Archos Gmini XS 200 20 GB MP3 Player and Recorder
By: Archos Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 35
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 On: 2008-01-03
This little gizmo is great because its really just a hard drive with headphones and it pretty small. The thing is built solid as a rock and is small enough to make life happy. Mine has been dropped a lot with no defects, just a tiny dent on the back.
When it first came out, size for gigs was a huge selling point. It was special because it was 20GB wrapped in 2 x 3 of metallic goodness with an internal battery. Ive never tried the jpeg viewing, but the audio/file browser system is nice and easy with the joy of drag-n-drop. The village idiot could use this thing.
The only downside is that theres no USB charging. Ah well.
 On: 2006-03-24
I love the product, but the thing started to screw up (power off on its own and the headphones would buzz when the screen was touched). This all occured by my 4th month of ownership. I admit, it was dropped on hard surfaces quite a few times. I sent it in for repairs/warranty service on February 3rd. It had arrived at their warehouse on February 6th. I was told on the phone that it would take approximately 6-10 days before I would get it back.
As of this date, I have not received my repaired MP3 player let alone any updates as to its status. It has been 45 days since Archos has had my MP3 player. I had included everything in the packing list including my receipt, signed the packing list, etc as required. After the 10th day I called their Tech Support center to inquire if my MP3 player had shipped out yet (since I had yet to receive a tracking number through e-mail).
I was told it may be another 5 days and to call back then. Five days pass, call again, told it could be 4-5 weeks so call back again. Next week rolls by, same story. So, last week on 3/13/06 I call, finally I get somewhere. They say that they will move my complaint up to the manager where they will call me personally and figure out what is going on at the warehouse. They say to expect a phone call within a day. Next day, no call. I call them on wednesday, same story, call you in the next day. Once again, I did not receive the phone call. I call on Friday, saying that they will get it out most likely by Monday and the manager will call me by monday to provide a shipping number.
Same story again, no call, no e-mail of tracking number. I call them again on tuesday, they push my request up to a manager again and to expect a call by wednesday. Of course there is no phone call AGAIN. I call them on wednesday saying that they will once again send it up to their manager. I ask is that all they can do? They tell me the story that their RMA computers were down and could not contact the warehouse. So, the best they could do was have me wait for this magical phone call again. I ask the guy if there is a office phone number he can give me so I can reach the manager directly, of course this is denied.
Well, Iam thuroughly pissed off now and I called today (thursday). I explain my situation again and finally they patch me through the manager after another 1/2 hour of being on hold. Guess what happens, I am told that for some reason the warehouse wasnt answering their phone and he cant get any information on my MP3 player. So, their only solution is to send an e-mail to another manager so they can contact me within the next day or two. I ask Martin if that is a guarantee. The answer was "Unfortunately I personally cant guarantee that as we are only human". So what the hell, Im on the phone list again hoping to get my MP3 player back.
You know, at this point I wish I had never sent off my MP3 player, it atleast worked when I had it and the only thing bothering me was the fact it would turn off by itself. Now, all I know is they have had my MP3 player since 2/6/06 and its been sitting in their warehouse since then (3/23/06). Other than that, this is all the information they can give me.
How can a company selling high end MP3/DVR players have such crappy customer service? The funny thing is, I have to send in my AV320 to replace the LCD screen since I just broke that recently. Im thinking that might not be so wise and I may as well buy a new one.
I love archos products but this has soured my opinion about this company.
by: johncoleman14 On: 2006-02-18
Acts just like an external hard drive - easy to quickly move songs/files between computer and Archos when linked via USB2.
Intuitive menu makes it easy to find and play songs. My CD player is gathering dust now that my Archos is hooked up to the main audio system.
 On: 2006-01-08
I had problems as soon as I opened the box. The player keeps freezing during play, data becomes corrupt, the sound is of poor quality, I tried to have it serviced just 2 months into a 1 year "warranty" and they said it was going to cost me $150.00 to repair. If you purchase this product, you will be sorry! It malfunctioned early enough to cancel the charges on my credit card!
On: 2005-12-19
Great unit! I have no idea why this archos player isnt being sold everywhere. Its the smallest 20 GB mp3 player on the market at this time. Its a no-brainer!
