Archos' Upgraded AV500 Jukebox Detailed

An anonymous reader writes "According to a piece on Mobilemag.com, the Archos AV500, newly shown at Cebit 2004 in Germany, will be the all-in-one answer to the clutter of handheld devices - this is a PVP [personal video player] and PDA combo handheld around the size of a Jornada with 20 or 40 gigs storage. Watch movies, read emails, connect your digital camera for backup, the list goes on.." The piece also notes: "Archos also added EPG (Electronic Programming Guide) technology, to allow you to control the AV500 with a remote control as a video player/recorder."

Comments

What's going on here?

[Mr. Certainly]

What's the world coming to? Why can't we simply limit ourselves to portable music? Must we *always* have 2.9 billion forms of electronic media at our fingertips in the ever rare chance that our natural surroundings ever become boring?

Re:What's going on here?

[lukewarmfusion]

I asked myself the same question (though probably in a different tone)... the device seems cool, but I have to wonder "why?"

Does anyone here see a future where every person has a PDA-type device, uses it for all kinds of communications, storage and features (entertainment)? I remember sci-fi stories that had these types of devices, but a lot of them were more like avatars or "digital companions."

With the slew of PDAs (I have an Axim) and "feature"-loaded cell phones, plus digital media players and whatnot... is this our future? All-in-one?

Re:What's going on here?

[cK-Gunslinger]

Oh, come on! Surely you see the sillyness of this argument. Let me provide you with some more:

What's the world coming to? Why can't we simply limit ourselves to horse-and-buggy transportation? Must we *always* have faster/cheaper forms of transportation at our fingertips in the ever rare chance that we need to get from point A to point B faster?

What's the world coming to? Why can't we simply limit ourselves to 3 network stations? Must we *always* have a large variety of television entertainment at our fingertips in the ever rare chance that we need to be entertained by more than our surroundings and mundane lives?

What's the world coming to? Why can't we simply limit ourselves to low earth orbit space travel? Must we *always* have better forms of transportation and exploration at our fingertips in the ever rare chance that our planet becomes boring?

Seriously, you saw this coming, right? Or HIBT?

Re:What's going on here?

[ryanwright]

Must we *always* have 2.9 billion forms of electronic media at our fingertips

Yes, we must.

On Friday, I bought a 40GB iPod. I wanted an MP3 player that would hold a huge collection of music, and this one fit the bill perfectly. However, it isn't everything I want in a device. I also carry a cellular phone around everywhere I go, and I've completely outgrown it's "life management" abilities. It's useless for email and almost useless for taking quick notes. The calendar is great and helps me manage my life, but it takes too damn long to input things on the fly.

So I want a PDA. Now I've got three devices to carry around. See the problem yet?

The ultimate device for me, and many other geeks, would be something about the size of an iPod, but the entire front is a color touchscreen, just like a PDA. Built in bluetooth, gsm cellular phone, 40-60GB hard drive. Wifi would be slick, too. Standard PDA operating system. Now integrate bluetooth into digital cameras and other devices, and I can beam content right into this sucker without buying expensive memory cards, carry cables, etc.

With current battery technology this sucker would last all of 2-3 hours, so it would have to be bigger than an iPod if you wanted to use it all day. If you made it as big as a palm and as thick as an iPod, I think you'd have a real winner here.

The AV500 looks like it is almost my dream device. They need to actually integrate the wifi, bluetooth, and GSM, rather than use add on cards, but it's close. I am excited about this device because it's going to prompt the creation of similar devices. In a few more years when I'm ready to retire my iPod, I should be able to get something like this at any electronics store.

So

[Pingular]

A device that does all the things you want, and some you don't, very poorly. Mabye I'm just being a bit cinicle, but I've seen to many devices such as this that haven't lived up to expectations.

Bah

[afidel]

Another 'PDA' with no battery life. For me the Palm III series will never be beat for PDA usage because it lasts up to six weeks on a set of good rechargables. My IIIxe has enough memory to fit a ton of programs, all of the appointments I could ever hope (dred) having, etc. I have used PocketPC's as portable computers (vertical app for my fathers business) but I would never champion them as a PDA. The need to recharge em every ~8 hours makes them impractical in that role IMHO.

