Can Archos stay on top of the pile?

Archos is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the PMP world and hopes to continue its fine form with this 30GB unit that counts a camcorder and 1.3 megapixel digital camera among its features.

It also sports a 3.5in LCD screen with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and the ability to display up to 16 million colours, but it's a shame Archos opted for 4:3 instead of the 16:9 aspect ratio.

Video playback includes MPEG4 (AVI) and WMV9, with other formats such as MPEG1/2 and H.264 requiring you to buy optional software plug-ins from the Archos website.

As for audio, MP3, WMA and WAV play as standard, with AAC and AC3 files needing the relevant plug-ins too.

There's lots more to tuck into elsewhere: JPEG and PDF viewers, MPEG4 recording from external sources using the optional DVR Station (which also lets you output video to your TV) and voice recording. Battery life is around 12 hours for music only, or 4 hours for video, a figure that halves the video playback time of the Iubi Blue.

But Archos steals a march with its stunning build quality. It's weighty and solid, but also hugely attractive, sporting a gorgeous gunmetal grey and silver finish. And despite bursting with features, it's still compact enough to slip into your pocket.

Because of the sheer number of features on board, it's perhaps understandable that the 404 seems more convoluted than its rivals. The icons dotted around the screen can be confusing, while its vertical button arrangement isn't as intuitive as a touchscreen operation.

But otherwise the onscreen displays are sensibly arranged and slick, with neat touches such as moving icons and user-defined desktop wallpaper.

True to form, video performance is of the highest order. An episode of Lost, ripped from a Sky box, looks vivid and striking, with the bright colours of the island reproduced forcefully with no noise to speak of. The ultra-dark blacks also lend pictures a pleasing sense of depth, while fine detail and patterns are crisply rendered.

But one minor complaint is the vertical viewing angle; watched head-on the screen loses brightness and we had to tilt it downwards to maximise the picture quality.

Camcorder footage captured at 640 x 480 is impressive, looking detailed, but a little smeary when it comes to movement. Digital photos that look passable on the 404's screen, lack the sharpness and vibrancy to make them stand out when transferred to a PC.

But there are no qualms with audio playback, which packs plenty of bass punch and top-end detail, provided you're using a decent set of headphones.

While we're blown away by the Archos's unique feature set, high build quality and pictures, the 4:3 screen and need to fork out for optional extras makes rival players better value for money.

Score

• 5 / 5

For

• Good pictures
• Impressive features
• Build quality

Against

• 4:3 screen
• Requires paid-for plug-ins

Verdict

Specification