Archos working on SIM card-equipped players?

There's not a whole lot to go on here, but according to France's Challenges magazine, Archos is set to further expand its linup-up of players next year with some new SIM card-equipped models. While there's no indication that the devices will actually double as a phone, you will apparently be able to at least get in some 3G-enhanced web browsing, which would certainly be more convenient (albeit pricier) than tracking down WiFi hotspots each time you're out and about. Also according to Challenges, it seems that both France's SFR and Neuf-Cegetel are "starting to look very closely" at Archos' gear, although that's obviously still as up in the air as the rumored device itself.

[Via Archos Lounge, thanks JohnBe]

[hn333 @ Nov 14th 2007 5:20PM]

But it will never be as good as a iPod.

[thethirdmoose @ Nov 14th 2007 6:05PM]

But an iPod will never play XviD files, now will it?

[hn333 @ Nov 14th 2007 6:10PM]

I was making a joke about how much engadget loves Apple. I don't even own a mp3 player.

[Constable Odo @ Nov 14th 2007 6:48PM]

You say you don't even own an mp3 player, but you're probably a closet Apple fanboy.

The iPod will never support XviD/DivX. Supposedly h.264 is superior to both of them. In theory, Perian could probably be written for use on the iPod to play both formats, but that's just a pipe dream.

[hn333 @ Nov 14th 2007 9:02PM]

I run XP, I'm to cheap to buy a mac. Get a life, it was a joke.

[Kasi Viswanath @ Nov 14th 2007 5:21PM]

A slot for the SIM card is definitely a welcoming idea for the web-capable PMP's.

Btw, any word on the Cowon A3 which was supposed (as per Engadget) to release today on Nov 14th?

[Rob Fleming @ Nov 14th 2007 5:25PM]

Their is zero innovation at Archos. Their build quality is poor. The battery life sucks. It feels 'cheap chinese' at best. They are currently (in the '5') series, and doing nothing more than using old designs and the touch interface was never meant to be used on that layout.

It is a middle school effort at best. Pickup an iPhone or a Zune, thats how u design a media player.

[dwaede @ Nov 14th 2007 6:16PM]

Wow, the fan boys have come out of the works. Obviously the last Archos product you held was the jukebox series.

The battery life is great. I have the 604 and I never have trouble with the battery. About 5 hours battery on a 4.3" screen? Far more time with music. How is that bad, the tiny screen on the ipod classic lasts the same amount of time on video. How is it such a small screen can't outlast a screen nearly twice the size.


The new line from Archos feels far more solid than the ipod touch. I would be afraid of cracking the screen on that little thing.

The touch interface is laid out logically and works great. You don't need little tricks to zoom in and navigate as the resolution and sheer size of the display is so much better than anything Apple has ever produced.

Why is it the fanboys are the only people who have trouble recognizing a superior product? Three years ago having video on an mp3 player was stupid, then apple did it and its cool. Last year having a touchscreen on an mp3 player was stupid, then apple did it and its cool. This year having wireless streaming video, dvr functions, flash video playback, and more is stupid; I guess when the new ipod does everything the Archos can already do, those things will be cool too.

[mushrooshi @ Nov 14th 2007 7:53PM]

Truth be told apple will likely be on the top of the market.

I am a fan of apple, but I am not an annoying fanboy unless someone goes out and says without explaining "OMG APPLE SUX".

Anyways, the reasons are:

The iPod has a huge market share
The iPod already has it's place in Pop-Culture
The iPod is the most popular, and therefore it is the "cool" thing to go with.

If the Zune came before the iPod, it too would have the marketshare.

This PMP looks pretty good. I wouldn't get it though because I am very bad with screens (I accidently crack alot).

[EvanG @ Nov 14th 2007 7:57PM]

As an iPhone owner I would commit several unsavory acts to get a 605 wifi...especially one with a SIM slot on a device with a flash enabled browser.

:(

[tekdroid @ Nov 14th 2007 8:43PM]

Rob Fleming @ Nov 14th 2007 5:25PM

Their is zero innovation at Archos. Their build quality is poor. The battery life sucks. It feels 'cheap chinese' at best.
---------
Which model are you talking about? I dunno if zero innovation would be accurate, they seem to be doing some things others aren't. I can't say anything about their quality, tho. I have never used their products.

What I've found strange about Archos is their lack of support for FLAC and Ogg Vorbis. Cowon's A2 and many others already do that, without claiming themselves as being the most advanced PMP, which Archos does here:
http://www.archos.com/products/gen_5/index.html?country=global&lang=en

...which is made all the more odd since they have a 'plug-in' system but don't play any open formats:
http://www.archos.com/products/plugins/index.html?country=global&lang=en

[dwaede @ Nov 15th 2007 2:29PM]

Personally I think when you make a product that is more advanced than anything else in the world, you are allowed to call it the most advanced pmp ever.