On: 2005-11-15
I have owned the XS 200 for six months now, and I am delighted with it. 20 GB of memory for just over $200 is a steal. I am in my 30s so I have a large CD collection. The XS 200 comfortably took all 4,500 of my songs. All it took was a simple copy and paste from the C: drive of my computer into the Geminis drive (my music files were originally burned on to my computer using 128 kbp WMA files - so average about 4 mbs a song). After your songs are pasted into the Gemini you need to update the ArcLibrary, which is a very simple process and only takes a minute. You just need to remember to do this every time that you add a new album or song to your player. Like I said, its very quick so its not much of an inconvenience.
The MP3 player is very sturdy and small. It looks and feels like it would take a lot to damage it. I bought the Case Logic MPC7 case for it which is a perfect fit, and the whole thing fits in a pants pocket. My favorite feature is the shuffle function, where you can listen to any group, album, year or your entire collection randomly. Another good feature is Resume, where your music will begin from where you last turned off the player. There is also a handy pause, move volume up or down, and skip song function on a large button on the front of the player. It is not as easy to jump around as on an Ipod, but it is relatively straight forward once you get the hang of it. The sound quality to my ears seems very good, though I do not use the headphones that came with the player. The player comes with a plug that allows you recharge in North America and Europe. This is a fantastic feature, which I wish more MP3, camera and phone companies would do.
So whats bad with the player. It does have the tendency to suddenly not play a song every few hundred songs. This is no big deal though - just hit song skip and it immediately plays the next song. The players battery life is not as good as many other players. You probably get six hours, which I dont have a problem with, but it could bother some. It does not have a radio, but you can use it as a hard drive to save documents and the such like.
To sum up, this is a perfect MP3 player if you have a large record collection and wish to listen to it while out and about. There is no problem jogging or cycling with it either. This player I believe does not play protected songs, but the next model up, the XS202, plays protected WMA files, so if you think you are going to purchase songs, the 202 might be a better fit. Apparently it also has a longer battery life. I have no problem recommending this player. It might not be glamourous but it is one of the best MP3 players out there.
On: 2005-09-08
I love this little thing. The Archos gmini XS 200 is pure simplicity. I dont have to mess around with itunes or musicmatch or wmp, I just copy files from my computer to my archos and then they play. No fuss not muss. I can delete songs on the player and rename and move them (try that ipod). It is as small as the ipod mini with about four times the capacity. It uses a simple mini usb cable (unlike the Dell player that requires a special connector or their docking station, why do I need a docking station?!?!). The only thing it deosnt have is an FM radio (hence 4, not 5 stars). The size of this thing is amazing. Ive (unfortunately) dropped mine onto the street a few times and it didnt even stop playing. Start up is fast, connection to my PC is super easy and quick. The battery lasts about 8 hours (the XS 202 is supposed to have even better battery life). Buy the XS202, the slightly newer model, but the XS200 is a great MP3 player. The more I use it--and I use it every day--the more I like it.
Recently, Ive started using a little Microsoft utility called SyncToy to sync my Archos and its even better. It syncs my faster then anything else Ive ever tried and it lets me easily keep all my podcasts up to date.
On: 2005-08-20
Totally dissatisfied and extremely unhappy. Will NEVER EVER buy the product from this site again.
On: 2005-08-19
Totally dissatisfied and extremely unhappy. Will NEVER EVER buy the product from this site again.
On: 2005-08-09
Although I cant be considered an "expert" on MP3 players, this player is my third. It is also my second Archos player. So far, it is the best. Why? I will answer with one word - SOFTWARE. So far, the software this player comes with is the "Best Of Both Worlds", to quote a Van Halen song. This software allows people to use both the folder hierachy of windows, or its own software that arranges everything on the player by Artist, Song, Title, etc. The way the software works with the "dual browser" concept is revolutionary. It was easy to use and install music without being required to use a software program. Although there are some tweaks that could be made, Archos is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.
Other great points of this player include the size. Very compact and small. The sound is NOT small at all. The player sounds great, and the equalizer allows adjustment to ones taste. Generally, it is easy to use. The main joystick button is sometimes bothersome, and could also use some tweaking. It was priced very reasonably, especially when you consider what they are charging for smaller players. Many players in the 4-6gb range are more expensive than this player was.
A few tweaks wouldnt merit a loss of a star. What hurts the most to me about this player is lack of a larger model. Id buy this player in 40gb, but would prefer to see it in 60gb or 80gb. Make a model that large and Id buy it again in a heartbeat. It also lacks an FM tuner, but I wouldnt want to see one and see this player grow substantially in size. A color screen of some kind would be nice, and I would accept an increase in the size of the player to accommodate a larger screen.
