Pros: Tons of space, useful variety of features, international plug adapters a great bonus.
Cons: Overly expensive accessories; user interface not exactly intuitive; HD lags from idle to spin.
The Bottom Line: Overall, this is an incredible, high-capacity music player with an impressive amount of extra features. Extremely versatile and useful in a deployed environment!
hzoi's Full Review: Archos Gmini 400 (20 GB) Digital Media Player
Since deploying to Kuwait, I have gained a new perspective on the intrinsic value of the Gmini 400. True, I got it with deployment in mind, but it wasn't until I left my lovely home station in Wiesbaden, Germany, and came over here that I truly realized how useful this device is.
Many things attracted me to the Gmini 400 over other MP3-type players -- mostly, the fact that this is so much more than an MP3 player. The color LCD is perfect for picture viewing. The 20 gigabyte hard drive is more than enough for me (especially since my laptop at home is only 20 gigs); I have dozens of CDs stored on it, plus a few hundred photos (I am an avid photographer), plus I use it for backup file storage for my case files (I am an attorney and therefore very dependent on having the right paperwork).
MUSIC: I am cheap, so I don't have third-party music playback software on my computer. I am also not allowed to use such software on a government computer. I am therefore dependent on Windows Media Player, and I really appreciate that this player supports WMA files. I do wish that it supported some other formats, such as Real Audio, but I have been able to convert RA files to MP3 files, so it all works out in the end. Audio playback works great for me (save for a slight hiccup from time to time when the idle hard drive spins back up -- see below). One of my favorite features is the player's ability to play random tracks from throughout my music library. I have over 1500 music files of varying types on my Gmini, and it is very interesting to see what random blends the Gmini can come up with as it skips from file to file in shuffle mode.
PHOTO: I can't say enough about the color LCD included with this player. I am an avid photographer, and I wanted to bring my pictures with me to Kuwait. For its size, the screen on the Gmini offers great detail, incredible contrast, and true color reproduction. Also, because my digital camera stores images onto Compact Flash cards, I find it infinitely useful that the folks at ARCHOS included a CF card slot on the Gmini. If I am apart from my laptop, I can still download from my CF card, or even just browse the card with more ease than my camera's operating system allows. You can of course browse and download anything else you want off a CF card -- this recently came in handy when our digital recorder went on the fritz and my paralegal had to transcribe digitally recorded testimony; I lent him my Gmini, he played the testimony back, and the day was saved.
I also really, really appreciate the fact that ARCHOS thought to include so many other little features on this machine. In addition to audio, video, games, photos, and general file storage, I also can use my Gmini as a digital audio recorder! If I wanted, for $40 I could get a remote/FM receiver/microphone accessory and do even more cool stuff with my Gmini. The folks at ARCHOS clearly put a lot of thought and work into designing the Gmini, and it shows -- this small device offers incredible versatility.
Having traveled quite a bit recently (Germany, Kuwait, Afghanistan), I really appreciate the effort ARCHOS put into making this product international. The user manual and programs aren't just in English, they are in a variety of languages (though, to save space, I would recommend deleting all manuals on the Gmini hard drive that aren't in the language you use). The AC adapter plug is an American plug, but the player charges off 120V/60hz (North America) or 240V/50hz (just about everywhere else) and it comes with plug adapters for round-style European plugs and 3-prong UK-style plugs. The video output is in both NTSC (the standard for US TV) and PAL (the standard just about everywhere else). These efforts by ARCHOS do not go unappreciated.
This is not a perfect machine, though. It does have its quirks. I have three main issues with the Gmini 400. First, the button interface is certainly far from intuitive at first. Although I have mastered it and feel very comfortable with its operation, every time I let someone use it, I have to walk them through its use. Second, the accessories for the Gmini are not exactly cheap; ARCHOS expects $20 for a cassette adapter (at most a $10 part at any Radio Shack), $30 for a car DC adapter plug, $30 for an extra power cord, $30 for an extra USB cable -- these seem a bit pricy to me. Finally, though it is essential for extended battery life that the hard drive not spin constantly, it can get annoying when the music playback stutters at the beginning of each new track because the HD isn't spinning up quickly. These are all little things that slightly detract from this product -- it's therefore very good, rather than perfect.
I cannot speak for the video playback capabilities of this machine, for I have not used them at all. Before I left, I attempted to play some MPEG videos on the player, but they were apparently not in the right format (I know very little about the intricacies of computer video formats, I will confess) and the converter software I used to try and make them playable on the GHmini didn't work. Your mileage may vary, but for my money, I don't need video on my Gmini; that's why God put a DVD drive on my laptop.
I also can't really speak for the gaming aspect of the Gmini, because I already have a Game Boy Advance SP and I didn't bother buying any of the games ARCHOS offers for sale from their website. I do think it's cool that this can play games, though -- just another great option ARCHOS included.
[Final note: Though it was not the fault of ARCHOS or their player, I did have one major problem with the Gmini for a time, specifically with the ArcLibrary. At first, I had no issues: I would upload music from Windows MediaPlayer, I'd unplug the USB cord, the ArcLibrary would update, and Bob was my uncle. Shortly before I left Germany, however, the system started locking up every time I tried updating the library, and the ArcLibrary I had already created no longer worked. I asked ARCHOS customer support, and they said I likely had a corrupted audio file. Until I found it, I had to browse for music as it appeared on the hard drive, and ultimately I had to start building playlists for every individual album just to listen to music in non-alphabetical order. The folks at ARCHOS were right on target, though -- when I tried making a playlist for Dire Strait's "Brothers in Arms," I found that the first two tracks were indeed corrupted, and when I deleted that folder and re-loaded it, all was back in working order. I add this just to recommend that users of this product use caution and ensure that your files are not corrupted before uploading 'em.]
hope this helps deployed soldiers and even you folks at home! -- CPT D
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 379.95 Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
Archos 500637 Gmini 400 20 GB Digital Audio/Video Jukebox Hard drive-based digital audio and video player and gaming device 20 GB hard drive stores up...More at Amazon Marketplace
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