Did archos make an iPod killer?

[slackerinabox]

I was about to buy a 20 gb iPod when I saw a cnet article about the Gmini xs200. Smaller than an iPod, about the size of an iPod mini and only $250! I'll be waiting for reviews of this before buying my next mp3 player.

http://www.archos.com/products...rview/gmini_xs200.html

 

[Quasmo]

this looks pretty fricken sweet.

 

[brigden]

I'm highly suceptible to slick marketing and advertising. I generally buy the electronics with the flashiest websites and best design. That's why my house is full of Sony.

 

[imported_Phil]

Looks difficult to use in terms of ergonomics from here.

 

[Siva]

nothing will beat the ipod without an incredible marketing campagin

 

[Martin]

looks quite nice. post a review when you see one.

 

[slipONflange]

Looks awesome would like to know more about it. I like that you can store anything you want one it.

 

[randomlinh]

i don't like the interface already.. heh. and it's thicker than the mini.. but hell.. it's 20GBs... it'd be interesting, but after my friends archos died thrice (early model tho), i dunno.

 

[Kelvrick]

It would be great if it was touchscreen.

 

[Aquaman]

My friend has a g-mini 220......... he loves it.

I want to get a g-mini 400 or 420

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Gurck]

Every DAP maker other than Apple makes an iPod killer. It's not a big deal.

 

[Antoneo]

Originally posted by: Gurck
Every DAP maker other than Apple makes an iPod killer. It's not a big deal.

Unfailing!

I don't like the design, looks rather cheap. And if experience is worth anything, that outer shell better not be plastic else you'll almost be sure to have color wear/fade on the case through use. Anyone else not like the brand "Archos"? Reminds me of one of their older products (jukebox?) with a huge honking "plastic case over a hard drive" product that I regularly saw in on a yahoo shopping site. So yeah, they'll need a massive advertising campaign to outsell the ipod but I don't think they're aiming to do that.

 

[spunkz]

i would prefer thin over plain small. this pic makes it look like its gonna be a pain to look for a song

 

[slackerinabox]

I agree that it's too thick to compete with the mini - I'd be getting it instead of the iPod 20gig version.... Though I don't think it'll compete with the ipod in the ease of use department - you guys are right, the interface looks clunky. I had 2 archos jukeboxes and they were just so horribly built - let's hope they got it right this time.

 

[Wahsapa]

Originally posted by: Siva
nothing will beat the ipod without an incredible marketing campagin

and UI

 

[notfred]

Everything Archos has ever made has been crap, in my experience.

 

[PoPPeR]

i don't think anything can kill an ipod period unless the ipod screws up horribly somehow. The word ipod is synonymous with "mp3 player". Ask 90% of the people on the street and they can't name another player. Some people i've talked to don't even realize there are other hard drive mp3 players

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: PoPPeR
i don't think anything can kill an ipod period unless the ipod screws up horribly somehow.

I personally think the next ipod, if rumors are true... w/ the color screen and jpg ability... seems like somewhat of a mistake. It's usefulness is very limited. And I fear for the battery life. I just noticed on my mini, lossless really sucks the battery dry. But... it will probalby still sell because of the ipod name, and the color screen will be enough of a gimmick to buy it.

 

[Mo0o]

Looks pretty good, but unless it has the advertising budget that ipod has, it's never going to beat it.

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: lnguyen

Originally posted by: PoPPeR
i don't think anything can kill an ipod period unless the ipod screws up horribly somehow.

I personally think the next ipod, if rumors are true... w/ the color screen and jpg ability... seems like somewhat of a mistake. It's usefulness is very limited. And I fear for the battery life. I just noticed on my mini, lossless really sucks the battery dry. But... it will probalby still sell because of the ipod name, and the color screen will be enough of a gimmick to buy it.

Archos Gmini 400 series has a colour screen

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[TerryMathews]

Archos couldn't write a good firmware/UI to save their life. And they've moved away from the Jukebox-style platform, so no hopes of a Rockbox replacement firmware/UI.

I like my iPod, but even setting that aside, as the owner of a Jukebox Recorder 20, I wouldn't recommend an Archos product to any human being. And don't even get me started on their tech support.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Archos = CRAP. There are a lot of competitors I'd take anyday over the Archos.

 

[BespinReactorShaft]

:thumbsdown:

Green LCD backlights sux0rs.

 

[0roo0roo]

looks cheap

 

[Night201]

No.