Review Corner

Review: Archos 7 Internet Media Tablet (IMT)

By sheese - January 19, 2009 - 23:33 e

The Archos 7 Internet Media Tablet is the latest in a long line of very successful portable media players from Archos. It allows you to load it up with all types of Media content and enjoy it with you on the go. It can play files in various formats and easily accommodates movies, pictures, music and other documents in other formats like PDF. It relies on an internal hard drive for the storage of these files and is available in both 160gb and 320gb capacities. Either of these models will give you hours of enjoyment and allow you to store a lot of your media content. It displays all of this on a gorgeous 7” TFT LCD (diagonal screen) that has a very respectable 800 X 480 resolution and is capable of displaying 11 million colors. This means that anything you watch on the player will be DVD quality. Another nice feature is its removable battery. This enables you to bring a spare for those really long trips.

What really separates this generation of products from previous models that Archos has released is the fact that they have really spent a lot of time getting the connection this player makes to the web easier and more similar to what users are expecting from their home computers. Both of these models comes equipped with the ability to connect to the internet over a Wifi connection, and allow you to download content directly from Archos, or one of their ever expanding partnerships with content providers. You can simply connect to the web over Wifi, search the available content and click to download it directly to the Archos 7 player. Once this download completes, you are ready to enjoy your movie anytime you choose on the player. Another great place to get content to watch on the player is from an online service like Amazon Unbox™. This service allows you to purchase and download (to rent or own) full length movies and TV shows that can easily be transferred to this player for viewing. One last feature of this player that really makes it amazing is its ability to stream content from you network over a Wifi link to play on the Archos. This means if a computer anywhere on your home network has a file that you want to watch, you can share it on the computer and watch it on the Archos 7. And if you add a DVR docking station to your big screen TV, you can drop the Archos 7 into the dock, and stream this content to the TV for the whole family to enjoy.

To extend the basic functionality of the player, Archos makes certain Plug-ins available to further enhance the unit. These Plug-ins are software widgets that you can purchase and download from the Archos website that unlock certain advanced features on the unit. The first two Plug-ins are the Web Browser and the WebTV & Radio Plug-in. These are technically free, but you have to register the unit with Archos to be able to download them. The Web browser Plug-in enables a full web browser on the unit and allows you to visit your favorite websites over a standard Wifi connection. This browser is based on the Opera™ standard and because of the wide screen of the Archos 7 most web pages are displayed completely just like on your home computer. This browser also supports Flash video making it a richer web experience for those of you hooked on sites like YouTube™ or DailyMotion™. The WebTV & Radio Plug-in will allow you to receive close to 1000 web channels, 10,000 radio stations, and over 100,000 podcasts™ on your player. It also includes a very easy to use search feature so you can zero in on exactly the content you are looking for.

There are a host of accessories available for the Archos 7 player as well that allow you to expand its connectivity and functionality. Archos offers four docking solutions for the player depending on your intended connections. The first is their DVR Docking Station that allows you to sit the player directly in the dock and connect to your TV set for viewing of your content through standard video connections, S-video, or HDMI if you set is equipped for this. The DVR station also allows you to connect other video input sources to the player for recording through similar connections so that you can add content to the player by recording from a DVD player for example. It comes with a free year of subscription to a TV program guide service so you can even program the player to start recording at a particular time and channel just like a Tivo, only portable. The player is charged when it is sitting in the DVR Docking Station. Another choice for a dock is the DVR Snap-on adapter which allows you to connect a variety of video and audio sources to the player for ease of recording content as well as charge the player. This adapter does not have any output connections and is used primarily to record to the player. The Mini Dock is another great option for connection and this dock will allow you to connect the player to your TV quickly as well as providing a USB connection to either connect the player to your computer to act as a storage device (device mode), or connect to a USB memory stick or camera to transfer content to the player (host mode). The last docking adapter for the player is the Battery Dock and this will allow you to extend the playing time of the Archos 7 because it contains an additional battery. This is great for those long plane flights or car trips where you need a little extra entertainment. This adapter also has an S-video connection that allows you to connect the player to your TV as well as the USB connection described above and gives you those same options for transferring content. Another cool accessory for the Archos 7 is the Helmet Cam. This is a high resolution mini camera that you can connect to the Archos 7 and record high quality video directly to the player. You can use this for any activity you might want to have a record of and is very durable and easy to use. The camera is about the size of a roll of mints and connects to the player through a long cable that includes a microphone and a remote control to make it easy to use. It also comes equipped with a headband so you can easily attach it for activities like bike riding or rock climbing. The last accessories available for the Archos 7 is the FM Radio Remote. This add-on will allow you to listen to standard FM radio on the player as well as record these songs directly to the player for enjoying later. And if you in the mood to sing along, you can record this as well with the built in microphone.

As you can see, Archos has really thought through the whole portable media experience and has designed the Archos 7 player to make this experience as enjoyable as possible. They also have years of experience designing portable media players and the Archos 7 represents the culmination of all of their experience in previous models. It is both easy to use and beautiful to look at and with the wide universe of available accessories, allows you to customize the player for almost any situation. Considering all of the additional ways you can either capture, purchase, or convert content to enjoy on the player, it seems they have really raised the bar in the portable media player market. Right now this player seems to be leading the pack in this ever expanding segment of consumer electronics.

For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Archos 7 Internet Media Tablet