so definitely give both roundups a look.
It's also worth mentioning that if you own an older iPod and you don't mind tinkering with it, the open-source Rockbox firmware lets you add FLAC audio playback, custom EQ, games, and tons of little surprises.
Have some wisdom to share on why you think people should make the switch to FLAC? Share your experience in the comments section.
Samsung spilled the beans on the new P3 MP3 player at the company's CES 2009 press conference. As an update to Samsung's popular P2, the P3 shares many of its predecessor's features, including a 3-inch WQVGA touch screen, DNSe sound enhancement, audio and video playback, photo viewer, FM radio, voice recording, and Bluetooth capabilities such as phone pairing and stereo
...Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
Click to see the Cowon O2 photo gallery.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)Our official rated review for the Cowon O2 portable video player is now up on CNET Reviews, along with a full photo gallery and a First Look video.
We've been putting the O2 through its paces all week and it's held up remarkably well. It's still not the sexiest piece of tech we've laid eyes on, but it's got more muscle than any other portable video player in its price range.
Audio enthusiasts will also want to give the O2 a look, considering it supports desirable lossless music formats such as FLAC, Apple Lossless, and WMA Lossless, and offers a killer 10-band graphic EQ.
In spite of some great features, however, there are a few omissions on the O2 that could be deal-breakers for some users.
Read the full review for the Cowon O2 portable video player.
Video fanatics rejoice! The Cowon O2 is powerful, flexible, and surprisingly affordable.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)It hasn't been a terribly exciting year for portable video players. Despite its relatively small screen, the iPod Touch is one of the few PVPs we've been giving an unqualified recommendation for in 2008. The Archos 5 is ambitious, but the battery life just isn't there; the Q5W is overpriced and bulky; and the A3 left us feeling kinda "meh." Thankfully, the Cowon O2 looks like it's going to close-out our year of PVP reviews on an upnote.
First off, let me mention the official U.S. MSRP for the O2, because I know there have been a few guesstimates floating around. The Cowon O2 will retail for $219 (8GB), $249 (16GB), and $299 (32GB), which you can pick up in either black or white. If 32GB isn't enough storage for you, keep in mind that the O2 includes a SDHC card slot for quickly swapping out content and increasing storage as you need it.
The second thing to notice about the O2 is its stupefying amount of file support. On the video end the O2 can play back AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MKV, OGM, DAT, MTV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-4, WMV 9/8/7, H.264, M-JPEG, and MPEG 1. The O2 is also agnostic when it comes to video resolution, accepting files all the way up to 1,280x720 at 30fps. For me, native format and resolution support is huge deal, because my home media collection is all over the place and few things test my patience more than re-encoding batches of video files.
Another huge deal for me is battery life, and Cowon is claiming that the O2 will get up to 8 hours of video playback (under "optimal" conditions) before surrendering. If Cowon's right, 8 hours of video playback would put the O2 far beyond the 4 hours of video life on the Archos 5, and ahead of the 6 hours of video on the iPod Touch and even the iPod Classic. Audio battery life isn't as impressive, with only 18 hours, but it's still ahead of the 12 hours of playback time on the Archos 5. Another thing to bear in mind is that all of the O2's competitors require a proprietary cable to recharge the battery, which can be a huge pain if you lose the cable while traveling. The O2 charges best when using the included AC adapter, but you can charge over its mini-USB connection, as well.
... Read more
Click for more pictures.
(Credit: CNET Networks/Corinne Schulze)In the ultracompetitive MP3 player marketplace, Korean DAP manufacturer Iriver can always be counted on for two things: innovative design and feature-packed devices. The Iriver Spinn is no exception with its Spinn System Toggle Wheel, touch-screen display, and laundry list of features. At $249.99 for the 4GB model and $289.99 for the 8GB, the Spinn is perhaps the priciest flash player on the market today (by comparison, the 8GB iPod Touch costs about $229), and it's not the simplest to use, but its slick, high-quality build and variety of features may appeal to those looking for a nonstandard MP3 player with plentiful audio codec support.
Is the Archos 5 the Wi-Fi, touch screen, internet media juggernaut we hoped for?
(Credit: CNET Networks/Corinne Schulze)If you want a portable video player that can browse the Web over Wi-Fi, but the iPod Touch is just too puny, then the Archos 5 is worth a serious look. You get a luxurious 4.8-inch, 800x600 touch-screen display, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Opera Web browser, Flash 9 video and game support, up to 250GB of storage, and loads of video, audio, and photo format compatibility.
It's not all gumdrops and unicorns, though. Buggy applications, measly battery life, limited accessories, and a smudge-loving design make the Archos 5 hard to love unconditionally.