But, for my money, why waste it on those flashy MP3 players with only 4-6gb of space? This player blows all smaller players away, even the RIO Carbon. I believe it does because of its small size, large capacity, and smart flexible software. Keep up the good work Archos.
On: 2005-08-01
As my previous Archos mp3 reader has been stolen, I wanted the same type of reader.
The XS200 series is a 20-Gi, multitask, far more compact and easy-to-use than the older model.
A must.
On: 2005-07-30
If you are not into thinking just because it is the most widely used then it is the best,then buy this product.
This mp3 player gives you everthing you need to good quality sounding music.
On: 2005-07-13
Its pretty simple stuff. When I try to boot this piece of crap up it automatically just shuts down on me. I have tried everything. I treated my gmini very well, and never dropped it. It just stopped working. Now Im faced with having to deal with their notoriously bad customer support, shipping charges, time spent dealing with this problem, and the best case scenerio is that theyll "fix" it and send it back to me, just so it will probably break again. Learn from my mistake and dont purchase products from archos. Or better yet, dont buy any hard-drive mp3 player. These devices seem to break so easily. Or buy it, so that you will waste your hard earned money too. Misery loves company.
 On: 2005-07-02
This is just about the perfect mp3 player - small, cool, and definitely something to show to the iPod crowd, BUT: This baby does not work with copy-protected content. From the Archos FAQ page for the XS200:
Q: My player wont play my wma files, a message comes up saying "xxxxxxxxx file is not supported", what am i doing wrong?
A: It is normal because this device does not read Copy Protected Content. Just look at http://www.archos.com/support/faq/faq_GminiXS200.html#category_3
This means you cannot use a subscription service like Yahoo! or Napster. No go for me... Dude, I am getting a Dell (DJ).
On: 2005-06-29
I did a lot of research before buying an MP3 player after my ipod broke and this one is absolutely the best. Everything the ipod does, the Gmini can do too in addition to other features it has all to itself. Things I love about the Gmini:
--soft keys that enable you to perform any function with just three buttons, including locking the keypad (the hold button on my ipod was the first thing to break)
--20 GB of storage for the price and size of an ipod mini
--being able to continue using itunes (or the software of your choice) as a music player and organizer on the computer. I love my itunes and was thrilled when I didnt have to give it up to use the Gmini.
--the volume adjuster on the included earbuds
--having separate jacks for charging and connecting to the computer
--being able to organize your music on any computer, anywhere
--100% skip-free jogging capabilities, at a size and shape that makes it perfect for holding in my hand. The full-sized ipod started skipping during my runs at a certain point, and it was so long and smooth that it slipped right out of my hand on numerous occasions. Some runners prefer an mp3 player with a case or a strap, but Ive been more than fine just holding this one in my palm.
...and many many more, most of which are listed in other reviews here. However, the main reason I am writing this review is that the Gmini has one major drawback that could be a dealbreaker for classical music enthusiasts like me or those who just like to keep the order of their playlists and albums. I didnt know about it before I bought it. If you transfer playlists as folders to the Gminis hard drive as I do (because its a royal pain to create them anew), IT WILL NOT RETAIN THE ORIGINAL ORDER. It will automatically put the tracks into alphabetical order instead. For albums with many individual songs this isnt a problem for me, but when I transferred my large scale works such as operas, masses, and symphonies I had to letter the tracks. "Overture" had to become "a. Overture," etc. It was a lot of grueling work at the beginning, but it was definitely worth it to have such a great MP3 player for such a good price.
If youre a runner fed up with skipping and slipping or are just looking for an MP3 player with a lot of storage at a great price, buy the Gmini! You will not regret it.
On: 2005-06-23
Like most people, I was lured to the Gmini XS200 by its low price and massive storage. When I loaded my music files and started experimenting with the player I noticed some of the problems people have mentioned in previous reviews. First, the player seems to occasionally shut-off when quickly skipping through tracks. This is a bit annoying, especially since any changes made during your current session are LOST. I recommend shutting down the player frequently when you are building a playlist(save playlist before shutting down). I had over 100 of my favorite songs added to a new playlist when my player shut down. When I restarted the player the playlist didnt exist :( Definitely frustrating. The other problem was trying to figure out how to create a playlist. The directions are a little confusing. The main thing to remember is that you need to be in the Browser folder to edit and save the playlist. Youll have to experiment to get it right.
Bottom line! It gets the job done if youre on a budget. If you plan on using the player in your car, you may want to consider an iPod. There are tons of car stereo accessories made specifically for the iPod. Ive got my Gmini connected to an Aiwa deck with a front auxiliary input and it works good, but it would be nice to have the ability to control the player through the deck(available with iPods).
