Typical price: £310
What is it: Portable media centre with 102mm LCD and 30GB hard drive
What we think: The best Archos yet, this media player has a beautiful screen for video but an archaic control system
What you need to know
Reviewed on: 18 November 2005
Tags: archos technology, hard drive, high quality, media player
We like:
New sleek styling; brilliant screen; compact form factor; acts as a USB host
We don't like:
Unintuitive interface; low-quality video output
You might also need:
DivX movies
CNET.co.uk judgement:
The AV500 is a marked improvement over previous Archos efforts -- the experimental predecessors paying off with a truly desirable gadget. The screen is fantastic, the chassis is sleek and the features are plentiful -- only the interface disappoints on this gorgeous piece of modern gadgetry
Archos AV500 History
29 Nov 2005 in Crave
Archos Gmini 402 Camcorder: Stalker's delight
The Gmini 402 Camcorder is the iPod nano of Archos' media centre range. With a 20GB hard drive and an in-built camcorder, the gadget is endearingly small, but with a tiny screen and poor video, our first impressions were soon soured
15 Nov 2005 in Crave
The AV500 media player has a screen to match the PSP and a new silver chassis, but there's still that pesky interface...
26 Aug 2005 in Crave
Archos AV700: muggings guaranteed
The follow-up to the Archos AV400 is here -- DivX fans rejoice! The upgrade sees a massive jump in screen size and an even slinkier chassis. You certainly won't fit it in your pocket, but it's set to be one of the year's hot gadgets
1 Aug 2005 in Crave
We try out DivX 6.0 -- a video compression package that lets you fit a DVD movie onto one single CD. The latest version also has built-in menu support, allowing you to create a DVD-style front end for your videos
Latest user reviews
March 23, 2007
Posted by: Frank Skilbeck
"Perfect for me"
October 26, 2006
Posted by: Jeff Russell
"Pretty useless"
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