Archos 7 home tablet (320 GB) Digital Media Player

I've had Ipods - I still do - not the Touch with its limited memory - but the video generation. I like them - they are particularly good for music, and with an attachment I use then as unobtrusive recorders (the files from which by the way can be transferred to a pc then placed into Dragon 10 and one gets text which Dragon will even read back to you. Actually, any recorder will do, but because the ipods are so universal they tend not to distract people. This process can be very good for individuals with learning problems.)
Pardon the digression.
I have had prior Archoses (Archi?) and liked them all. I especially liked (and like) the 605 - good sized and very clear screen, holds a great deal, works as a video and sound recorder, can be played back through your TV or pc, quite decent wifi, not bad web browsing.
However, I bought the Archos 7 as soon as it became available. With 320 gigs, it holds everything - we downloaded three complete seasons of the old Bob Newhart Show and the space difference was hardly noticeable. The machine itself is quite solidly built - I've dropped it several times - no problem. The 7 inch screen is large enough to be watched with a real degree of involvement, and the only limitation on the video quality is that of the original recordings. There is supposed to be an HD plug-in (which is available in Europe), and that should be amazing. The 7 has quite good speakers - something missing on most ipods - and with the 7 you have the ability to delete individual files or groups of files directly while using the machine - instead of the Ipod/pc process which frankly I've never quite understood. Moreover - and I never thought I would say this - the 7's interface is actually better and more intuitive that that of the ipod. The controls are all touchscreen and they work quite well - you can associate a click with them (or not) to make sure that you have indeed tapped; little tappers come with the 7, but my fingers seem quite suficient - and I type with two fingers and an occasional thumb, hardly a pillar of grace.
The various wi-fi etc. connections work very well and pretty darn swiftly - they also keep track of needed upgrades and offer them spontaneously. Whole web pages come out clearly, but you can zoom in or out easily. You get an Opera based web browser that works better than the one on my pc. One annoyance is that you keep having to buy accessories that should have been part of the package. The cradle for tv and DVR activity costs an extra 99.00. and not all the plug-ins are free - though they are reasonable in the 20-30 dollar range. They must, however, be purchased directly from Archos - but I'd bet there are ways around that.
The archos 7 (like the 5 and the 605 line) comes with a metal kickstand that - especially given the 7's size - makes it much easier to watch from a short distance, stick on your stomache in bed or just hold for lengthier periods. It would appear from the controls on the back of the 7 that the battery might be removable/replaceable - but Archos makes no mention of it and no such replacement batteries are for sale. There is a small extra battery charger on the market containing 4 AA rechangeable batteries - it costs around 20 bucks, but it dangles on a cord which makes it sort of annoying. It's really not needed, because, by the time a full charge runs out - about 4 hrs - you should be pretty sick of watching videos, anyway. You'll notice that I haven't said anything about the music capabilities of the 7, because I really do not use them, though the statistics are pretty impressive. Given the 7's size, I just use it for videos, the web etc. I use the 605 or an ipod for music depending on which is closer to my hand when I leave the house. All the music and video download sources work quite well with the 7 because it is compatible with a wide variety of codecs. Even Itunes videos can be pretty easily converted and transferred.
For extra bucks, you can get an FM tuner or a video camera.
One con that many people have mentioned is that the shiny screen and gunmetal body pick up fingerprints - true, but they are very easily wiped off particularly with a Crizal cloth my eye doctor gave me- thanks Al. Not an annoyance unless you happen to be Adrien Monk.
Ther is one thing that particularly irks me. It was also true of the 605. When you buy the 7, the 5, the 605 etc., the package comes with a little saddle that - should you buy the docking cradle - will allow you to fit the Archos on it properly - you are warned not to do so without a saddle as it may damage the machine. However, should you buy a second docking cradle, it does not come with its own saddle, and they cannot be purchased separately. With the 605, I had to just about beg to get an extra sent to me, but it arrived promptly; with the 7, the person was very nice after confirming my identity, but a month later it hasn't shown. Needless to say, different saddles do not fit different machines. (The machine is made in Asia, but Archos is a French company - in other words, very good, but often incomprehsible to Americans. I once ordered in early September a Bernardaud set of china from their Paris boutique as a Christmas present. Unfortunately, the actually dinnerware is made in Limoges, and the workmen there just did not feel like working on that pattern at that time. With immense effort - and I speak French - we we able to get it to arrive the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Absolutely lovely, but nerve wracking.) Thus most of the web services - except Cinemanow - are either French or of other European origin. The pop music site plays what I think are mostly German songs of deserved obscurity, though one of the news sites is in English, but with almost no focus on the good old US of A. You can get get your news off the fine web browser anyway.
Technical Details 320 GB capacity for up to 400 movies, 3.2 million photos, or 190,000 songsUp to 39 hours music and 10 hours video playback time on a single charge7-inch TFT LCD touchscreen; 800 x 480 pixel resolution; 16 million colorsVideo support: MPEG-4, WMV, and M-JPEG; Audio support: MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, WMA pro 5.1, WAV; plug-ins available for further video and audio format support Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.6 x 4.3 inches ; 4 pounds Shipping Weight: 3 pounds - these are from Amazon, and I have never understood how the shipping weight of something can be less than its actual weight. The real weight is not quite 2 pounds. BOTTOM LINE - very few people will use this like an ipod. That is not what it is meant to be (c.f the Archos 5) - it is a convenient, reasonably portable player that does (or can do) just about everything and do it well. It is a pleasure to watch, and it is a highly cool looking machine. I'd buy it again in a minute and have recommended it to my friends who like movies or TV but don't have regular hours to watch. (You can easily transfer all your Tivo stuff that you record off cable or satellite.)