The cowon has the archos beat on 2 formats and an fm tuner.

The Archos has the cowon beat on a touchscreen, wifi, flash video player, bigger screen, higher resolution, cable guide for recording shows on the dvr, HD size up to 160GB, pdf viewer, download service to download directly to your pmp and start playing after a few seconds buffering, supports widgets.

The fact that noone else in the world can do all that stuff makes it the most advanced pmp.

[TDG01 @ Nov 14th 2007 5:42PM]

i have an older archos, AV500, that I picked up from woot a while back...nice device, great screen and great for movies...

the interface for music control, playlists, etc...is completely frustrating for me...i avoid using it for that at all costs...

sound quality...sub par to even ipods...and i don't think ipods sound great...

maybe their '5' series has a better interface...with the touch screen and all

[Bobs @ Nov 15th 2007 5:19AM]

I disagree, i own the AV500 30gb model, and i used to own an iPod 5th gen (was a gift). The sound quality totally sucks ass on the headphones they came with, and they broke after a few weeks, but if you get come nice headphones, like earmuff style headphones, the sound quality is as good if not better than the iPod. as for the UI, it takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, its actually pretty good, just dont use the browser style search and instead use the artist or albumb views

[Rverriotto @ Nov 14th 2007 7:43PM]

I have an Archos 604 as well and I honestly could not be happier with it. True, it is not perfect but of all of the choices out there I found this to be the right choice for me and I would not hesitate to buy another similar Archos product.

Some issues of note:
- As stated above, 4.5 hours of video playback on a single charge. About 10 hours music with screen power management.
- I have no issues with sound quality if the video and audio files are processed right (and I use this device at my desk with powered speakers and in my car's audio system. You have to use a decent bitrate for compressed files)
- In my opinion, thsi device is not for those unfamiliar with audio/video file processing. In other words, expect to learn Divx/Xvid video processing and DVD ripping (unless you really want to pay extra for a codec pack from archos to watch VOBs from DVDs or listen to Downsampled AC3 audio over a stereo connection)

I am skipping the 605 series for now because I really see no vaule-add in wi-fi but cellular/radio data at anything at or above UMTS would really interest me. I would upgrade for that. Bring on the SIM card!

[Bobs @ Nov 15th 2007 5:21AM]

A SIM card would be awesome, I agree, as some cell providers around here provide unlimited data plans, but like 15 free minutes. Didnt they release the source code or at least a large chunk of it for the 04 serries operating systems? If so, i wonder if anyone has made a SIP phone for it

[MJZimmer88 @ Nov 14th 2007 8:10PM]

Why doesn't some hacker (or some regular programmer working wtih a hacked iPhone/iPod touch) find a way to add an xVid compatible player to the iphone? Hell, they can make it through Safari once the SDK is out, just having it access the video files on the phone. Also, why are they still selling CDs if you can just carry around an album on a SIM card instead? It would make for MUCH more efficient storage of songs. eh?

[AndrewNeo @ Nov 15th 2007 1:09AM]

You don't seem to understand how programming (or closed hardware, like the iPhone and most other retail devices) works.
In short, the 5+G iPods and the iPhone have a chip inside that decodes the h264 because its processor can't handle it. It's not going to magically work for other video formats, and even if it did have MPEG4 support (a different type of decoder), putting in software for it would be a lot harder than just using copy, paste, and glue with some other existing XviD or DivX codec.

On another note, many methods of small storage other than (not even a mass storage medium) SIM cards have been out for a while. They'll never start selling albums on them unless you can get them to give up DRM, even though CDs don't do any good anyway.

[Bobs @ Nov 15th 2007 5:24AM]

Yeah, they have a decoder chip to handle the um, deocding of the file. some files, like .oog can be played without a chip i think by emulation, or something. The AV500 was closed like the iPod, but after they found a video that crashed it, they somehow found a way to force it to boot thier linux like operating system. The new OS is capable of playing .oog while the OS that came on the archos to begin with didnt play .oog at all.

[danny @ Nov 14th 2007 10:34PM]

I'd love to see Android running on a big ol' touch screen like that.

As for Archos not being innovative, and correct me if I am wrong, but were they not the original company to place WiFi in a DAP/PVP?

Just a thought.

-D
http://www.androidboards.com

[Bobs @ Nov 15th 2007 5:25AM]

Forgot DVR

[dwaede @ Nov 15th 2007 2:24PM]

Actually they were the first company to place a harddrive in an mp3 player. They were the first to make a portable mp4 player. First to 100GB mp3 player. First harddrive mp3 recorder.

I guess those don't constitute innovative.

You can see some more here http://www.archos.com/corporate/company/milestones.html?country=global&lang=en