Technically, it's memory, not a drive. There are no moving parts to it. And I think what you were referring to are reports that all the seperate parts of the new nano would cost $99, not the flash alone.
That's the thing that will make portable video players popular; being able to record tv shows, music videos etc and watch them later. Lots of people use trains, buses everyday to go places and that's where the video players come in handy. It's better to watch something than listen to music and stare at the window or other people the whole time. Also, as people are getting faster internet and bigger hard drives they are downloading a lot more video files on their pc's. They would like to transfer some of their favorite ones to portable players. Don't assume it's not going to be popular just because some other brands couldn't make it popular. Archos has the marketing budget of about $100. Apple will tell the teenagers it's cool and it will become that.
FWIW, Amazon.com has a $150 mail-in rebate on their Powerbooks. And no tax in most states. Bought mine from there last year, and it worked out very nicely.
It's a shame that a sweet machine like this isn't more popular. A year ago I bought their second generation video player that can record tv shows. I love it so much that I became a fan of the brand but even I would probably never heard of it if I didn't visit Newegg.com that night. Archos needs to show some guts and market thier products. Most people just don't know about them.
True. Technically the AV500 is just coming out this month. But some marketing would really, really help them out.
Here's why it's not more popular: 1) It's not pretty enough. 2) We don't know why we need it. Sure, it's very useful, but the fact is, untill the average person knows why he would need it, then he ain't gonna buy it. It's a gadget for the tech savvy. When I know I can buy a machine like this, take it home, plug it into my computer and start watching shows from legitimate, legal sources, I'm not gonna want it. iTunes changed the way the average person looked at downloading music. Moms and Dads knew it was perfectly fine to get songs and to let their children get songs without the uncertainty of it being legal or high quality or getting viruses or whatever. With iTunes, you know what you're getting. There is peace of mind. When there is a program like iTunes for video where I can not only get shows I may have missed with the blessing of the channels that originally aired them, but also the abillity to take my DVDs and very easily load them onto the computer for easy use, THEN you'll see these machines selling like hotcakes.
I doubt many will agree with you. Image is one area where Archos never had problem. Let me post some pics and you'll see what I mean. http://www.archos.com/products/overview/av400_interface.html (actual size, 20 gb) Recording from tv is very easy and perfectly legal. You can also easily record from dvd's to the player using TV Dock and sync them with your pc using the 'pc autosynch' feature. Couple of years ago their products may have been somewhat hard to understand and was tech-savvy but using their latest models are child's' play. That is why I strongly feel Archos need to market and educate the masses on what they can do with it, how easy it actually is to use and how much they are missing out without it. I have almost no doubt that the reason it is not popular is lack of advertising. As I've said before even I would not have heard of Archos if it wasn't for a fluke, let alone know how good their products are. If Apple had the same exact product video players would already be a big hit today. They know how to market their products.
Even the 3rd one? Gimme a break. It's the most beautiful mp3 player I've ever seen and I've seen hundreds. It is also not much bigger than the size on the pic and has a 20 gb hard drive. Maybe the 4th one does not belong there but I put it up just to show the size (it also has a 20 gb hd remind you) for those who eat up everything Apple says about how small their players are compared to others. Edit: One thing I'd like to add is people also often forget the beauty of actual screens on mp3 players when discussing how good a player looks. Here's a typical ipod screen when powered on: And here's a couple of Archos screenshots: Don't you just get wood looking at them?