On: 2005-06-21
I live in a gadget-oriented house so Ive had the opportunity to play with quite a few music players, including the Ipod/Ipod Mini, and I find this the best choice. Sounds great, very small, easy to use with one hand and blows away the ridiculously buggy "software" that seems to come with all these players. The "resume" feature is nice - turn off the player and when you turn it back on, youll be back at whatever song you were listening to. Nice. ID3 tag db on board is nice also, although ID3 tags only work if you burn your own music because you never know how someone else will decide to categorize the music.
More frills elsewhere, Im sure, but 20gb for under the cost of 4 gb Mini seems like a pretty good deal to me.
On: 2005-06-08
Ive had mine for a few days. They put these out with firmware bugs, so Ive already been to Archos.com for the update which was pretty painless. Well, its very small, almost too small for my medium sized, hands but managable. I like the bright LEDs and screen as it doubles as a night-light. Ive used my kids Ipod and have had several players including the Zen Xtra and Touch. The software used to load and manage music for these devices is a royal pain, freezing, not being able to find your device and on and on. This nice player acts exactly like a hard drive on your PC really, exactly. It will also create database inside the machine to access your tunes by the ID3 tag. So, you can look at your music as if it was on your PC in folders and files or the Gminis library organized by Artist, Album, etc. VERY good. No clocks, alarms, or recorders, no radio, its a very compact music player and portable hard drive, plain and simple. The sound is pretty good too, maybe not as good as the Zen, but decent for sure, with a fully adjustable 5 band EQ. The screen is real big and easy to see. The buttons feel solid and work like they should. The case is some kind of textured metal and very solid. The main joystick is a bit tiny and slippery and hard to work one handed, it needs a little square grip on it, but it works well if you can get your finger on it to push it in the right direction. The AC adapter is rather big with a huge cord which is kinda weird. The firmware, or software on the machine is a bit slow and not greatly thought out, hopefully new versions will be coming. It especially needs a better back feature and faster scrolling. Battery lasts about 6-8 hours which is too bad but I guess thats where space was saved. but.. But, it looks great, feels bulletproof, sounds good, is really really easy to use and is very reasonably priced for 20GB of disk. I assume there will be tutorials online to upgrade the HDD to 100GB soon. Im keeping mine.
On: 2005-06-01
i wanted a reliable mp3 player----no calendar, alarm clock, or other unecessary items. the gmini performs great, has no clunky software packages, and sounds great through my home or car stereo. music transfers are very fast and organizing music in folders or playlists is a snap. there is no downside as far as i can tell, especially given the price.
On: 2005-05-19
I concur entirely with the review: "a few small changes could make this 5 stars, May 9, 2005"
This device works astonishingly well. All prior issues relating to the firmware have been resolved, and if your device is not current, the firmware update is available free download at http://www.archos.com/.
I just returned from a desperately long trip to the Russian Far East on too many planes without any entertainment, and the XS200 was priceless and performed flawlessly.
Needs:
- USB enabled recharging (this is the most obvious oversight)
- neck purse or something like it (belt case) to hang the dang thing from when seated on aircraft.
- less brilliant LEDs. The blinking blue "recharged" light can wake a sleeping dog.
But, in-spite of those few gripes, I cannot believe this thing is not EVERYWHERE.
It is brilliantly easy to load - it is truly an external HDD and so you can copy mp3 format right to the drive through Windows Media (or other) players direct from CD. No fussing around.
The software is very clever, and sorts / archives ALL data available on the CDs - artist, performer, group, etc. If you want, you can play one artists work even though it spans dozens of CDs. As well, you could store non-music data for other uses in-transit. A VERY capable device.
4.9 stars!!
On: 2005-05-10
I wrote a great review when I first purchased this thing, but now it takes all of my self control not to throw it against a wall. The product is great when you can get it to work. However, the unit became difficult to power on after 3 months (conveniently for Archos, this is the length of their warranty). It can take hours of pressing the power button before it decides to power up. Then it works fine until the next charge, when the problem starts over again. This is beyond annoying. Ive spent entire workouts at the gym with my finger on the power button, and the thing didnt power up. Then when I get home it decides to work. Also, BEWARE- Archos U.S. customer service simply does not respond to customer emails. Ive written them 6 already. Save yourself some headaches- if you buy this product, buy an extended warranty, and dont waste time writing to U.S. customer service. Write the crew in the UK instead. I would like to change my previous awarding of stars to "none", but the site will only let me edit text, not the # of stars.
by: Anonymous On: 2005-05-04
I bought this player a month ago and still love as much as i did the day i took it out the package.It has great sound the joystick is easy to use and every thing is really easy to set up.The only complant i have is that on your playlist if you have alot of songs if take a long time to lode but that doesnt bother me.Overall I think this mp3 is the best.You wouldnt be disappionted in bying the gmini XS200.
