Archos 605 WiFi - TechRadar UK

Portable media players (PMPs) have lost some of their allure of late.

Laptops are getting smaller, more manageable, and cheaper, while MP3 players adopted video as an extra medium some time ago. And the launch of the iPod Touch has also given dedicated PMPs a run for their money.

So how will PMP pioneer Archos combat this? By chucking everything and the kitchen sink at the problem, apparently.

The 605 WiFi, here in its 30GB guise (there's a 160GB version available too), has a 4.3in 16:9 touchscreen LCD display.

It's capable of playing files encoded with all the important video and audio codecs, and offers 802.11g wi-fi connectivity to jack into your network connection to stream locally-stored video or audio. There's even a rudimentary internet browser included, too. In all, a nice package.

Highs:

The 800 x 480 resolution screen offers super clarity. The touchscreen also allows you to scroll through media without having to use the rocker switches on the side. Menus are intuitive, and Adobe Flash support means you can use a variety of websites that a mobile phone, for example, can't. Battery life is an impressive five-and-a-half hours for video playback and 17 hours for video.

Lows:

The white plastic side buttons get grubby quickly, and it's not exactly a pocket-sized PMP. The contrast could be better.