SAN FRANCISCO mdash; If Apple's iPod is the nicely tuned Porsche of portable media players and Microsoft's Zune is the Jetta, then a new Wi-Fi-enabled unit from Archos is the Hummer, a brutish performer with all the tools to navigate the rugged terrain of technology needs on the go. The hand-held Archos 604-WiFi ($450) plays a variety of audio and video formats and networks nicely with the home PC. With an add-on digital-video-recorder docking station ($100 when purchased with the 604-WiFi), the Archos records your favorite TV shows so you can enjoy them later in the living room or on the road.
I took a loaner Archos unit for a test run, and found it whip-smart. Keeping up with the abilities of the unit is the real challenge. The player has a nice brushed-metal exterior and a hardy 4.
3-inch touch-sensitive color screen that was resistant to fingerprints. Weighing in a little over 10 ounces, it was too heavy for a pocket and seemed better suited for the backpack or briefcase for a train ride to and from the office. (Apple's video-playing iPod weighs about half as much.
) Once connected to the USB port of my desktop computer through a proprietary cable, the gadget was immediately recognized by Windows XP. I was quickly dragging about a dozen albums into the music folder and some videos into the video folder. It handles lots of popular audio formats (MP3, WMA, WAV and AAC) and some video formats (MPEG-4, WMV, and H.
264). It also has a 30-gigabyte hard drive, which is plenty unless you need the entire season of "Lost" in your briefcase. Like all media players not built by Apple Computer Inc.
, the Archos does not play songs purchased from iTunes. Archos does, however, play purchased content from services that use Microsoft Corp.'s copy-protection system.
A stylus in the carrying case allowed me to navigate the touch screen, though I preferred to use the buttons on the right front side of the device. When used with the docking station, the Archos turned into a DVR. The dock boasts component and S-video inputs and outputs, and I connected it between my DirecTV satellite box and a trusty Toshiba TV.
I tried my hand at manually setting it to record a Rachael Ray cooking show (guilty as charged) and a few minutes of a football game. The playback quality through the TV was great. When I watched it on the hand-held during a train ride, it was easily the best video quality I've ever held in the palm of my hand.
I was a bit flustered to learn that the only TV programming guide that syncs automatically with the unit comes from DISH Network. There's no native support for the DirecTV guide, or TV Guide's Web site, for example. I also never found a really good use for the highly touted Wi-Fi feature.
I could have spent some time streaming music, video and photos from a shared folder on my desktop through the unit and onto my television. But that's not what I wanted the docking station to do for me, and I doubt others will either. Being able to take television recordings on the road is where the Archos excels.
The advertised battery life of up to 5 hours for video held up well, and I never ran the unit dead listening to music. Speaking of music, Archos still takes a back seat to the Zune when it comes to music sharing. Two Archos Wi-Fi users can't quickly share their favorite tunes with each other.
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