Rating: 
Summary: There is a way for Random Play on whole jukebox!!
Review: This is a great mp3 player, it loses 1 star for worst documentation ever. A few of the previous reviewers complained
about features that are lacking, the features are there, it is
the manual that is lacking. So, below are some responses to
those reviews. I hope this helps.1.For those of you who want to use random play for the whole payload:
Use rockbox firmware, it lets you have a 10,000 song playlist, just drag and drop all of your folders into the playlist editor of winamp, save the .m3u file in the root directory of
the jukebox, set the player to random play, then you load the playlist and play--PRESTO!!
(rockbox does not seem to support record mode currently, but it is not that big of a deal to go back and forth between Archos firmware and rockbox's firmware, just drag and drop the firmware file) 2.The unit does have volume control - press the up/down buttons 3.Unit does not need to use special batteries- it can use regular "AA" or other rechargeable batteries (yes I have tried). 4. Someone mentioned that they returned theirs because of a "Grinding" noise -this is normal, all hard drives make grinding noises, you just don't usually notice because you are not holding them in your hand!! 5.You can create playlists with winamp (free download) -winamp 3 allows you to sort by track to preserve album sequence, just save the .m3u file in the corresponding directory on the jukebox. 6.The unit DOES have a hold feature -hold down "on" for a few seconds - do this again to turn hold off. 7.The built in microphone is useless since it picks up the hard drive grinding, Archos sells an external pre-amplified mic on their webpage, which connects to the line in jack. for better microphones try minidisco dot com or soundprofessionals dot com.
So it is possible to record live music directly to mp3 format, giving you hours and hours of recording . Pressing the "F2" button splits the mp3 into a new mp3 (while recording). Or you could just let it record 1 huge mp3 which you could later split using an mp3 editor.
Rating: 
Summary: Biggest bang for the buck
Review: I usually don't write reviews, but this one deserves it. The Archos was purchased back in November for a gift for a 16 year old female mp3 addict. I'm a bit of a techie, so the device appealed to that side of me as well. I'll try not to bore you by repeating everything everyone else has already said, but I did spend a LOT of time reading multiple reviews on many players. Forget Creative because of many reports of horrible service and problems. Forget the iPod unless you have lots of money to throw away (although it is kinda cool; the Archos still has more features). The bottom line is the Archos is upgradable for the future, has plenty of space for the present, is tough, a flexible device with multiple uses, and in spite of some comments, does have a relatively easy to use menu if you just sit down and go through it. Forget the instructions unless you have a lot of itme; just "doing it" works better. Forget the headphones unless you have sensitive hearing and listen at low volume; they are junk (just like some other people have said).
I do want to respond to a fairly recent review that commented there wasn't a volume control without going through the menu - there IS. When listening, just use the up/down arrow buttons on the front; that changes the volume. Like I said, trying different things works better than trying to figure out the manual. I highly recommend this device.
Rating:
Summary: Bad manual, decent product...
Review: I've had this player for about a month, and like a lot of people, I've had some problems with it. However, now that I seem to have it working fine, I like it a lot more. TIP: If your computer has USB ports on the side of the case, or a USB hub, don't use them for this. Use the ones in the back. Also, if you need to call tech support, be prepared to wait a long time. The tech support people were very quick to identify my problem, though, and help me fix it, so once you do get someone on the line, just be patient and you should be able to get the player working.
Rating: 
Summary: 90 day warranty - non existent support. Do the math.
Review: I purchased this product for my daughter for Christmas. It worked fine for two days and she loved it. Then it began sporadically making a grinding noise that was not normal. I sent an email to Archos support on December 27 and had not recieved any response by January 6, so I tried to call. After 25 full minutes on hold - I gave up and sent another email to support. Again, no response. I returned it and am now shopping for a replacement. With the short warranty and non-existent support - buyer beware.
Rating: 
Summary: defective
Review: Mine had many errors, and I had to take it back. The fact that it is powered by these "special" batteries is a drawback. My Juke stoped working affter one charge. The menu setup is also a real pain. Do not get this product.
Rating:
Summary: Works as advertised....
Review: I bought the Archos 20 GB recorder about 3 weeks ago and have had no problems with it. A lot of what other people have written about is true -
-takes a bit of tinkering to get used to. Took me several days. -so far battery life has not been a problem. I'm getting about 10 hours between charges. -upgrade the firmware to Rockbox (better than the included firmware, which isn't terrible but less easy than rockbox) -supplied headphones are awful. -organize your MP3 files on your computer (before transferring to the jukebox) by genre,artist,title is a must if you expect to find specific MP3's easily. The performance overall is great, and being able to carry so much music with you in a relatively small box is fantastic. It works as expected, and sounds great in my car using a cassette adapter. I would recommend this product for anyone who wants to carry lots of music with them.
Rating:
Summary: Reality Check
Review: Just to comment on a few of the reviews here: 1. Let all the Mac people pay big money for their flimsy little ipods.
2. The Archos is a utilitarian device for PC people. The rubberized corners are great. Win2k and XP pick it right up with PNP.
3. Win98 and WinNT users will likely have to go through the same driver headaches they go through with all other later generation PC hardware.
4. People needing techsupport for a device like this probably need more help then any support person could ever give them. Since the interface to the Archos is USB, I suggest you pick yourself up a USB 2.0 card for your PC. You can get them for $20-$40. Without one, loading up several GBs of data, over USB 1.0, will take ages. However, if you do small amounts of data at a time, USB 1.0 is fine.
The device is easy to take apart and upgrade (though I'm sure the vendor won't support this). I put a 40GB laptop hard drive in mine with no problems.
(I bet the mac crowd would plunk down $1000+ for a 40GB drive wrapped in white plastic.)
Rating:
Summary: One of the better ones.
Review: I took the plunge and decided to purchase this one. The space on my computer was almost used up. I only let it charge up for three hours because I was excited to use it. I got this for two reasons; I wanted to get some of my tape and vinyl recordings on to something that wouldn't deteriorate as quickly. Also, to unload the songs from my hard drive and free up my computer. It is not the easiest to use at first and I'm not the most computer savvy. After about 15 minutes I got the knack of it and started to record. The key to making this thing work is to use files for everything. Sound quality is very good and after you play around with it for an hour you have pretty much got it. Worth the time and money. For my first one I am happy with the results. If I can do it, you can too.
Rating:
Summary: iPod (MAC) + XPlay > Archos
Review: I personally have both of these, the Archos first and then the iPod. I can honestly say that the iPod is a little better. Lets assume you have the money to buy the Archos. Well, if you're getting the 20 GB one then you'd want a USB2 card. That brings us up to 3oo bucks. Thats how much an ipod 5 GB is. WHO NEEDS 20 GB? I had 40 music videos and all of my mp3s and all i took up was 5 GB. Spend an extra 6o bucks and buy an ipod, firewire card, and xplay. The iPods have an avrg. customer review of 5 stars. This only has 4. Also, the ipods weigh HALF AS MUCH. Beleive me, 12 oz (archos) is HEAVY. Plus, its screen is VERY innefficient. Go w/ an ipod.
Rating:
Summary: Mac Users Stay Away!
Review: This is another non-mac product that they parade in our face as a mac-product. The manuel made the instalation sound simple. It wasn't. The instalation created conflicts all over the place and made my I-Mac crash left and right. Once I figured that out, the "simple drag and drop" doesn't work. The Tech Support line is not a toll free number. They keep you on hold. When they finally answer they speak poor English. They could not help me with my problems and I still have not been able to use the device. I'm so returning this item!
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