Archos 605 WiFi review

The 605 is the latest portable media player (PMP) from Archos, one of the best known brands in this area.

While many MP3 players can play back video files (see our group test in the Labs at www.computerbuyer.co.uk), their tiny screens aren't really good enough to watch films on the move. Archos' 605 WiFi has a high-resolution LCD that measures a decent 4.3 inches across the diagonal, enough to see what's going on in your favourite blockbuster.

It also works as a touchscreen, with large icons to control media functions. Over several years of development, Archos has turned its PMP interface from a bit of a disaster to something quite user-friendly. There are directional keys on the right to scroll through your content if you prefer this to the touchscreen method, and it's easy to find the right media file, as each video is accompanied by a thumbnail. You can sort your music by artist, album, title or genre, or just view all the tracks on the 605's internal hard disk.

The 605 had no problem playing our DivX, XviD and WMV test files. Unlike many PMPs, though, the 605 can't play MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 files as standard; if you want to use videos in these formats, you have to buy the codec software from the Archos online store. Considering that the 605 already costs £200, this seems a bit much. If you have Windows Media Player 11, you can use this to convert MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 files to a format compatible with the 605, but the quality is awful.

However, many of the 605's faults can be forgiven when you see it playing a high-quality video file. Films and TV programmes look fantastic on the 800x480 pixel display, which is bright with vibrant colours. Although it's not exactly massive, the screen is also large enough to really immerse you in a film. The supplied headphones sound quite muddy, but have a fair amount of bass.

The 605 has integrated wireless networking. If your PC is running Windows Media Connect or a media server program such as TwonkyVision, you can stream video directly from your PC to the PMP. You can also buy video from Archos' web portal. Having WiFi built in also raises the prospect of browsing the web on your PMP, and indeed you can do so, but only if you buy the Opera web browser, another optional extra at £20.

Author: Chris Finnamore