Rating: 
Summary: The Ipod for PC users. 3 times the capacity for $150 less.
Review: Most of the problems buyers are having with the Archos Jukebox are the result of poor and non existent documentation. This is a computer product that plays MP3s. RTFM and look at archos.com!You must be careful to see the unit is fully charged before using. If not you will have problems but no low battery warning. This is especially true when hooked to the USB cable. Installing unit and loading files couldn't be easier. The jukebox becomes just another hard drive. "E" on my laptop. Drag and drop and you are in business. Playlists are a little trickier and you must follow instructions on the Archos website FAQs page. Playlist files must have "relative paths" I.E. "../" My unit came with update "5.03" I can lock my units keys by holding down the "on" key and pressing "stop" My unit has a "queue" play mode that is not documented anyewhere. Browse the unit while listening and you can line up songs. Nice feature. I have the newer headphones and the sound is excellent. Not real lod but loud enough for me. I haven't heard one skip yet. I've been buying lots of audio and computer equipment for the past 35 years. This is the single most exciting product I've ever purchased. 500 albums in my pocket. Amazing.
Rating: 
Summary: No No No No No No NO!!
Review: Do not buy an Archos jukebox. I had mine for exactly two days. It froze while playing a number of times. The buttons on the front felt like they could fall off in my hands. It shuts off intermittantly due to poor battery connections. Finally the second day the hard drive crashed. All of my songs gone. This is not a $... + unit. It is a poorly constructed toy.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow....
Review: Just picked one up...ton's of space, virtually unlimited. Easy to use, fast and fun. Highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A lot for a little
Review: I recently purchased this device and have to say, I am very pleased. I read some of the other reviews and frankly, I didn't buy it to have a nice screen to look at. That is what the computer is for. Good organization is the key to this device. I use it to transfer data back and forth from work and enjoy the ability to listen to what I want to. However, a few reviews were right on, such as the documentation being somewhat sour. Little things like moving up and down in directories were not discussed, but not to difficult to figure out. The sound quality of the included headphones leaves something to be desired, but this to is easily remedied. All in all I am very satisfied.
Rating:
Summary: A keeper
Review: I find this to be a great device. I received mine about three weeks ago and love it so far. The instructions covering how to open the battery compartments are indeed sub-standard, but with patience and common sense I was able to figure it out. The rest of the documentation was clear and concise. Additionally, the batteries last a LONG time on a charge. My only issue is that the volume does not go loud enough. I listen every day while traveliing to and from work, including occasionally on the train and sometimes the background noise washes out the Archos. I have logged one support issue (through e-mail) which was accurately and courteously answered the following day.
Rating:
Summary: 20 GB in your pocket!
Review: No, the unit isn't perfect, there is SOME skipping, but it's not a solid-state device, so that's to be expected. If you read the directions properly, the unit works best when it is carried UPSIDE DOWN. Support for .M3U playlists makes large amounts of mp3's easier to manage. The on-line firmware updates are extremely convenient. The unit is extremely sturdy - I've dropped it SEVERAL times and have had no problems.
As far as the battery covers, once you see how they are in, you won't have a problem removing them. I made the mistake of assuming that they swung outward and almost did some damage to the unit by trying to remove them. It's heavy, very heavy, but a heck of a lot smaller than other players that have this capacity. Fits in my shirt pocket just fine. DON'T USE REGULAR ALKALINE BATTERIES. I suppose you could if you want to, but the unit is rated for and is expecting NiMH batteries rated at least 1500Mah. I got a backup set (...) for cheap. But if you use regular batteries, expect them to poop out in about 2 hours. I've had a consistent 8+ hours of usage on the right batteries. YOU WILL want to get another set of headphones. The one's included are truly awful. (...) The USB connection is A-Male. Doesn't sound like much, but try to find an A-Male to A-Male cable ANYWHERE.
Rating:
Summary: Overall Good
Review: When i first recieved this product i was very excited to start to use it but found out that you have to charge it for 10 hours. The instructions that come with it are horrible, but once you get it working it does everything that it says. Once you get used to it you will love it. I recommend it, very fast. One other thing that is annoying is the fact you have to go through every song to get to a song that starts with a "Z". This is laborious and slow.
