Archos Jukebox: Powerful Sound and Compact Style
Written: Feb 04 '03 (Updated Feb 04 '03)
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Pros: Great Sound, Lightweight, Durable, Easy USB Interface, Great Battery Life
Cons: On/Off Buttons, Included Carrying Case
The Bottom Line: I love this gadget. I don't go anywhere without it. I fall to sleep with it and I walk through airports with it. You need one.
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| smarterwebs's Full Review: Archos Jukebox Recorder 20GB MP3 Player |
The Archos Jukebox Recorder is everything that I hoped it would be. It is very compact with powerful sound. The included headphones are sub-par and should be replaced at your earliest possible convenience. Also, the supplied carrying case is less than satisfactory. The jukebox barely fits in the case and it is very difficult to reach in to change anything once it is in the case. However, some sort of case is necessary.
The on/off buttons are easily pushed if your jukebox is free to rattle around in your briefcase or computer bag. This can lead to rapid depletion of the internal rechargeable battery. As for the battery, I have been very pleased with the life it provides. I took a 7 hour road trip from my home and listened to the Jukebox the entire way. I think it would have easily lasted an additional hour.
Despite the negatives I mentioned above, the Jukebox is quite possibly the greatest piece of technological equipment I have ever owned. I followed some advice regarding the firmware and installed the Rockbox version. I never tried the Archos Firmware, so I don't have any basis for comparison. The Rockbox site has a very good comparison of the two. The only thing I did not appreciate was the inability to record from a mic with the Rockbox firmware, so I may be switching.
As far as general performance is concerned. I used a standard 1.1 USB connection and received about average results on the download to the Archos. I think this would speed up amazingly with a 2.0 connection. I am in the process of moving in that direction now. I installed over 3 GBs of music on my Jukebox in preparation for a military deployment. It automatically sorts alphabetically, so the music is easy to find. You can set the player to play randomly and then you can use the toggle buttons to skip or replay songs. This works great if you are in the mood for a certain song. Of course you can always stop the shuffle and select a particular song.
The sheer storage capacity of this device is overwhelming. You can also store data on the jukebox. I transferred some key web design files onto the jukebox as if it were my normal harddrive. This is a great feature for those on the go. Forget the thumb drives and external harddrives, this does it all. In fact, I am not even sure if I won't still try to return an external harddrive I bought for data backup due to the flexibility of my archos.
In short, I love this gadget. I don't go anywhere without it. I fall to sleep with it and I walk through airports with it. I feel sorry for all those who don't have one. Get one and join my small, but completely satisfied ranks. If I have my way, I will take it to war with me.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 189.99
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Epinions.com ID:
smarterwebs
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 1 member
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