On: 2005-05-04
Despite the title, if you go to Archos website youll find that this device is NOT a RECORDER. The Gmini 120 and Gmini 220 models are MP3 recorders.
by: Anonymous On: 2005-04-30
All week i have been looking for the prefect mp3 player and when i say this 20gb that was so tiny with great sound i thought is was the best mp3 out there.The buttons are easy to use.It is easy to get songs on my computer.And other then that this very tiny mp3 in my opion is the best on out there.If you are looking to get a mp3 i would definitely recommend this one.
On: 2005-03-30
The first thing you notice about this player is the size ..it is incredibly small.My room mate has an Ipod 40 gb and when we put them beside each other ...the Gmini was half the size of the ipod!
The controls are pretty decent...not as intuitive as an ipod but still pretty good.As for the baterry life ....it gives me 8 - 9 hours on full charge.The problems that the other poster mentioned could be because of not charging it properly the first few times.To maximise baterry life...charge it fully before using it the first time..then discharge ..then charge. Do this a couple of times and it will give ou pretty decent batterry life.
The sound quality is pretty good..though the bass couldve been better.You can also use it as an external hardrive with USB.
All in all an incredible little player with a few minor shortcomings, but really for the price and the size ..this is an awesome deal!
 On: 2005-03-29
I love archos, and I love my Gmini 20 GB player, but the battery life is awful!
If you have a long commute or you are out and about alot, this player will let you down. I turned the backlighting OFF, and the thing is still constantly running out of juice. I have a short commute, so Ill live, but BEWARE!
Also, the seek is slow if you have long sets, and you cannot queue up your next track without stopping the current one.
Plusses are it is a no driver needed (XP) filesystem view, which is nice for transferring work files, and it is tiny, sexy cool. I fear for the device when the lithium ion battery performance starts to degrade - I just got it and it sputters after a few hours use!!!
On: 2005-03-21
this thing might just be it, if they would just get the software right...
first, the good news. Battery life is fantastic, capacity is great, the display is bright and easy to read, the user interface, is acceptably good, though a bit confusing at times. It has survived a snowboard season without falling apart, so its pretty tough.
Now then, about the software:
1) If you have a large playlist, say more than 1,000 songs, it will take somewhere in the 10-20 minute range to load it. This sucks. I can actually drive all the way to work in the time it takes this thing to load the playlist.
2) it shuts off for no apparent reason. I talked to the tech support guys about this, they said to re-rip the song, but come on - cant it just skip past the song and play the next one? Why is it necessary to shut off? Fix this. It sucks. Especially because, you guessed it, when it shuts off like that it doesnt remember what playlist you were in so you have to reload the playlist.
In general the software just needs a good couple of weeks in a usability lab and Archos could have a genuine run at Apple.
On: 2005-02-19
It is not without some trepidation that I bought this little player from Amazon. I had some not so good experience with hard drive driven MP3 jukeboxes. The first one, a first generation Creative Nomad, broke down after a month (to be fair, however, after it was replaced, it seemed to run for ever and is still going strong). The second one, a Gateway jukebox, on the other hand, was a complete disaster as another reviewer has already pointed out. It was problems from the very start, and it almost killed all my joy of playing the music.
Unless something proves otherwise, I believe this little Gmini thing is the ideal MP3 jukebox to own. It does what I expect it to do extremely well, that is, to play music that I have ripped in the MP3 format. The sound is great, the interface intuitive, and the size is definitely a plus.
On: 2005-02-12
I just got my XS200 and after some fiddling Ive gotten used to the controls. Reading the manual is a definite must for this player. The playlist builder works very well once you get the hang of it. The sound quality is great and it installs very easily on Windows 98 or 2000. It absolutely refuses to work with Server 2003 (my main OS) though.
Few people use 2003 for a desktop OS though, so I wont take points off. It only takes a few seconds to boot to 2000 to upload new music, and if youre using 2003 for your desktop chances are youre savvy enough to set-up a dual boot in an hour or two.
