Once again, Archoslounge had the great honor and privilege of being invited on Archos’ premises in Igny, near Paris. Here is the advantage of running a website that is entirely dedicated to a French compagny : rather than simply gathering the information from other websites, we can directly get involved in the hunt for news, exclusivities and little secrets around a good glass of brand... cup of tea.

Aim of the meeting : A simple post-summer-vacation summary, period during wich the news have been particularly intense. Pretty good omen, isn’t it ?

Subjects broached, at random :

Products

 The FM Remote, which I have unfortunately not been able to test yet, will allow the user to control the player (405, 605 ou 705), to receive and listen to FM radio and will feature a Dictaphone. No screen was implemented on the 5G version.
 The Helmet Camcorder will be exactly the same as its 4G version (which was the same as the 3G version...)
 The Battery Dock, whose test was rather critical to say the least, is probably to be improved through firmware upgrades. However, there are few chanced for its flaws to be completely solved.
 Archos is to progressively release new versions of the 605 : 20Gb, 40Gb, 120Gb... The aim for the manufacturer being to clear its hard-disk stock... However, these versions will probably be as thick as the 605H version (0.75’’ instead of 0.6’’ as the 605S)

Software

 The Widgets plug-in is to be released, according to plan, in the course of fall 2007.
 The impossiblity to downgrade with the lastest firmwares is said to be the consequence of previous versions’ instability. To prevent numerous useless hotline calls, Archos chose to forbid this possibility in case of majors upgrades...
 New firmwares, mostly bug fixes, are to be released soon.
 The possibility to disable zooming in Opera, particularly for Flash games, was taken into account by Archos. An additional piece of evidence that Archos staff now attentively follow the critics and suggestions that sprout in our forums. And the best is yet to come, since Archos developers are currently working on the compatibility of flash games with our dear PMPs ! (605 and 705 exclusively) All we can do now is believe them, until we eventually can judge this by ourselves !
 The price of the 405 will probably be reestimated around $150 by Christmas. The price that was originally suggested at last June’s conference.
 The compatibility with the latest versions of Flash is apparently to be implemented in the next firmwares. No date was scheduled however.
 A URL Copy/Paste function should be added in an upcoming firmware...
 Skype integration, though it was mentionned in a few official documents, doesn’t seem to be in Archos’ plans by now...

Trade

 5G sales seem to take a really nice start in the US. Let us hope this trend will keep going in the next results...
 About the ACP : being specific to each country, this portal directly depends on the content providers available in each country. Therefore, while the biggest countries will enjoy a comprehensive list of partners, the smallest ones (Switzerland, Belgium...) will probably have to content themselves with a much shorter list ! It will all depend of the choice of the different partners to be present in every country. (eg : Virgin may choose which countries will be able to access its portal)
 In terms of success of the ACP, Dailymotion seems to be Archos’ main asset. On the other hand, no information about the success of VOD offers. That is a shame since that this is what shareholders are mostly expecting.
 Apple’s massive purchase of hard-disks and Flash memory, especially during the release of new generation products, strongly affects availability and so does considerably increase the prices of these components for Archos.

Finally, as a paparazzi working for a celebrity magazine, I brought back to you some on-the-spot photographs, along with a quick preview of the upcoming products

Archos 105

Substitute for the 104, this portable player gave up the hard-disk technology for flash memory. We get a much thinner player, whose extra-lightweight clashes with the heavyness of its ancestors.

Along with its solidly-built though quite not glamorous look, the 105 has ideal dimensions for this type of mostly mp3-dedicated players. Nevertheless, the 105 features basic photo/video functions, way more similar to those of the iPod Nano than those of its 5G brothers of arms ; 405, 605 & 705.

I personally enjoyed the buttons, which benefit from good size and positionning, allowing easy access to the different functions of the device. The menu uses the same icons as the other 5G players (not animated though) and browses qite the same as that of the 104.

The quality of the screen did not strike me whatsoever. I wasn’t expecting much from such a small-sized and low-priced product anyway. It will prove useful to compare it with the competition by the time of the release. Obviously, comparing it with the screens of the 405, 605 or 705 would be sheer nonsense.

To sum up, the Archos 105 will certainly prove to be a very efficient player, though extremely sober, thus making it aim, even more than the 104, at customers that bear little interest in design, and who would not be seduced by the ultra-low-priced Asian products...

Prices are probably to be slightly cut down by Christmas, so that the player gains in competitivity. The amount of this cutting will certainly depend on the price of Flash Memory, strongly influenced by the current massive production of new generation iPods by Apple, causing general shortages in this kind of memory.

Archos TV+

Scheduled for the end of october, the TV+ has appeared, at last !

Currently in pre-production, Archos is finalizing the firmware before unleashing the beast onto the shelves.

The design is good news : sober and well-finished ; no visible screw or bolt dares hurting your sight. Except for the back side...

...where all the video outputs fight for their bit of vital space, especially the famous HDMI line out that Archos refused to implement on the DVR Staion 5G.

Everything else that matters seems to have been thought of. Let’s just hope that Archos will provide a comprehensive manual, so that Mrs Michu (Copyright Henri Crohas) can sort it all out by herself...

The TV+ is supported by four large bases, which probably allow heat evacuation under the device.

USB and Mini-USB socket are still present, on the side of the device.

The Archos TV+ technologically sounds like an attractive product. Indeed, it allows its owner not to depend too much on his internet provider for functions such as audio/photo/video playback on TV, TV recording, multiple connections and TV outputs, internet browsing...

The main issue is now to figure out how many people would find an interest in this product. The Apple TV, which was a less comprehensive device but which benefited from a strong marketing backup has until now still not been a success...

Conclusion

Generally speaking, this meeting was a chance for Archoslounge to submit to Archos a summary of the ideas, critics ans greetings that emerged on our forums. As a consequence, we keep recommending that you leave comments and feedbacks without hesitation. Archos staff read them and do the best they can to solve them.

Archoslounge only transmits the message...