Archos 204 digital audio player gets reviewed

Archos typically does a fair job kicking out leading-edge PMPs, but the oddly small (and relatively stripped) 204 didn’t exactly do the brand any favors. Sure, the 20GB DAP rocks an unnecessarily sweet 1.8-inch OLED display, but the curious lack of video playback was deemed an unfortunate omission by the folks at ArchosLounge. The thorough review remained pretty downtrodden the whole way through, citing the lack of innovation, smallish hard drive, and less-than-inspiring interface as tidbits that really hurt the overall value. Of course, it was noted that the sound quality exceeded that found on “even the iPod,” and the diminutive size and somewhat rugged casing were also nice touches. But unless you just can’t live without owning every single Archos device that leaves its doors, it sounds like your €179 ($235) could certainly be better used elsewhere.