I got this player for $210 from New Egg, so despite some problems with my chosen OS its still a fantastic deal for a 20GB player.
On: 2005-01-17
First of all, Id like to say that I am incredibly glad that I bought this. The first, and most obvious thing about it is its size. Sure, people say its small, but its kind of hard to envision just how small it is. To put it in context, its about the same thickness as a 40gb ipod, and the same width, but is about 2/3 the length. Its just wonderful.
Also, the dual screen mode make moving files and creating playlists wonderfully easy. I used to have an ipod (until it broke and Apple said I would have to pay $255 to repair it, even though I had only bought it a couple of months before...), and while all you had to do to make playlists on it was hold down a button, on this its even easier. You just click to the right to see the play list and all of your music at the same time, and then go through you music clicking once on each song you want to add. Then, if you dont like a song after all, you can take it out of the playlist easily too. Also, if you want to add an entire album, or artist, or whatever, you just go to that album and hold down the select button for a second, and youve got it! Once youve done this, you can rename the playlist right on the player, and thats easy too!
Another thing I love about this is that, if you are using it as a storage device as well as an mp3 player, you can see what files you have in it right on the player. This makes life very easy for me, as I use it to transport files a lot.
Ok, so thats what I like about this player. Despite all of this, there are a few downsides. The main one for me is the hard drive speed. I dont know if its an exceptionally slow hard drive, my player, or the OS running the player, but for me at least, a lot of things take ridiculously long. While on most mp3 players you just select a playlist, and the player goes to it, and you can start listening, here it takes a full 2-3 minutes for the playlist to load, and if youre saving changes you made to a playlist, it takes about five minutes. Luckily Im patient, and I dont really mind waiting, but its still kind of annoying.
Also, although once you understand it, using the player is incredibly easy, it does take about a day to familiarize yourself with how to do things, as the manual stored in the player isnt incredibly useful.
Finally, Im testing it right now, but Im fairly sure the battery only gets about eight hours (the same as the third ; ipods). This is not a problem for me, since I never use my mp3 player for more than about six hours before I can recharge it again, but some people might not like it.
However, overall I love the player, and highly suggest that other people buy it.
On: 2005-01-08
Although I wish it had an FM Tuner, and especially a case with a belt clip, this is the better of the small 20gb hard drive players in my opinion. Its price point allows it to compete with iPod, the Lyra, and others. It is the least "fancy" of the Archos firmwares, and I hope an upgrade soon will add WMA with DRM support (purchased downloads), as well as an Automatic ArcLibrary that the other Archos models have. The latter will automatically update your ID3 tag library when you disconnect from the computer. As it is now, you have to manually do this in Setup after adding/deleting/changing songs.
One big positive is it just adds to the computer as a Mass Storage Device - i.e. an extra drive letter/space. You can store any kind of data on it making it a nice portable drive for documents, photos, etc. No special software to install! It feels sturdily built and is easy to navigate and create playlists on the fly.
A couple of minor annoyances that is sort of funny now - one is the packaging. We all know and hate those blister packs, but this one is the HARDEST Ive ever encountered. Twenty minutes later, a visit to the tool shed, and a big cut later, I finally had it out. It took a tree limb cutting tool to free it! My best scissors have never been outsmarted by a blister pack until this package! Second, they went with the cheap, old "mainframe" green screen Im sure to save costs. But the blue LEDs showing On and Charging are so bright it would seem they could have easily provided backlighting! Seriously, if you look right at the light, it hurts your eyes! :-)
Overall, Im very happy with this - especially for the price. I replaced my flash player and use it in the gym and running. So far it is holding up very well (no lockups), but Im still looking for the perfect case.
One note of caution, the Gmini FM Remote does NOT work with this model. Archos confused the issue by naming this "Gmini" but is not the same as the gmini 120 and 220 models. There is no way at this time to add FM tuner capability to this model.
On: 2005-01-07
Although I wish it had an FM Tuner, and especially a case with a belt clip, this is the better of the small 20gb hard drive players in my opinion. Its price point allows it to compete with iPod, the Lyra, and others. It is the least "fancy" of the Archos firmwares, and I hope an upgrade soon will add WMA with DRM support (purchased downloads), as well as an Automatic ArcLibrary that the other Archos models have. The latter will automatically update your ID3 tag library when you disconnect from the computer. As it is now, you have to manually do this in Setup after adding/deleting/changing songs.
