Archos Gmini XS202 20GB MP3 player
Product Details | Customer Reviews | Manufacturer: Archos |
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 | Product Details: View further technical information at Amazon Release Date: 26 July 2005 Manufacturer: Archos Model No: 500704 Rating:  Sales Rank: 35349 | | Look for similar products by category: | | Customer Reviews: Great while it lasts! (16 March 2008)This was a gem - 1. it wasn't the ubiquitous ipod 2. It would fit in my pocket nicer than an ipod 3. I didn't have to use itunes (can you tell im not a big ipod fan?) it also had good sound quality and a decent battery life. It stopped working on christmas eve - a day short of 2 years since I'd got it (hard drive packed in). Now I fully appreciate that nothing lasts forever but I would have expected a little more use out of a piece of kit than that. My bf's 1st gen ipod still works (just) and so I'm afraid I'm gona have to succumb, join the masses and go for the ipod next! Excellent product (15 November 2007)Just thought I'd add to the praise for this mp3. I've had mine since March 2006 and although it's taken a few tumbles in that time it's still going strong. Also most people are amazed that it has a 20Gb drive in such a small unit. The manual could explain the playlist and editing features better but once I fathomed it out I rarely need to plug the archos into a USB (only to add stuff) I strongly recommend this mp3 Excellent Quality, Great Value (06 June 2007)The Archos Gmini XS 202 does exactly what it says on the tin, unlike many other MP3 players available, it concentrates on doing one thing, which it manages to do extremely well in my opinion. In short the best parts about the Archos Gmini are: > High quality make > Large amount of space > Easy to use > Great value for money I have owned my Gmini for well over a year now, which is far longer than previous MP3 players have lasted. Due to my clumsy nature some smaller players haven't even managed past a month without breaking, however the Gmini is made very well, and even with a couple dents (yes dents) in the shiny metal corners, it still manages to work just as well as when I first switched it on. The Gmini boasts 20 GB's of space which for its price is extremely good considering an Ipod for the same price tag will only give you around 8 GB, and aside from other MP3 players, it can work from being plugged in without any software needed, to transfer files, allowing it to not only work as an MP3 player, but as a general storage HD too. I personally haven't used the software provided as I prefer the drag and drop method through folders, from the Windows My Computer. Archos also provides updates to the Firmware of the system, which allows for bug fixes and new features to be added from simply downloading the new versions from the Archos website, pasting it into the MP3 player and selecting "Update" from the settings menu. Lastly the battery life is very good, although I have never personally counted the battery, in the time I have had it, it has never died on me or required me to recharge it before I'm ready to put it on charge at night. In short a brilliant MP3 player, which is overshadowed by greater advertisement, campaigns from competitors, and although it doesn't have all sorts of extra features, I don't see why it should. Should mine play its last song I would defiantly return for another. Great value, great player (07 November 2006)I've had my XS202 well over a year now and couldn't be happier with it. For its capacity, it's tiny, but is reassuringly weighty in the hand. No flimsy ipod this! I'm not even close to filling it up and I have an awful lot of tracks on there. As a Linux user, uploading tracks couldn't be easier - just plug it into the USB port and away you go. No need for Soundstage or iTunes, and if you're really feeling hardcore you can do it all using the command line. It's an extremely robust player - I have no cover on mine and it normally lives in my bag bumping around with all my other stuff. I've also dropped it from my pocket onto concrete paving; a trauma that most other mp3 players wouldn't survive. The sum total of 18 months damage to my player is a couple places where the silver topcoat has worn away a little and also some of the button markings have rubbed off. That's it. And okay, the earphones aren't the best ever - but does anyone really expect free earphones to be good? Grab a pair of Sennheisers and you'll be fine. Overall, an excellent player that I hope will be with me for years to come. And should it ever break, I'll be sure to buy the newer XS202s! Great value, Good quality (11 September 2006)This is a great value portable music player. Quality also feels good for something of this size, since it has a nice metal case rather than plastic. It is small, lightweight and has a large 20 Gbyte capacity using the built-in hard disk. Music seems to be cached to RAM when playing, so I didn't notice any skips or hops in use which used to be an issue with some hard disk based players. Another great feature is that operation is plug and play via USB, you don't need any special software installed. Instead, you can use your favourite music software such as MusicMatch Jukebox or even Windows Explorer to copy tracks from your PC to the player. As well as storing music, you can also store files to the unit for backup purposes or for transporting between computers. Music navigation is fine if you store your music in albums, you just use the joystick to navigate to the album then play all the music in that folder. If you want to find a particular track in a large folder, however, then the navigation may take a bit longer. Sound quality is good, but the included earphones are not the best (I could say the same of every portable music player I have ever used). Instead, I recommend Sony MDR-EX71 or Sennheiser MX500 (but don't be an iPod sheep, go for the black ones). Finally, battery life is excellent at about 15 hours plus between recharges. It doesn't lose charge when not being used either. Although not supported, the charger socket is the same size and voltage as a Nokia 'phone so if you have a Nokia you could reduce the number of charging leads you have to carry when travelling. You can also use a Nokia USB charger to charge from your PC or laptop. |
