From: Shawn Watson <shawnw_at_internode.on.net>
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 02:21:45 +0930

Björn Stenberg wrote:

>Shawn Watson wrote:
>
>
>>Cons
>>- battery life short before recharge
>>- worried about unknown battery drain problems
>>- cannot swap out batteries
>>
>>
>
>If (poor) FM radio reception is not crucial for you, I would recommend looking at the Archos Recorder 20 instead of the FM Recorder. It uses normal rechargable NiMH AA batteries, which has a number of advantages:
>
>- You can keep a charged set in your pack and replace if they run out.
>
>- AA batteries are availiable in ever-increasing capacity. Currently you can get 2200mAh ones giving you a play time well in excess of 12 hours (some have reported as much as 16 hours).
>
>- AA batteries are very cheap and easy to replace, so there is little need to worry about battery decay over time.
>
>- AA batteries can be quick-charged (1 hour!) in an external charger, which I find very convenient when out and about a lot.
>
That's what I want. I wonder why the FM recorder has the li-ion setup?

>>- How easy is the battery to replace if I have problems? ie only from
>>archos in france?
>>ANS: inside warrenty archos replace free of charge? Cannot purchase this
>>type of battery anywhere else?
>>
>>
>
>Correct. You can't buy a new FM battery, even from archos. The only way to replace it is to claim a warranty issue.
>
>
This is bad :( Being able to swap out batteries is very important; it
effectively equates to doubling/tripling etc your battery life.

>With the Recorder 20, replacing the batteries is done in 15 seconds by removing two plastic covers (no tools necessary). AA NiMH batteries cost a few dollars a piece.
>
Had a look at that site that showed you how to take apart your player
and saw the battery setup - gawd, how horrible. The Lith-ion batteries
make it 60 grams lighter but still horrible set-up.

>
>
>
>>- Is there any annoying copy protection nonsense to navigate, or is it
>>just drag and drop from harddrive then play?
>>
>>
>
>Just drag and drop.
>
Archos's best feature. I'm wondering if the Zen NX's have this. I know
the Zens do not so I'd assume the NX's don't either; but Zens only had
firewire connection and Zen NX has added USB support so maybe - info is
scarce atm because the NX was only released last week or so.

>
>
>
>>I've dismissed the iPod as too expensive and the Creative Nomad Jukebox
>>Zen NX looks good but no built-in radio at this stage (to be honest I
>>haven't looked at this one in detail yet - could be a possibility as it
>>has a removable and easily purchaseable battery, it's size and weight is
>>between the bulky Archos and the super-slim iPod, and it's not too
>>pricey).
>>
>>
>
>I'd take a long good look at the hoops they require you to jump through to transfer data to/from the device. Creative has a history of making their products unneccesarily clumsy to use.
>
Agree. This is a biggy. Gotta be drag and drop from windows.

>
>
>
>>Perhaps now would be a good time to have a un-biased player
>>comparison discussion: JBFMR20 vs iPod 30 vs Nomad JB Zen NX 30?
>>
>>
>
>Being unbiased is very difficult. We all value different features. The lack of radio on the Rec20 is a show-stopper to some people, while the lack of replacable/upgradable batteries on the RecFM is a show-stopper to me.
>
Looks like the new Zen NXs have a radio addon and record from radio
addon also.The Zen NX looks like an big improvement on the Zens but
still not much info on this new player yet. Certainly worth a look.

One thing I didn't mention in my pros and cons is the Rockbox community.
That's a big plus as far as I'm concerned I've been researching this for
a while now and I think archos is still the best player all things
considered, for me anyway..
Received on 2003-08-06