Archos Gmini XS 202s 20GB MP3 Player

The gmimi xs202s is very small. It sounds a lot better than my previous mp3 cd player with mp3's at 192kbs, although set aside some money for a decent pair of headphones to get the most out of it. (the ones supplied are terrible, but then are any mp3 players default headphones any good?).
The great thing about this player is first and foremost it remembers what it is, a HD! No messing around with this or that software jukebox, just drag and drop. Files in the wrong location on the player? No problem, just use the players browser and move the files around. Simple.

Pros
-Works (Syncs, if thats what you want) with ITunes on Macs and Media Player on XP machines.
-Small but with a good large, clear display
-Good battery life
-rename, move and delete files on the go.
-Sorts out playlists based on ID3 names, so no need for jukebox software loyalty!!

Cons
-No colour screen, games or photo/video playback (Like you need any of those to listen to music!)
-No external hold switch. It does have a hold but only whilst player is in use, so sometimes the player might be accidentally turned on. (You can set the turn off times though).
-No scrolling/touchpad, so can take some time to find your tracks.
-No renaming of ID3 codes (this would be good).
-Poor headphones (but at least their not white!!)

The first thing you notice about this player (apart from the price!) is just how small it is - 5.9 cm x 1.9 cm x 7.6 cm. To really appreciate this, get a ruler and measure it out on some paper.

In the box, you get the player (obviously), headphones, USB2.0 - mini USB cable, a charger and some quick start up instructions.

There is an unfortunate lack of carrier case and the headphones are at best adequate. But for the price can you complain? The charger has a nice feature though - a US plug with european and UK adapters that can be slid on to it.

The quick start up instructions are easy to follow and direct you to plug the gmini into your computer just like it was a USB stick. From here, you can use your computer to browse the Gmini and open up the pdf manual stored on it

From then on, using it couldn't be simpler since it's no different from using a normal USB stick. Just drag and drop files to and from your gmini. You really can just use this as an external hard drive and create new directories or store any type of file on it. This device can playback mp3 or wma files and you can even tell Windows Media Player to use your Gmini as your music library or rip CD's directly to it.

When you want to play music, you can browse your collection by ID3 tag (artist, song title, album title, genre etc). Or, since you can organise your files how you want, you can just browse through the hard disk. The user interface isn't as slick as an Ipod, but is perfectly adequate. When skipping between tracks, the display can hang momentarily (say 1/2 a second) and the interface for creating playlists on the move is a little awkward, but other than that there are no problems whatsoever.

If you get a 3.5mm jack to phono lead (costs anything from 5 to 25 quid, depending on quality) you can play this through your HiFi. The sound quality is fine, although you will need to adjust the equalisers.

Another thing you might want to be aware of is that this player has no "universal" socket like an Ipod. So, for example, if you want to use an FM transmitter in the car, you will have to buy a generic transmitter that only connects to the gmini via the headphone socket. The transmitter will be powered via the cigarette lighter, while the gmini runs of its own battery. But hey, the battery lasts for eons and it's replaceable.

The lack of universal socket means that the option for a docking station is out of the question too, so you can't have it neatly stood up on your HiFi or use a remote control.

The capacity as reported by Windows is just 18.5 GB. This is simply because Windows defines 1GB as 2^30 bytes, whereas Archos (and everyone else who is selling storage capacity) define 1 GB as 10^9 bytes. If you don't understand the numbers, it basically means it's normal and you're not being ripped off.

This digital audio player really does fill a hole in the market. A high capacity no frills player with a no frills price tag. I'm really not missing any of the features and add-ons this device lacks over its competitors, but am enjoying the money saved and the benefits of not having to use proprietary software or file formats.

I was one of the first to buy the new Sony AATRAC walkman when that came out. That was cute and was meant to compete with the Ipod. That was awful, you had to convert the tracks to sony's format before you could put the tracks onto the player. Yes I have been tempted by Ipods but the battery life is very poor on them. The Archos GMini XS202S on the other hand is fantastic! (comments about this are at end) It took me a while to work out how to use windows media player, and I still can't use it easily to transfer files, so I have just been instead copying and pasting all tracks from my hard drive to the Gmini which appears as another hard drive. It is as easy as that wow! Friends have Ipods and I didn't want to be restricted by apples file types. As we all know size does matter and with the Gmini it is a cute size and was the best size of the 3 MP3 players I was considering. The battery life is brill, it does not take long to charge and the buttons are easy to use. Like most blokes, I did not read the manuals, I have just played with the unit. After just a couple of hours I can use it easily and I have tried to get the music to skip by shaking it violently but it has not done that yet which again is great. I agree the headphones supplied are average, but that is the same with most other MP3 players. Before buying I narrowed the choice down to 3 units- The new Sony 20GB NW model, the Gmini & the IRiver 20GB. Yes the IRiver had a colour screen but reviews were poor, the Sony looks good but the acclaimed batter life is not as good as they say and everyone moans about the software, also it is the heaviest of the 3. I went for the Gmini because of its size, ease of use and battery life. Having now played with it, I think it looks stunning! I was not disappointed. I would recommend this to anyone and at Amazon's price it is the cheapest in the UK and the FREE delivery option was still by courier. Go for it you will definitely be as impressed as I am!