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Archos
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2006) |
| Archos Electronics | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Public EPA:JXR |
| Founded | October 4, 1988 |
| Headquarters | Igny, France |
| Key people | Henri Crohas, Founder & Executive Chairman |
| Industry | Electronics Manufacturer |
| Products | Hard disks Portable media players PDA |
| Employees | More Than 200 (2007) |
| Website | www.archos.com |
Archos (pronounced /ˈɑrkoʊs/) is a French consumer electronics company established in 1988 by Henri Crohas. Archos manufactures portable media players and portable storage devices.
These devices range from standard MP3 players, to PVPs (portable video players), USB flash and hard drives, digital video recorders to a Portable Media Assistant which consists of the features of players as well as wireless Internet capabilities (Wi-Fi) and PIM applications.
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The Archos name is an anagram of the founder's surname, Henri Crohas, and it is also Greek for master (αρχος). The slogan has changed a number of times; from 'Think Smaller' to 'On The Go' to the current 'Entertainment your way'
Archos manufactures a variety of products, each briefly explained below:
- USB Portable Hard Disk Drives
- Portable MP3 Players
- Portable Video Player and Recorders
- Portable Digital Video / Photography Snap-Ins
- Memory cards (Previously produced, now ceased)
- Digital Media Player and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
Announced along side the 05 Series, the Archos TV+ is the first stand alone DVR station from Archos and is expected to perform similarly to a 5th Gen player with a Dock. It will also include the new Qwerty remote for navigation and internet use. The device is presented as competition to the Apple TV and is expected for release in late November
The Generation 4 series is an upgrade to the previous AV Series. The 8 models include the 404, the 604 WiFi, and the 704 WiFi. All players in the 04 series are Microsoft PlaysForSure compatible.
Archos employed a philosophy of producing a modular player, making the standard 04 unit base price cheaper with the option of adding on additional features for additional costs. Using the DVR Station or the DVR Travel Adapter, each unit can record from TV and other standard video sources (DVD players, satellite systems and cable boxes among others). The DVR Station and DVR Travel Adapter are not included with the 04 units and must be purchased separately. Not all video codecs work right out of the box. Each unit is capable of playing MPEG-2/VOB videos with Dolby 5.1 Sound (AC3) sound and H.264 videos with AAC sound, however separate plugins must be purchased to unlock these capabilities.
Officially announced on June 14th, 2007, Archos released details of the new flagship 605WiFi, as well as announcing a 105, 405, and 705 players.
The 605Wifi and 405 officially went on sale on September 1st, 2007. The 605Wifi comes in 30GB, 80GB, and 160GB models as well as a 4GB model with an added SDHC slot. The 405 comes in a single model; 2GB with SDHC slot.
The 105 is to be designed with some video capabilities but still mainly targeted as a small and affordable MP3 player. The 705 however, is expected to look similar to the 704 with a slimmer profile and new 5ths Gen features.
The main upgrade in this series is the addition of the Archos content portals (ACP). Also the Opera web-browser became optional but added support for Adobe Flash mainly for the purpose of online video streaming.
- FM Recorder
Similar to the Recorder model, but featured a Li-Ion battery, an FM tuner and a slightly different case. 60 grams less weight.
- Recorder v2
Strikingly similar to the FM Recorder model, but featured no FM tuner (some of the earliest V2 models did in fact feature an FM tuner although it was not advertised nor used by the original firmware).
- Ondio SP
A flash-based MP3-player with bit-mapped 112x64 LCD. It is powered by three AAA-cells and features an MMC expansion slot and 128MB of internal memory. It is the smallest MP3 player in the Archos lineup.
Rockbox is supported on the Ondio devices.
- Ondio FM
Similar to the Ondio SP model but also features an FM tuner and recording capabilities.
The Archos Jukebox 6000 was one of Archos' first portable media players. Containing a 6 GB hard drive, this was one of the first of its kind. This player is only MP3 compatible, and was bundled with Musicmatch Jukebox to allow users to rip their music collection onto the jukebox. The Jukebox is historically notable for shipping with a user interface and operating system so unfriendly and bug-ridden as to inspire Björn Stenberg and other programmers to begin to develop a superior, open-source replacement operating system. This project became Rockbox. The Jukebox Studio succeeded the Jukebox 6000.
The Archos Jukebox Recorder was similar to the Player/Studio models, but featured a 112x64 bitmap LCD and recording capabilities. This model is sometimes referred to as the Recorder v1 to differentiate it from the later v2 version which looks quite different.
The Jukebox Multimedia was one of the first ever PMPs and it enabled users to record straight from a camera attachment. It also featured an audio and video player, an image viewer, and appropriate AV cables included. The player also has the ability to record audio from a line-in source straight into MP3 format. The player features a 10 or 20 GB hard drive and uses DivX MPEG4 format for video recording and playback.
One of the first audio device to hold a color LCD screen as well as photo, audio and video playback capacities, the Gmini 400 was introduced in October 2004.
The Gmini 402 replaced the Gmini 400 featuring PlaysForSure compatibility. This player supports DRM protected WMV video files, as well as MP3, WMA, AVI, JPG, PNG, and BMP. The Gmini 402 Camcorder was later introduced which includes a 1.2MP (Megapixel) digital camera, and has video recording capabilities, with up to a 2x digital zoom. The player also holds 3 resolution modes, which enables users to choose size over quality, as well as recording directly into MPEG4 in VGA resolution.