Rating: 
Summary: One very annoying flaw...
Review: Everything about this thing is fantastic except for one thing: it skips. It skips sometimes for no good reason. I lay it flat on a table and listen to Rumours by Fleetweed Mac which is 40 minutes long and the sound drops out for 1 second during one of the songs. No biggie. But then I listen to an accoustic version of Everlong by the Foo Fighters and this same problem occurs three times. I hooked up my Jukebox to my computer to check if it's maybe the mp3 file's problem and of course it plays fine through my pc. For the most part it doesn't skip. Just be prepared for the sound the cut out for about 1 second for no reason whatsoever every once in a while. I've got about five hours of music on my jukebox and so far I've only noticed a big problem with Everlong. Maybe Archos hates the Foo Fighters or something. I've checked the newsgroups and others have complained of "skipping" as well so my unit isn't defective. They all have this flaw.
Rating:
Summary: Turkey After Thanksgiving
Review: Mac Users: Beware and be very careful before you spend (...) your hard-earned money on this Archos Jukebox Studio 20 product. Despite what your retail clerk tells you, despite what the package says (works with PCs and Macs), and despite the skimpy 1/2 page of instructions in the manual (page 11): if you erase and reformat the Archos Jukebox Studio 20 hard drive for Macintosh, then "Disconnect the USB cable on both ends, and play the MP3 tracks", the MP3 tracks stored will NOT play; instead, you will see the following message on the LED -- "NO FS found Format HD!" All you have now is just an expensive, USB auxilliary Mac Hard Drive.
You don't have have to believe me -- technical support at Archos (when I was finally able to reach them over the telephone, after holding over 15 minutes at least 30 times) confirmed this "little problem" for Mac owners [and I have subsequently seen it documented on the web (...)]. The bottom line for Mac owners is that --despite what the manual clearly says -- the unit must be PC formatted for it to play independently of your Mac computer.
Unfortunately, there is even more shakiness surrounding this product: 1) (...) the little headphones are chinzy and the battery compartment is incredibly difficult to open -- you actually feel like you are about to break the side of the unit (...); 2) the manual is pathetic, confusing and inaccurate vis-a-vis the Mac; 3) there is no Archos customer service department as such, only the extraordinarily hard-to-reach tech support department, via toll calls; and 4) the Jukebox Studio 20 unit comes with a seemingly outdated CD labled "Jukebox 6000 Archos Drivers Version 1.0 CD" (the Jukebox 6000 was an earlier product); if you download the Mac-formatted Musicmatch software into your computer and your unit, the software in your computer guides you to a web site which offers to upgrade the Musicmatch software to a version with a graphic equalizer and other bells and whistles. But after paying the upgrade fee via a credit card, and receiving the upgrade key -- the Mac version of the Musicmatch software for the Archos Jukebox Studio 20 does NOT off graphic equalizer capability. For Mac users -- this is an expensive product which may work fine for the PC, but for which the Mac seems like a buggy and poorly executed afterthought. Because of the lame and misleading package and sales marketing touting this product as fully Mac compatible, because of the paltry and inaccurate instructions for reformatting this hard drive on your Mac as a Mac HFS volume -- which the MP3 player cannot read -- and because of the virtually inaccessible technical support and the nonexistent customer service department of the Archos company, I generously rate this product one star for Mac owners. Sorry to be the bearer of bad Mac news (and I've used Macs since '86), but I wish someone would have warned me off of this turkey with these facts before I bought this overhyped product.
Rating:
Summary: Pioneers in this market, but competition is now stronger
Review: The good: The unit works as advertised. I haven't encountered any skipping, batteries last enough for 3 hours of my daily use and will probably last more. Regarding playlist complaint of previous reviewer. The player does support m3u playlists - read Tech Support section on Archos site.
The bad: Display area for song titles is just one line - not easy to navigate. Creative Labs and IOMagic have bigger displays. There is no remote control, unlike competition, it could be great when I attach it to my home receiver. The quality of manual is horrible, as though it has been translated by computer from some foreign language. Their web site support area gives an impression of a company where a few people suddenly have to cope with huge demand.
Overall, Archos deserves praise for starting MP3 jukebox market, and executing fairly well. But being a tiny company they can't keep up with competition that already exists.
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