Archos Generation 5
Encyclopedia
Archos
Archos
Archos is a French consumer electronics company that was established in 1988 by Henri Crohas. Archos manufactures portable media players and portable data storage devices. The name is an anagram of Crohas' last name, and it is also Greek for 'master'...

 Generation 5
is a series of portable media player
Portable media player
A portable media player or digital audio player, is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive, or flash memory. In contrast, analog portable audio...

s introduced in 2007.
605 WiFi

Manufacturer : Archos
Archos
Archos is a French consumer electronics company that was established in 1988 by Henri Crohas. Archos manufactures portable media players and portable data storage devices. The name is an anagram of Crohas' last name, and it is also Greek for 'master'...

Processor : Intel XScale
XScale
The XScale, a microprocessor core, is Intel's and Marvell's implementation of the ARMv5 architecture, and consists of several distinct families: IXP, IXC, IOP, PXA and CE . Intel sold the PXA family to Marvell Technology Group in June 2006....

 PXA 255 400 MHz processor
Storage : 30 GB, 80GB, 160GB, and 4 GB with SDHC slot
Display: WVGA resolution, 24-bit color palette, 4.3" TFT LCD semi-matte touchscreen
Video: MPEG-4 AVI, WMV. with plug-in: H.264, MPEG-2 and AC3 stereo sound
Audio: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 kbit/s, WMA, Protected WMA, WAV. with plug-in:: AAC5, AC3
Photo viewer: JPEG, BMP, PNG
PDF viewer: Reads PDF documents
Video recording: with DVR Station/Travel Adapter. Records NTSC/PAL/SECAM in MPEG-4 AVI with VGA resolution @ 30 or 25 f/s
Audio recording: with DVR Station/Travel Adapter: Stereo line-in, WAV
Interfaces: connects through USB in either MSC or MTP, WiFi (802.11g)
Connections: 3.5 mm Audio, Proprietary dock port
Battery life: Music playback: 17 hrs, Video playback: 5.5 hrs. External Battery available
Charge : USB, DVR Station, optional Wall outlet
Dimensions & weight: For 4/30GB models 122 x 82 x 15 mm, 5.3oz/6.7oz
For 80/160GB models 122 x 82 x 20 mm, 9.17oz

705 WiFi

The Archos 705 WiFi was released on November 16, 2007 in capacities of 80GB and 160GB, with the same overall design of the last generation
Archos Generation 4
A series of Archos portable media players released from 2006 through 2007. The Generation 4 series is an upgrade to the previous AV and Gmini series, primarily the AV500s. There are 8 models in all...

 and an updated operating system and hardware compatibility. Unlike the 405 and 605 WiFi, the 705 WiFi has an 18-bit color depth
Color depth
In computer graphics, color depth or bit depth is the number of bits used to represent the color of a single pixel in a bitmapped image or video frame buffer. This concept is also known as bits per pixel , particularly when specified along with the number of bits used...

 instead of Truecolor.

605 WiFi

The Archos 605 WiFi was launched on September 1, 2007. While the player is a technical update from the previous generation, the 605 WiFi is released in larger capacities, not unlike the 504. The 4 GB flash
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...

-based version includes a SDHC card slot. The player is also available in hard drive capacities of 20 GB, 30 GB, 40 GB (only in the UK), 80 GB, and 160 GB.

The design of the 605 WiFi is similar to the previous line, though changes include a thinner profile and smaller buttons. The button layout remains the same but with the addition of a volume control. The battery is now irremovable, though an extended battery pack is available optionally, and the kickstand is moved to the edge of the player. The 605 WiFi features support for Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...

, which equips a portable version of Opera
Opera (web browser)
Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...

. An online content portal is linked to directly purchase or rent media from various distributors.

Recently, a special edition of the 605 WiFi has been released in Europe. This version has a 20GB capacity and is bundled with Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...

 movies and a custom engraving on the back. A Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

 edition was later released.

605 GPS

Archos has also released a variant of the 605 WiFi with an additional GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...

 feature. It is available in a 4 GB flash-based capacity and a 30 GB hard drive capacity.

405

Flash based, comes in 2 GB with SDHC expansion, and a QVGA screen. Available in a limited edition lilac colour.

A hard drive version of this player has been released in Europe in a capacity of 30GB.

