Archos has taken some criticism for a few post purchase plug-in's that provide additional functionality at a cost per each. I look at this another way. Archos provided a base platform that is extremely well thought out and surpasses anything in it's class and they did so for under $340 ($329 Amazon). The base unit allows you to sync your Windows media library via Windows Media Player 11. You may also transfer the music and video by copy and paste as the Archos 605 displays as a removable Hard drive in My computer.

A feature of Windows Media Player called "Media Sharing" opens additional possibilities.  Share your media to your Archos device and you can connect to your PC and browse the file system, photos, video and music. Transfer larger video files to the Archos for viewing or stream Music from your PC to the Archos 605. The ability to this is a very handy feature.

The menu system is easy to navigate via the touch screen as well as the button panel located on the right of the unit. I found that I use a combination of both and navigating is very fast and effortless. The Archos has been  reviewed by many and all give it an average rating for battery life in comparison to other units. That is about 5.5 hours for video and 16 hours for audio. Lets put things into perspective, the Archos has a much larger, brighter and more vibrant screen then any other player on the market. It supports Wi-Fi and has up to a 160 GB hard drive. That said, the battery life gets a A+ from me as it no doubt has greater power requirements to meet then the other products. Out of the box the 605 supports MP3 and WMA up to 320 Kbps. Video formats supported are AVI (up to DVD Quality), DivX and WMV. With the purchase of the 2 additional plugins it will support MPEG-2/Vob and Podcast H.264. In my case these will never be purchased as I have no requirement to view these formats. The screen is a anti smudge, anti glare 4.3" 16 Million color TFT that provides brilliant video viewing.

A few more add-on's worth mentioning are the DVR travel dock, DVR station and Helmet Cam. I'll start with the DVR station. Purchase this at $79-$99 and of course the $29 plug-in and you now have a full blown DVD quality DVR. Schedule and record all your favorite movies or TV shows from the Guide and the 605 will record them. Play back can be done through the DVR station to any TV or on the 605's Screen. There is an optional remote that has a nice sized keyboard and mouse feature built in for only $15. The Travel dock provides the very same play back functionality for around $70, but does not allow for DVR recording. There is an optional Helmet Cam add-on available for just over $149 and it includes the travel dock. Video and sound quality are good but fall short of DVD quality as it's only 420 lines VS. 720. The video taken with the Helmet Cam will not look good but not like DVD quality on larger TV's. That said it's still a great add-on. Last but not least the AC wall rapid charger. The 605 ships with a proprietary USB cable used to sync and charge. For those of you who have used USB to charge electronics the rate of charge is very slow in comparison to a AC wall or 12 volt car charger. Amazon has the rapid charger for under $20.

DVR Station	Remote Control	Travel DVR Dock	Helmet Cam (SONY)

Ok I have pummeled you with allot of features but how can this device help you out on the road? Here are a few examples.

• If your staying over night in a hotel with TV you have the opportunity to watch DVD quality movies or listen to music. If the hotel has Wi-Fi you can browse the web, check email etc.
   
• If your staying in a campground or hotel without TV the built in screen is large and vibrant enough to enjoy watching up to 5.5 hours of movies before you deplete the battery. That is 5.5 hours without eye strain!
   
• Stop in at most Starbucks or any Wi-Fi hotspot along the way and you can browse the web, check email etc. In my area even the Safeway's have installed Wi-Fi hotspots. Most hotel chains have done so as well.
   
• Listen to music as you ride the open roads. Create play lists that play the entire day. You will never be without music as will happen with satelite radio when you lose line of site of the satelites.
   
• Attach the helmet cam and record your rides through our wonderful state. 

Technical Specs - Also See the Official Archos Web Site

Capacity: 4GB* Flash memory stores up to 5 Movies, 40,000 photos or 2,000 songs3 - SD Card slot for additional memory up to 16 GB (SD, mini SD, micro SD) 30GB* hard drive stores up to 40 Movies, 300,000 photos or 15,000 songs3 80GB* hard drive stores up to 100 Movies, 800,000 photos or 45,000 songs3 160GB* hard drive stores up to 200 Movies, 1 million photos or 95,000 songs3 Display: High resolution screen, 800x480 pixels, 4.3'' TFT LCD, 16 million colors Touch screen  Video playback**: MPEG-4(4)(ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution) WMV(MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) With optional software plug-ins (available for purchase on www.archos.com): - Video Podcast plug-in: H.264 up to DVD resolution and AAC - Cinema Plug-in: MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound (5.1) Audio playback**: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR and VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WAV (PCM/ADPCM) With optional software plug-ins (available on www.archos.com): -AAC(4) stereo audio files -AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files Photo viewer***: JPEG, BMP, PNG PDF Viewer: Reads PDF documents (may not implement all PDF features) Video Recording6: Via the optional DVR Station/ DVR Travel Adapter. Records NTSC/PAL/SECAM in MPEG-4 AVI format with stereo sound, VGA resolution (640 x 480) @ 30 or 25 f/s Audio Recording: Via the optional DVR Station/ DVR Travel Adapter: Stereo line-in, WAV (IMA ADPCM or PCM) format Interfaces: USB 2.0 High-Speed Device (compatible USB 1.1): Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Media Transport Protocol (MTP) USB 2.0 Host: Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) with optional Mini Dock, Battery Dock and DVR stations Connections: WiFi (802.11g) connection. Optional Internet plug-in (Opera Web browser and Adobe Flash Player) for Web browsing (for purchase on www.archos.com) 3.5 mm mini jack for headphones Docking connectors to connect DVR Station and other ARCHOS accessories Battery life: Music playback time: 177 Video playback time: 5.57 Speakers: Two built-in speakers Power source: Internal: Lithium-Ion Polymer battery Device charges via computer USB port External: Power adapter/charger (via optional accessories) Scalability: Device automatically downloads latest firmware updates Dimensions and Weight : Avg 122 x 82 x 15 mm/4.8 x 3.2 x 0.6 (For 4/30GB* models); 150gr/190gr Avg 122 x 82 x 20 mm/4.8 x 3.2 x 0.75 (For 80/160GB* models); 260gr Package includes: ARCHOS 605 WiFi, headphones, ARCHOS USB cable, DVR Station Gen 5 adapter, protective pouch, Quick Start Guide (QSG), legal and safety notice.

*1GB= 1 billion bytes; actual formatted capacity is less. ** Certain bitrates, resolutions, and/or file variations may not be compatible. ***Certain resolutions and file sizes may not be compatible. 1/With the optional DVR Station, DVR Travel Adapter or Mini Dock 2/ With the downloadable optional Web browser plug-in (Opera browser/Adobe Flash) on the web site or directly on the ARCHOS Content Portal on the device 3/ On average; based on 3.5 mins/song; 64 kbits/s WMA, on 1000 kbits/s MPEG-4 audio/video encoding and 1h30/movie (for near DVD Quality), on JPEG, VGA. 4/ (MPEG-4:ISO standard Moving Picture Experts Group ; AVI: audio/video file container by Microsoft) without GMC and Quarter Pixel and WMV (including protected WMV). 5/ Does not read AAC protected files 6/ External video output disabled for Macrovision protected contents 7/ Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings