Living with the Archos 604 wifi

I've now had the Archos 604 WiFi for about a week. Here are my observations:

Battery life: I've gone crazy with this thing, playing with the wifi and watching videos. While the battery performance is fine for a movie, I'm clearly not going to be able to watch several movies and do loads of heavy websurfing between charges. Also, the usb charging is slow, and you need to make sure you're using a fully powered USB port (some of those front-mounted ports on PCs don't deliver the power). On the other hand, I can swap batteries (try that on an iPod) if I want to buy an extra one, and the DVR station, which I'm tempted to buy, says it charges the unit quickly.

Carrying around: It's cool in New York this time of year, and I've got plenty of pockets to accommodate the archos. Still, it's big, and if I'm not planning on watching movies, I leave it at home and take my gmini 402 with me (which can watch all the same movies, if I'm in a pinch!). Still, I bought the 604 specifically for the gym and trips and it's been perfect for that.

Watching movies: I like to watch a movie or tv show while I'm doing some form of cardio (elliptical, arc trainer, etc.). While I used to be able to tolerate 25 minutes of such exercise, I now routinely spend an hour since that's also become my TV time. There are a bunch of shows I've gotten into this way (and which I never would have bothered with if not for tvrss, but that's a different story). While I used to have no trouble working out and watching shows on the gmini, it was awkward to control while moving about. The 604 touchscreen, in that respect, is a godsend. When I want to pause, I just tap the screen. When I want to timeshift, I just drag my finger on the screen, and even sweaty and off-balance I have no problem. The screen size, needless to say, is a massive improvement, and given the distance from my eyes, is much more watchable than the TVs mounted in the gym.

The Touchscreen: After reading post after post on digg and engadget about Apple's secret plans for a touch screen, I can now let out a satisfied "Yawn". In fact, with the Archos touchscreen, my last reason to covet an iPod (the clickwheel) is totally gone. When you timeshift a movie by dragging your finger across the screen, controlling it with to-the-second precision by simply rocking your fingertip, you'll understand. I do like the sidebuttons when I need precise, unambiguous control, since I do get more misses and errors on the touchscreen (though it's far and away more accurate for me than the iPod scrollwheel), but I could easily live without the buttons.


The DVR is calling: Archos has a DVR cradle for $100. It turns your 604 into a programmable DVR. It comes with a remote control and has its own IR emitter for controlling your cable box. I'm one of those people who can't get their mind around paying for tiVo every month (I never paid a monthly fee to use my VCR), so this looks like a great option, especially since I'll be able to grab my recorded shows and take them with me. I'm curious to see if the device can provide time-shifting the way a tivo can.