Just after the release of the AV500, the Archos Gmini 500 was born. It also has full support for Windows Media's PlaysForSure system which allows users play DRM restricted music.
The Gmini 120 particular model plays MP3, WMA and WAV files. It cannot play DRM-protected WMA files. Its capacity is 20 GB. This model also uses the ARCLibrary to organize music and media on the device. A version of this player was released as the Archos Gmini SP. There is also an optional FM Radio attachment available for this player so users can play and record directly from FM radio.
The Gmini XS 100 group of players features a 1.5" screen, full PlaysForSure capabilities, and supports MP3, WMA, protected WMA, and WAV files. It also features the ARCLibrary for organizing media files within one's media collection.
The Gmini XS 200 has a monochrome screen and a 20 GB hard drive. It was later replaced with the Gmini XS 202. The Gmini XS 202 was a fairly popular model supplied from Archos. This model supports MP3, WMA, protected WMA, and WAV files, and also contains what's known as ARCLibrary, a feature that organizes all digital media on Archos devices. The model also supports gapless playback.
The AV300 was released Monday March 22, 2004, and weighs 350 g.
The optional AVCam 300 turns the device into a digital camera and camcorder, with other selective addons available such as an FM radio remote control (which also enables radio recording) and a memory card reader.
The player was criticized for its low battery performance and lack of DRM playback facilities. The battery playback on the device is stated at 3 and a half hours when watching video or 10 hours when listening to music.
The AV400 ran the same software as AV300, the camera has been removed and a CompactFlash card slot has been built into the product directly. Image preview slides and DRM WMA support, as well as WMV access are also included.
The AV500 came just before the PMA400 was released; there was a name conflict within the models. The PMA400 was scheduled to be released as the AV500. Ultimately, the name went to a new model of Digital Video Recorder (DVR). The Archos AV500 is similar to the GMini 500, but it has extra facilities (video recording and the new AV Pod).
The AV700 was the turning point for Archos to change the way they sell these devices to the public. The previous slogan, "Think Smaller" was seen as inappropriate for the purpose, so they then changed it to "On The Go". In 2006, Archos developed the TV-Edition from the AV700, the AV700TV.
The PMA400 is a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) with a hard disk drive, audio and video playback, and recording capabilities. It was released on Thursday May 26, 2005, and weighs 280 g. The PMA400 was the most expensive within the line of products that they supplied.
Based on the Linux Qtopia Embedded operating system, the device is more like a miniature computer than a typical portable media player. The original firmware had some major bugs that are now being gradually fixed in an open source firmware by the openPMA project.
Though PVPs are their primary market, Archos has also released a number of different portable storage devices over the years. Their latests devices are the ArcDisk series from 2005
| Model | Capacity | Main features | Connection | AC Adapter | Weight | Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArcDisk | 20,40GB | USB 2.0 | No | 96g | May 17, 2005 | |
| ArcDisk 4 GB | 4GB | USB 2.0 | No | 40g | May 13, 2005 | |
| MiniHD | 20GB | Smallest and lightest 20GB storage drive at release | USB 2.0 | Optional | 180g | June 4, 2002 |
| QDisk | 40,60,80,100, 120,160,250GB | Uses laptop harddrive, comes in many sizes | USB 2.0 | Yes | 780g | Sept 17, 2002 |
| ArcFire Zip | 100,250MB | Uses Zip Disks | FireWire | No | 55g | Nov 9, 2000 |
| FireHD | 20,40GB | Hot swappable | FireWire | Yes | 750g | Oct 17, 2000 |
| ArcFlash | 128MB | One of the first flash drives | USB 1.1 | No | 14g | Sept 5, 2000 |
- ArcDisk 4 GB
A 4 Gigabyte portable USB disk drive, which provides data transfer to personal computers while on the move. The device plugs into the computer's USB socket and will be recognized as a "Mass Storage Device", enabling the user to transfer data to and from the unit and the computer.
The USB plug is retractable to the unit and neatly folds down to the disk to prevent protruding edges and possible damage. The device is Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh and Linux compatible, and is complete with a keyring attachment to ensure pure portability.
- ArcDisk
Featuring a choice of 2 capacities, 20 GB and 40 GB, (gigabyte), the fast USB 2.0 interface will provide quick transfers for documents, music, video and data. The unit does not require a power supply, and is fully compatible with Microsoft Windows®, Apple Macintosh® and Linux.
Due to the capacity and the size, this has been used mainly for laptop computers.
In May of 2007, American Airlines revealed plans of offering modified Archos 604 and 704s to first-class passengers for entertainment during their flight.
In July, Police officers in the UK were tested with the use of Archos PVPs equipped with the helmet-cam accessory to record videos to help with convictions.
In the summer of 2007 French-based Cinebank anounced plans of releasing a kiosk to harddrive rental service with Archos providing the 14GB drives. The Drive attaches to a Dock similar to those seen in Archos players and connects to a Video Display. The device was launched in France in December 10, 2007 with initial success. It is currently expected to move to other markets in 2008.
DISH Network Corporation, which owns 19% of Archos, sold Archos PVPs under the PocketDish brand. There are three versions, the AV700E (AV700), AV500 (AV500), and the AV402E (Gmini 402). All players are currently out of stock and a refresh to the current Generation players is rumored.