One big positive is it just adds to the computer as a Mass Storage Device - i.e. an extra drive letter/space. You can store any kind of data on it making it a nice portable drive for documents, photos, etc. No special software to install! It feels sturdily built and is easy to navigate and create playlists on the fly.
A couple of minor annoyances that is sort of funny now - one is the packaging. We all know and hate those blister packs, but this one is the HARDEST Ive ever encountered. Twenty minutes later, a visit to the tool shed, and a big cut later, I finally had it out. It took a tree limb cutting tool to free it! My best scissors have never been outsmarted by a blister pack until this package! Second, they went with the cheap, old "mainframe" green screen Im sure to save costs. But the blue LEDs showing On and Charging are so bright it would seem they could have easily provided backlighting! Seriously, if you look right at the light, it hurts your eyes! :-)
Overall, Im very happy with this - especially for the price. I replaced my flash player and use it in the gym and running. So far it is holding up very well (no lockups), but Im still looking for the perfect case.
One note of caution, the Gmini FM Remote does NOT work with this model. Archos confused the issue by naming this "Gmini" but is not the same as the gmini 120 and 220 models. There is no way at this time to add FM tuner capability to this model.
On: 2004-12-17
This player might not have options like FM tuner or recording ability, but if you want big music storage with a small price all bundled in a cool package, this is the player for you. I love it and some of my friends are now buying it too. The little FM remote thing that is for the Gmini series DOES NOT work on this unit, so if thats something important to you, this isnt the MP3 player for you.
Some of the biggest pros are the battery life which Ive been getting 12 hours per charge and the size which is tiny. My wifes 1.5 GB memory card MP3 player is bigger than this unit and cost almost as much. I use the player to store a couple thousand songs and as a backup for my important computer files and digital pics. That way if my computer ever gets fried, Ive got an easy backup.
Regarding some of the other reviewers comments, there is a complete manual and its not the "one sheet of paper" quick start guide described earlier. The manual is a PDF file in the player. Just plug into the computer and read/print it. There was also a complaint about shuffle mode that they seem to get the same songs over and over. I havent had that experience and always listen in shuffle mode.
On: 2004-11-30
I bought this mp3 player a few weeks ago to replace the complete disaster that was my Gateway Jukebox. The Archos Gmini xs 200 is better, and [so far], I havent had any major problems with it.
One thing Ive found to be really irritating is the "shuffle" mode. I always end up hearing the same handful of songs - out of the 2,000+ songs Ive got on there already - over and over again, and I keep having to skip over them. Which gets annoying pretty fast.
Gmini beats every other mp3 player that Ive tried [rca kazoo, ipod, Gateway Jukebox], because it does what I want it to do: store and play a lot of music, and serve as an external hard drive without having to use programs like MusicMatch, Windows Media Player or iTunes. Set up literally goes like this: plug in, drag files, drop files - Which is great.
Also, of course its tiny and really cheap compared to similar players.
There is an online user manual that is a lot more complete than the one that came with the product [www.archos.com].
update: ive found a way to work around the bad shuffle mode by playing around with the settings a bit [mode: shuffle current folder, and play the folder "titles"]. BUT I have found a few more problems: sometimes it shuts itself off without warning. And sometimes when you turn it on, "resume" does not actually resume. Also, there is no way to "hold" while its turned off, so it occasionally gets turned on while in my purse.
On: 2004-11-29
I bought this mp3 player a few weeks ago to replace the complete disaster that was my Gateway Jukebox. The Archos Gmini xs 200 is better, and [so far], I havent had any major problems with it.
One thing Ive found to be really irritating is the "shuffle" mode. I always end up hearing the same handful of songs - out of the 2,000+ songs Ive got on there already - over and over again, and I keep having to skip over them. Which gets annoying pretty fast.
Gmini beats every other mp3 player that Ive tried [rca kazoo, ipod, Gateway Jukebox], because it does what I want it to do: store and play a lot of music, and serve as an external hard drive without having to use programs like MusicMatch, Windows Media Player or iTunes. Set up literally goes like this: plug in, drag files, drop files - Which is great.
Also, of course its tiny and really cheap compared to similar players.
There is an online user manual that is a lot more complete than the one that came with the product [www.archos.com].
update: ive found a way to work around the bad shuffle mode by playing around with the settings a bit [mode: shuffle current folder, and play the folder "titles"]. BUT I have found a few more problems: sometimes it shuts itself off without warning. And sometimes when you turn it on, "resume" does not actually resume. Also, there is no way to "hold" while its turned off, so it occasionally gets turned on while in my purse.