Re:Bah

[!ucif3r]

Battery Life is a serious problem with all portable devices. Despite several pointless marketing campaigns by Energizer and Duracell there has been little if any inovation in chemical energy storage technology. Hopefully something new will come along soon, because these devices are using more power every year, not less.

Energon cubes perhaps?

the real ultimate device

[m_c_rose]

For this to be the ultimate handheld it would need cellular, gps, and WiFI. probably a couple other things too.

battery

[AnonymousCowheart]

Doesn't mention the battery life, but with the price of flash cards decreasing, it seems like all the things this can do could be done by a Palm Tungsten|E. I know there aren't 20gig MMC/SD cards yet, but something to consider. Again, depending on the battery life, I've heard palms don't come close to MP3 Players with regards to battery life.

Re:Hmm...

[harlows_monkeys]

Separate DVD player, MP3 player, PDA take up a hell of a lot more pocket space.

It's cool

[Anonymous Coward]

The upgraded Archos 500V is cool and all, but does it run Linux?

Can someone just ...

[rcastro0]

PDAs that Play MP3 and have digital cameras. Digital photo cameras that shoot video. Cell phones that have PDAs. MP3 players that play video. Laptops getting smaller -- sometimes loosing their keyboard (as tablets). Emulators, emulators, bringing the best from the past. Which you get for free as abandonware. Everything connected to high speed wireless data -- Bluetooth, 802.11g. Huge, enormous hard disks becoming ever so small. World becoming portable and inexpensive. Gadgets doing more and more and more for you.

Now, can someone please
COME UP WITH BETTER BATTERIES ???

And now I'm curious

[Nakito]

Last week there was a long Slashdot thread on the so-called "iPod Killer" proposed by Microsoft. That product was soundly critisized for missing the point -- the consensus among posters appeared to be that the product was too big and combined too many capabilities into one device, and thereby had lost the single-purpose elegance of the iPod. Now comes another product that appears to be conceptually similar to that Microsoft multi-purpose device. But this time it's being offered by a smaller company that a number of people like. I think it will be very interesting to compare the two threads. Was it just the words "iPod Killer" that prompted the strong opinions, or was it the underlying concept of a multi-purpose device?

Re:And now I'm curious

[Aero Leviathan]

Or was it the fact that one was made by Microsft?

And given that this is Slashdot, do I really even have to ask?

Re:And now I'm curious

[Gadzinka]

Was it just the words "iPod Killer" that prompted the strong opinions, or was it the underlying concept of a multi-purpose device?

It was neither.

It was the idea that overpiced, overblown, heavy as hell device that hardly fits even in oversized pockets could compete with slick, cheap, cute device that does one thing very well, weighs next to nothing and works three times longer on single charge.

Don't get me wrong, I am not ipod owner. I don't even consider buying ipod or ipod mini -- they don't support vorbis, which is large part of my collection.

But I'm sure I won't buy any heavy brick that's even bulkier than my current minidisc and lasts less than 10hrs on single charge.

Robert

Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why isn't this termed an "iPod killer"??

Closer to Fine

[unfortunateson]

I am of course concerned with battery life -- and the price -- but this could be my next PDA. I can't live without a PDA. But I'm getting tired of looking like Batman when I go hiking: GPS, PDA, phone, camera. One of the reasons I haven't bought an MP3 player is that it's one more barnacle on my hip or pocket.

If this puppy has a CF or SD slot, I can easily use it as my GPS. I don't see using it to replace my cam, but knowing that I don't need to get home to the laptop when it's full is a nice thing.

Now what someone needs to market is a WiFi casette so that audio can be received in my car.

Re:Hmm...

[X_Bones]

So a DVD Player is better at playing DVDs and video...
An MP3 player is better at playing MP3s...
A PDA is better at being a PDA...

And I am sure all of the above have a much longer battery life and are cheaper than this unit.

I really just don't see why anybody would buy this.

Um, besides the facts that there'd be two less devices to haul around to perform the same functions and that it'll probably be cheaper than a $250 MP3 player + a $500 video player + a $200 PDA? Sure, it's not gonna be the best you've ever owned, but I know a few people who would buy one device over several for these very reasons.

And nowhere in the article does it mention that the device will play DVDs, something which is impossible anyway; there's just no place to stuff a ~4.5"-diameter disc into a PDA form factor.

wait a few years

[Anonymous Coward]

fuel cells will be the answer.