Archos PMA430 Portable Video Player: Sleek But Too Pricey

Archos has always been a favorite of mine. My first MP3 player was an Archos jukebox, and I love the Arc Disk 40GB hard drive that is still priced better than things coming out now with far less capacity. But the new PMA430 is so pricey we are definitely in nosebleed coutry now, folks. How pricey? Try close to $700, and while a PDA and multimedia combo sounds nice, the thought of dropping it or simply buying a low end notebook makes it just too rich for most people’s blood, and not quite innovative or cool enough for the the money-is-no-object crowd.

“The new Archos PMA430 is a 30GB multimedia player (music, photos, videos), an audio and video recorder, a PDA, a wireless Web browser, and a game machine. In fact, it’s everything but a cell phone and camera. At $750 street, the PMA430 costs as much as a notebook computer. But it does just about everything you’d want a multimedia computer to do, and you can slip it into a jacket pocket. The solid 10-ounce device is dominated by a 3.6-inch color touch screen. In addition to the usual rocker controls, you can use a stylus or fingernail to navigate on-screen. Handwriting recognition is built in for the PDA, Web browser, e-mail client, and other functions that require text input.

“You could certainly enjoy a movie on a plane, too. We loaded a copy of Moulin Rouge to see how the PMA430 would handle the dark, shadowy scenes and the lurid colors, and we were pleasantly surprised at the clarity and the contrast range—enough to convey the three-dimensionality of the movie’s opening scenes. You can record video directly to the PMA430, using the provided TV cradle, which comes with its own user manual. The cradle has a full range of wires to connect to your AV system, complete with an infrared remote control for recording, playback, navigation, and timer setup for unattended recording.” Source: PC Magazine

Then again, it does sound cool. Sigh….