For Christmas, my wonderful wife bought me the Archos 605 wifi. I told her that I needed something like the iPod touch but I did not want to pay over $300 for 4 gig of space. My 30 gig Creative Zen player is still ticking and has been very good to me, however I needed something that could get me online as I am out and about. Video is a neat feature, but wifi access was my greatest need.
The good: This device is similar to the iPod Touch. While the menus are much sleeker with the iPod Touch, the Archos 605 sports many of the same features. My favorite features are: larger screen than the iPod, web browsing, the ability to connect to my home sever and transfer files to and from the device. Also, as I am able to save Youtube videos via my computer, I can transfer them to the device and play them as a file (also works with many other video-on-demand sites). Another feature I like, but do not plan to use anytime soon is the ability to save television programs directly from a Dish Network receiver. You can also hook it up to your television to view your stored movis or photos (another upgrade $$). Click here for the other features.
The bad: You have to pay $30 outside of the price of the unit to get the browser. Thankfully, I knew this before buying this unit, otherwise I would have been pissed. Still, the extra $30 put me right at $300 for 30 gig of space (compared to $297 for the 8 gig version of the iPod Touch). Another thing I did not like is that it does not come with a wall charger. The only way to charge it out of the box is via the provided USB cable. Unless you plan on leaving your PC on for 10 plus hours for a full charge, this can really suck. Fortunately, I was able to find my solution on a few European websites. Thanks to these sites, I was able to locate a USB wall charger that works just as fine. Now, I do not have to be tied to a computer to charge it every time (kinda defeats the purpose).
Bottom line: Despite the fact that it is not as slick as the iPod Touch, the Archos 605 wifi does the job for me. If you are in the market for a new media player with internet access, you might want to check out this great alternative to the iPod Touch.
Related: Apple iPod Touch vs. Archos 605 WiFi (cnet.com)