I'm sure to you and the rest of the tech savvy in the crowd, that is pretty. But it's not for the average person. The iPod is pretty. People like having one cause it doesn't look like it's some ridiculous piece of machinery that you have to be a rocket scientist to operate. It's simple and cute. People like simple and cute. But recording from TV is not what's gonna sell that product to the average person. You are too into electronics to understand the value of simplicity and broad-sweeping approval. Yes, it's easy to record off of a TV witht eh cords and docking station provided. But that's not what needs to be done. We need one simple cord that hooks to the computer. When you plug it in, a page comes up and you choose what shows you want to download onto your machine and they're there without any commercials and with the network's blessing. The beauty of the iPod is that fact that it comes with all the stuff a person needs to have music that is high quality, legal, and safe. Never a worry. It doesn't matter what you say about how legal the process of recording off of live television is. The fact is, that's not what people want. They want a database to pick and choose from. Wrong. It's because the machine looks too dificult to operate. Provide the world with a pretty machine that has much less options and a connection to a database of shows andf movies that is simple and easy to understand, adn the product will sell. This is true. However, they also know how to make products people want to have. Sometimes it blows me away how computer guru type people can't grasp the fact that the vast majority of the people actually like things that they don't like AOL or IE. They like them because they are easy and because they use the products for simple operations. The vast majority of computer owners don't need Mozilla. They don't need things that computer people swear by and instead opt for the simpler things in life that are easier to operate and safe to use because they don't have to worry about fixing them if they have a problem. Likewise, the iPod is so endeared because it doesn't look intimidating. Go to any electronics store and look at the mp3 players. They all look menacing compared to the iPod. There's too many buttons and you're unsure of how to get music once you bring it home and they just don't want to bother learning the process.
If you can't understand why people would much much much rather prefer the first to the second and third, then you will never understand why the Archos isn't selling well.
When you think of perfect design, think of an old-school toaster. One slide to set the temperature and one button to press to toast the bread. That's what you need to aim for. Sachin
That's the one I find the ugliest, sorry. From the picture it just looks clunky to me. It could be tiny, but the way the screen is set it looks clunky. Now I think the iPod nano is the best looking one, but I will never buy one. It won't hold what I'm looking for.
This hit's it spot on. People are looking for simplicity. Tech geeks might like the archos screens, but the average person is looking for something that's not difficult to navigate and doesn't have a lot of things on the screen to confuse them. The great majority of people that buy mp3 players are not tech savvy.
I don't know about never. My friend had (IIRC) an old Archos Jukebox. We literally laughed at her for 30 minutes because it was like the robot out of Lost in Space - really cheesy looking and really clunky interface and screen. A red light would flash while it was thinking and finding music was like dealing with Hal. You felt like you were on the set of the old Star Trek when you were using them. Those new ones do look better, but I wonder if they are as easy and responsive and sound as good as Ipods.
I'm still shopping for mp3 player, and i've narrowed my search somewhat: cowon audio U2 creative zen nano plus samsung yepp mt6z --- am i on the wrong track???
--- all are 1GB flashdrive players the cowon audio u2 supports BBE they're miniscule little buggers. the samsung uses 1 AA battery for 40 hours. the other two get 20 hours out of a AA battery. the price point is about $135+ tax or shipping, take yer pick.
Well, clearly I've drank the Apple kool-aid, because I'd get a Shuffle. You don't get a display, but you can charge them on your computer at work and at home and don't need to deal with batteries. Is the sound quality as good as Apple?
--- not sure about that, but cnet rates these players highly. and, they have FM radio, which might be a plus in some cases. and they record voice and FM, not that i would ever want to record FM. the other thing is that i really like screens. call me wierd. no. don't.
Yeah, I like the screen, too. I have an iPod proper. I don't think I would like having to actually wait to hear a song and realize what it is before skipping it like I imagine you have to do with the shuffle. But I'm sure the shuffle is great for people that are putting a playlist together for like a jog or something and they know what's gonna play ahead of time. But I use my iPod almost exclusively with all my songs on it and just hit random. When a song ends, I look at the next song and decide if I'm gonna skip it or not. Plus, I like the little added benefit of being able to find a specific song if I need to hear it right now - or want someone else to hear it.
Yeah - I mainly use the Shuffle for exercise or short trips. Although lately I haven't used my big I-pod for much. I'm sure there are going to be times when I want a screen although it hasn't happened much lately - maybe just a phase. The nice thing about the Shuffle is that you can have both players and they integrate easily on your computer. But like I said, I've drank the koolaid and there's no going back.
Yeah, same here. I love my iPod and bought AFLette a mini earlier this year. I can't imagine not having them. Of course, I'm still a looooong way from ever buying an apple computer, though.