Anyone familiar with my older blog entries knows that I absolutely hate iPods. What does not make sense, however, is the fact that for the past year I have been using my own video iPod to listen to music. This has come to an end as of my birthday four days ago. I now have a portable multimedia device from ARCHOS. My new Archos is everything the iPod failed to be for me. Instead of needing to import and convert/sync files through the painfully slow iTunes program, all I need to do now is hook up my Archos via USB cable to my computer in PC hard drive mode. Then I can copy-paste files right from my computer to the folders in my Archos*s hard drive. With plugins, the Archos can even play mpeg, mp4, m4v, mov, etc. files straightaway without needing them to first be converted. The screen of the Archos device is huge, taking up about 85% of the front surface area. Every video or photo is stunningly beautiful. One of the best things about the video player is the fact that if the video file has those black bars at the top and bottom of the video for a widescreen aspect ratio playing in a fullscreen player (the Archos player has a wide screen), it (I love this) automatically chops them off so the actual video is displayed as large as possible.

Another awesome feature of my new Archos is its ability to hook up to a special docking station to record video straight from a TV set or DVD player for playback later. This is good for being on the road, but it is also a good way to fill up your thirty gigs in less than a month.

The best thing about the Archos is by far the WiFi. Yes, I am typing this entry from the touchscreen of my Archos device. After finally discovering my house router*s WEP key, I can now surf the web from the palm of my hand. There are several disadvantages to browsing the internet on a screen about 4-by-2.5 inches big, but, you know, it*s worth it.

That is all.

P. S. Guess which common character I cannot type from my device.