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Review of the Archos AV320 Cinemabox
An anonymous reader writes "MP3newswire.net just posted another of their lengthy reviews, this time on the Archos AV 320, a unit first mentioned on /. back in June. The company's second portable digital video/audio player, the new unit is a significant step up from the Archos Jukebox Multimedia with a much bigger and brighter screen and the ability to record DVDs and TV programs."
Why must companies continue to make multi-purpose products like this? When they do, it seems like they always use sub-standard components, and the whole thing ends up being low level versions of all of the different pieces that the product is comprised of. When someone needs a digital camera, they should buy a digital camera. They're cheap now, go get a good one. When someone needs a video camera, go get a video camera. They're small now, and a lot cheaper. Need a portable video monitor? If slightly over 3" is good enough for you, then be my guest and fork over the dough for this device.
I can hardly see any practicality in this device, and I'm VERY interested to find how many people that buy it that wouldn't have been better off with just a laptop for $200 more (yes, I understand a laptop is less portable).
Yeah, the geek in me would love to get this sweet little thing, but the business person in me knows better.
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Things I find relevant not mentioned in the review:
.avi files I've attempted to convert and it is invariably too much work to figure out why.
1) The display does indeed power down when you're listening to mp3's, but you have to power it back up to skip songs or even adjust volume. It's especially irritating in that you need to hit the relevant control once to wake it up, the second time to do what you're trying to do.
2) The ability to record from DVD is somewhat suspect- I've been putting Baby Einstein videos on there to have a portable version, and there's a certain DVD in my collection that has turned into garbage halfway through the recording process like 10 times. Not longer than the other ones that work, not identifiably any different at all, but still, it isn't recording. DRM issues or what, I couldn't tell you.
3) Ships without any kind of screen protector. Try getting this in the mail and _not_ carrying it around in your pocket or playing with it until you've had a chance to discover that no standard PDA screen thingy fits and you have to cut your own. Mine has small scratches on the screen from merely a couple of days of use.
4) The video file format conversion process is kind of haphazzard. Their program to convert has rejected numerous
I love this thing, but it's not without a few problems that went unmentioned in the review. As to those that can't believe someone would spend money on this, I say: it's fun and useful right now and it does enough that you'd be buying its future replacement for weight/dimension changes only. I'll enjoy mine while you wait for the weightless free version with infinite battery life and forward compatibility with dimensional warp generators.