Archos have decided to jump into this area with the all new Archos XS100 a 3gb mini player that follows the Apples lead by providing a no nonsense player. There is no FM radio or voice recorder and certainly no Karaoke lyrics as with some of the far eastern offerings.

Instead you get a device which is a tad smaller than the Ipod mini at 91 x 43 x 14mm and tips the scales at 80 grams making it very pocketable, styling is simple and yet classy with the main controls in a panel embedded under the 1.5" screen. The case feels solid enough and its available in a range of eye catching colours not dissimilar to the Zen Micros funky eye candy.

The 3gb disk will hold around 1500 tracks say Archos, the XS100 supports MP3 from 30 - 320kbs, WMA and WAV, missing is Ogg Vorbis, however the good news is that Archos support the DRM version of WMA allowing XS100 owners to use online stores like Napster.

Driving and XS100 is a simple affair, without the clutter of FM tuners and the like its easy to find your way around. The backlit blue screen has a good contrast despite just being a greyscale image, its easy top pick through the menu system and find the tracks you want which are all tagged with ID3 tags. In fact its easy to create play lists on the move and even to rename tracks or edit track metadata using the Archos browser.

Battery life is always key and the Ipod Mini was much lambasted for its sub 10 hour performance, however the new Mini now gets close to 20 hours while this new Archos XS100 only hits 14 hours from a charge. The lithium Ion battery gets its top up via high speed USB 2.0 connection and this is the only method supplied for charging (an ac adaptor is extra). The USB connection makes for a very speedy top up system meaning you can change all the tracks on the 3gb disk in under 15 minutes.

This is just as well as the 3gb disk put the XS100 at a disadvantage against its mini rivals, even the lower Ipod mini has a 4gb disk now with a bigger 6gb version available and the very popular Rio Carbon offers 5gb. Please don't get us wrong here, the XS100 is a good device but we are concerned over the value for money offered by a real cut down device when Archos intend to launch it at around the £130 mark.

Archos do empower the XS100 with good audio qualities, which is good to see. There is a convincing reproduction of the whole range and a decent smattering of bass, its probably best suited to your average pop and rock track rather than classical or jazz but then that's the centre of the MP3 player market and the right place for Archos to places the XS100.

Overall the Archos XS100 is a bit of a mixed bag, it's simple yet stylish, light weight but  under powered and a joy to use if not to own? the big hurdle will be price, with just a 3gb disk the XS100 needs to be nearer £100 to make an impression and beat our choice which is still the Rio Carbon.

More Archos Reviews

Published - 14/06/2005

More Pre Release Reviews-

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