Review by PCMAG.COM
The Archos 104 is an update of the company’s 3GB Gmini XS 100, which was intended as a bare-bones MP3 player for digital-audio newbies. The new version—still hard drive–based, but now with 4GB of storage capacity—is a slight improvement on the original (and the name has
been streamlined too), though it’s now competing with flash-based players such as the Apple iPod nano and SanDisk Sansa e260, as well as other 4GB hard drive players such as the Cowon iAudio 6. What the player lacks in features and compactness, however, it makes up for in value; at just $159.99 (direct) for 4GB, it undercuts the competition by quite a bit. It’s not the fastest or sleekest on the block, but it’s not bad for what it is.
Review by BYTE.com
Archos 104 There’s a lot to like with Archos’ new low-end MP3 player, but it doesn’t quite add up to a desirable device. By David Haskin
The Archos 104 digital audio player sports lots of attractive features, but somehow all those good features don’t add up to a compelling device.
The good stuff includes a low price — at $160 for the 4 GB model we tested, the Archos 104 is the better part of a hundred bucks less expensive than a 4 GB iPod nano. It’s also about $30 less than the SanDisk Sansa e260, which we previously reviewed and which the Archos 104 resembles.
Despite the low price, the Archos 104 has a crisp, 1.5-inch color display, which is larger than the nano’s screen and smaller than the Sansa’s. Also exemplary is the device’s navigation, which is Windows-like. Depending on the context, the system first displays either icons or a text list for basic items such as music, showing images, data and setting up the device. From there, you navigate through folders and subfolders much as you would in Windows. And, like most other players, you also can navigate through your music by factors such as artist, album and genre. It’s easier to do than to explain — it’s really is quite simple.
Review by CNET
We’ve been patiently awaiting the arrival of the Archos Gmini 104 for months, and here’s the problem with waiting so long for a product: Technology begins to pass it by. In fact, technology was already ahead of this cute, sleek little MP3 player when it was announced in March. The Creative Zen Micro Photo, which features double the capacity and several more features than the Gmini 104, had already been out for four or five months. And the iPod Nano had already started the trend for 4GB flash devices several months before that. So, seeing this colour-screened, 4GB microdrive player now is more than a bit anticlimactic. Still, it is an Archos, and since Archos so often puts out fine portable audio and video devices, we decided to give the Gmini 104 some face time.
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