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Archos Gmini XS 202 (20 GB) MP3 PlayerARCHOS presents the new Gmini XS 202 - an extremely small 20 GB* music player with a very competitive price. This ultra-compact music...
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ARCHOS presents the new Gmini XS 202 - an extremely small 20 GB* music player with a very competitive price. This ultra-compact music player is just as small as most 5 GB* audio players available today, yet offers a huge capacity able to hold up 10,000 songs1 and allows you to buy and download protected music from multiple online music stores.
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0 Review from Shopping.com
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Archos Gmini XS 202s (20 GB) MP3 Player
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Pros: Tardis Aesthetically stunning Easy to use NO SOFTWARE NEEDED Sound quality
Cons: doesn't come with a case, which is essential
The Bottom Line:
A god among mp3 players
Apple did not invent the portable mp3 player. We normally refer neither to Epsons, but to printers, and nor to Microsofts but computers.
Archos mp3 players have always beaten Apple (and pretty much everyone else) on value for money and this one is no exception.
In short the 202s is a sleeker version of the 202. It has all the same features but squeezed inside a black/silver shell and unbelievably IT'S EVEN SMALLER!! The blue backlight and blue LEDS reflect off the silver edgings making it pretty dazzling.
Like the previous version (which still goes for £100 or so on ebay), you get 20 Gb, which is excessive for 99.9% of people. Only a few years ago we all had destops with smaller hard drives...ho ho.
A big advantage is that you can set it to act as a hard drive when connected to a computer. That way file transfers are just drag and drop. NO SOFTWARE REQUIRED. (but if you like software it's generally compatible).
The format is transparent. 2 buttons and a joystick do everything without confusion.
Before buying mine I had the impression that it would charge though its data/USB port. I was wrong. It only charges through the power port. Although USB chargers are probably available.
Performance:
Had mine a fortnight so far, no freezes yet.
Battery life: No complaints. Last time it lasted ~3 days after the first full charge, probably about 15 hours use.
It cheerfully shuffles 12 Gb of mp3s with only 1 second delay! Also the quality of the shuffle is good. I've not yet noticed any repeating the same 'shuffled' songs.
Sound quality. I wouldn't have thought this would be noticeable but it is. I compared the same mp3 file on an iMedia M5 and the 202s, using the same headphones. It was very much clearer on the 202s. The iMedia player has a lot of sound options but playing with did not improve the sound. Incidentally, you can customise the equaliser on the 202s aand it also has presets.
My only criticism would be: The 202 had unrivalled capacity/size ratio and top notch aesthetics. In making the 202s they have improved the parts that didn't need improving! To make it better, fit more stuff into the same space (a built in FM transmitter would be nice). Any smaller and we'll need a microscope to use it, any prettier and we'll discover a new sexuality! ;¬]
Unlike the 220 it doesn't have a microphone
Comes with Ok headphones but not with a cover, which is needed.
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