105

The Archos 105 is a flash-based PMP with a 1.8 inches (45.7 mm) OLED
Organic light-emitting diode
An OLED is a light-emitting diode in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compounds which emit light in response to an electric current. This layer of organic semiconductor material is situated between two electrodes...

 display that is capable of WMV
Windows Media Video
'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...

 playback. The player is currently available in a 2 GB capacity.

DVR Station

The optional DVR station plays back video in DVD quality resolution through the composite, S-video, RGB or YPbPr video outputs with the audio in stereo or 5.1 surround sound through the SPDIF output. An external harddrive can be attached to the DVR station via a USB hub to increase the storage capacity. The DVR feature has an infrared emitter that can control many different brands of TV's, cable boxes, and satellite boxes. An online TV guide can show scheduled broadcasts which you can set to be downloaded and viewed at a later time. The DVR station also comes with a qwerty remote control to surf the web or to use the TV Program Guide directly on a TV screen. Note: The online TV guide service has been discontinued in North America.

Content Portal

The Archos Content Portals (ACP) allow the 605 WiFi and 705 WiFi to directly purchase or rent videos on the device through wireless internet. The content on the ACPs are provided through other companies that have their own "portal". Currently only CinemaNow
CinemaNow
CinemaNow is an Internet-based digital video distribution company founded in 1999.The CinemaNow library contains approximately 14,000 feature-length films, shorts, music concerts and television programs from more than 250 licensors, including 20th Century Fox, ABC News, Disney, Endemol, MGM,...

 has service for North American users. There has also been announced a deal with Paramount in April 2008.

Web Browser

The web browser for the 605 WiFi and 705 WiFi is an iteration of Opera
Opera (web browser)
Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...

 for devices. Unlike with the 604 WiFi, it is available as an optional plug-in. With Generation 5 Flash 7 support was added. On November 28, 2007, along with game packs, 7 widgets were added free as part of the Web-Browser plug-in. In April 2008, an update to Flash 9 was added giving better compatibility with the latest flash applications.

GPS

A GPS add-on was announced in April 2008 for the 605 and 705 with support for the Europe, North America, and China regions. The GPS is activated when a clamp is combined with the player, which gives the Archos 605 GPS and real-time traffic report.

WebTV & Radio

Archos Web TV: This allows you to aggregate and watch streams of web TV and video.
Archos Web Radio: This allows you to aggregate and watch streams of web radio and audio.

Source Code Release

After the GPL violation with the Generation 4 release, Archos has also released the source code for the current generation players. However, hardware locks have disabled any easy attempt at creating homebrew firmware without the use of an exploit.

GFT Exploit

A software-only exploit called GFT was discovered for several Archos players, including the 605 WiFi and 705 models, that enabled the user to run Linux commands directly on the system, and further uses this to install an SSH server on the system, allowing remote root access. However, the 2.x versions of the firmware have disabled the ability to apply the GFT exploit. This is an undocumented fix on Archos' side and is not listed in the change-form for the release. They automatically include 2.0 and later on all newly shipping 605 units.

QTopia

The 605 WiFi, along with, reportedly, the 705 WiFi and 604 WiFi, were successfully hacked to run the Linux platform QTopia
Qtopia
Qt Extended is an application platform for embedded Linux-based mobile computing devices such as personal digital assistants, video projectors and mobile phones...

 with help from the same users who had done so on the older PMA400.. QTopia can only be installed on units that are compatible with the GFT exploit.

openPMA-NG

The exploit also triggers the development of openPMA-NG, based on pdaXrom. Updates show compatibility for common Linux applications such as GIMP
GIMP
GIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...

 and Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...

 

See also

  • Archos
    Archos
    Archos is a French consumer electronics company that was established in 1988 by Henri Crohas. Archos manufactures portable media players and portable data storage devices. The name is an anagram of Crohas' last name, and it is also Greek for 'master'...

  • Archos TV+
    Archos TV+
    The Archos TV+ is a DVR/Set top box by Archos.Announced alongside Generation 5, the Archos TV+ is the first stand alone DVR station from Archos and performs similarly to a 5th Gen player with the DVR Dock. It will also include the Qwerty remote for navigation and internet use. The device is...

  • Comparison of portable media players
    Comparison of portable media players
    The following comparison of portable media players compares general and technical information for notable digital playback devices.- General :- Technical specifications :- Syncing and transfer :- Wifi Connectivity :- Audio formats :...

  • Portable media player
    Portable media player
    A portable media player or digital audio player, is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive, or flash memory. In contrast, analog portable audio...

  • List of portable media players with Wi-Fi connectivity

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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