On: 2004-11-25
I got one of these as a replacement to an older Creative Zen. This player is less than half the size of my older 20 gig Zen 2.0. You can not beat the size; the player disappears in a pocket. I have not had any of the issues the previous reviewer had with play-lists. You do need to upgrade the firmware, and while there are some quirks in the software, file transfer and management are a snap. The manual for the player is a PDF file loaded onto the hard drive. There is nothing wrong with this player that cant be fixed in future firmware updates, the 2 updates released by Archos so far have already improved the player significantly. You get a 20 gig player in the size of most 4 or 5 gig players, and at a lower price. What more do you need?
On: 2004-11-24
I got one of these as a replacement to an older Creative Zen. This player is less than half the size of my older 20 gig Zen 2.0. You can not beat the size; the player disappears in a pocket. I have not had any of the issues the previous reviewer had with play-lists. You do need to upgrade the firmware, and while there are some quirks in the software, file transfer and management are a snap. The manual for the player is a PDF file loaded onto the hard drive. There is nothing wrong with this player that cant be fixed in future firmware updates, the 2 updates released by Archos so far have already improved the player significantly. You get a 20 gig player in the size of most 4 or 5 gig players, and at a lower price. What more do you need?
On: 2004-11-23
Picked one up today- It is a solid, no frills mp3 player. Solid construction, doesnt feel cheap like some older Archos products.
I havent tried any of the advanced features yet. Much smaller than any other 20GB player I have seen. Only downside is the firmware. I am sure rockbox will solve that in due time though.
On: 2004-11-22
Picked one up today- It is a solid, no frills mp3 player. Solid construction, doesnt feel cheap like some older Archos products.
I havent tried any of the advanced features yet. Much smaller than any other 20GB player I have seen. Only downside is the firmware. I am sure rockbox will solve that in due time though.
On: 2004-11-08
Had high hopes for this smart-looking little device. Loved the fact that it wasnt trying to be an iPod (despite the rather retro-Mac GUI), and that it offered 20GBs in a robust box somewhat smaller than a packet of Silk Cut. Then I found its downside.
When the unit is plugged into the USB and charger together (as advised in the manual), it gets hot. Not just a little bit hot: VERY hot. Frankly, I was worried. True, it cools down during playback, but that didnt do much to allay my fears.
The real problem is with the onboard software. Clearly, Archos has rushed this product to market in time for Christmas. And it shows. Buggy software means that playlist creation (in my experience, at least), is impossible. More correctly, you can compile a playlist (.m3u), but you cant save it. Even when you think you had. Several times. Go to the playlist browser, and ... nada. Search the drive using Windows Explorer. Nope, no playlists to be found.
I consulted the manual, which was not only inaccurate but also confusing and unhelpful. If you try to follow the way it suggests creating playlists, you simply wont be able to. Because the info is totally wrong. No lie. Oh, and if you try editing playlists while a list is playing (which youre supposed to be able to), it crashes the unit. Bad.
One other problem: you cant delete files from the main unit, only through a PC (again, contradicting the manual).
The XS200 sounds good, looks good - but just isnt up to the job. Back to drawing board for Archos, methinks.
On: 2004-11-07
Had high hopes for this smart-looking little device. Loved the fact that it wasnt trying to be an iPod (despite the rather retro-Mac GUI), and that it offered 20GBs in a robust box somewhat smaller than a packet of Silk Cut. Then I found its downside.
When the unit is plugged into the USB and charger together (as advised in the manual), it gets hot. Not just a little bit hot: VERY hot. Frankly, I was worried. True, it cools down during playback, but that didnt do much to allay my fears.
The real problem is with the onboard software. Clearly, Archos has rushed this product to market in time for Christmas. And it shows. Buggy software means that playlist creation (in my experience, at least), is impossible. More correctly, you can compile a playlist (.m3u), but you cant save it. Even when you think you had. Several times. Go to the playlist browser, and ... nada. Search the drive using Windows Explorer. Nope, no playlists to be found.
I consulted the manual, which was not only inaccurate but also confusing and unhelpful. If you try to follow the way it suggests creating playlists, you simply wont be able to. Because the info is totally wrong. No lie. Oh, and if you try editing playlists while a list is playing (which youre supposed to be able to), it crashes the unit. Bad.
One other problem: you cant delete files from the main unit, only through a PC (again, contradicting the manual).
The XS200 sounds good, looks good - but just isnt up to the job. Back to drawing board for Archos, methinks.
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