New Archos Units (PocketDish) Officially Announced

[David Dietzel]

Archos has pimped their web site with the gorgeous Flash imagery of three out of four of their new personal video player devices -- the 404, 504 and 604 . The 604 WIFI has not yet been formally announced, but there is a blank spot left for it on the Archos site -- it is supposed to release before holiday gifting commences.

http://www.archos.com/products/video/archos_604/index.html?country=global&lang=en

Exactly how these will be offered through Dish is still to be determined as are Dish subscriber price breaks, if any.

Since the 4:3 30 GB iPod 5.5 is now $249 list, I would think that the 4:3 404 30 GB unit would have to at least match that price.

Wouldn't it be cool if Dish sold the 404 to subs at $99 and the 604 at $149 with a 24-month service extension commitment?

Dish marketing, listen up.

 

[Sean Mota]

WIFI is needed... can't wait for it to come.

 

[David Dietzel]

The 604 ships in the USA on September 14th -- that would be TODAY!

Only 349 George Washingtons: http://www.shoparchos.com/product.aspx?culture=en-us&sku=3083075

Now, this is the not the specifically Dish-branded "PocketDish" unit. It is the Archos product and Archos makes the PD for Dish.

It has been rumored that the new PocketDish units are merely the new Archos units and are deemed "Dish Network Compatible".

OK, Dish, time to make some sort of an announcment.

 

[David Dietzel]

Yes, the 604 WIFI model will be worth the wait:

http://www.chumbo.com/info.aspx?id=360734&ptr=fg&srccode=cii_14110944&cpncode=09-15800779-2

 

[pdxsam]

Any word on the HD compatible products? I saw mention about them on a roadmap a while back.

 

[pcbelize]

The 604s are starting to show up on Ebay with claims of being "in stock and ready to ship"

ebay

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

The PocketDish versions of these units will not be available until next year.

Perfect for holiday giving... NOT.

 

[David Dietzel]

The PocketDish versions of these units will not be available until next year.

Perfect for holiday giving... NOT.

I scream obscenities in my office solitude!

Dish, why have you forsaken us?

And, more importantly, how did you idiots manage to miss the holiday season?

Oh, I know, you wanted to roll them out along side Windows Vista! You clever fools.

 

[JTDeel]

So until the pocketdish version comes out dont get 1? if you have E*

 

[Celestial]

Scott does that mean.....???

Do we have to wait for the D* compatible ones from Dish or can we buy one of these babies now????

I don't want to increase my committment anyway with D*, they got me on the hook for 18 mo.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

What do people watch on a 4.3" screen?

I could see maybe watching the news on something like that.

Or short clips, like an internet quicktime clip, or a 3-4 minute video from youtube.

If someone gave me one, I wouldn't know what to do with it. Except to sell it on eBay.

 

[David Dietzel]

Sell it on eBay?

Blasphemy! Jihad on you, God willing!

Seriously, these portable video devices are super useful. I watch mostly "informative" or "educational" content on my iPod. And, I use it as a super-sized USB drive. I can dump off shots and refresh my camera Flash card in the field and keep shooting all day. I can offload shoots from my laptop after direct to hard drive firewire sessions in the field. And, I carry around all my Outlook contacts and appointments. I often take the train/subway/bus to work and use the device to fill time I used to spend reading the newspaper -- all the major news services have their shows podcasted now -- NPR, CBS, CNN, NBC, ABC, etc. Tech news and how-tos. Even auto repair and maintenance videos are available. All FREE.

The 604 WIFI will be just awesomely useful -- I just hope that Dish marketing gets a clue and realizes that it's not just a "portable TIVO-like thingamajig".