BTW, any comments to Archos embedded devices' performance and reliability.
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Hi,
When I looked at the Archos some time ago, it looked perfect for my needs - playing multimedia files, surfing the web, driving USB devices etc. However, I found that it was slower than the 5500 that I already owned, and there are problems with way Archos have implemented Linux on it - some settings do not persist across reboots. Also, there are problems with e.g. supporting new codecs due to the sound driver and a collection of other issues that made me decide to get a dedicated multimedia player instead (the vivitar version of [a href=\"http://www.mmv-club.com/english/mmv3x.php]this[/url]). It's the usual case of the software not being implemented well.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings!
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Try looking for OpenPMA, I put their version of the software on. I'm having fun with this. Some of the Z ipks work without mods and some work with a bit of repackaging. You can still find the ARCHOS sdk and there are some helpful sites out there.
No it isn't as fast as the Zs but a 30GB hard drive, built in wifi, usb host and the ability to record and play video out of the box is quite impressive. The lack of a 'backup' battery is a slight pain, if you hard reset you have to set the time again!
The biggest lack to me is the absence of a physical keyboard. But I think of this machine as more of a music player and pda than as a palm top computer. It also has its uses as a portable hard drive for the Zs which have usb host.
What a shame ARCHOS didn't follow the same route for the AV700. Carry a cheap usb keyboard and the umpc would have a cheap open competitor.