The new spanking Archos 7 is now priced and available. The gigantic 320GB is priced 549 euros ($804) while the smaller 120Gb version is only 499 euros ($731). For a touchscreen, Web TV-, WiFi-, and GPS-enabled PMP with optional accessories like a DVR station you’re definitely getting what you will be paying for it. Archos did really well on the new 5 and 7 PMPs. They are sleek, well-priced (not the cheapest, by any means, but very fair in terms of the features you’re getting) and coming with one of the best screens, codec support, and now the biggest storage, for any PMP in the market today.

[product via gmp3]

Archos’ new dependency on the touch screen is very important in the new Archos 5 and 7. Archos PMPs up to the Gen5 utilizes tactile buttons in support of the touchscreen interface. With the introduction of both Archos 5 and Archos 7, Archos is hard pressed to put out a fairly sophisticated touchscreen UI, hence the decision probably of releasing the product while software is still in beta. The chrome casing is beautiful but it does produce glare and is a magnet for fingerprints.

All in all, the Archos 5 is a big improvement on the 605 WiFi. It’s better in almost everything with nifty add ons tempting Archos fans to upgrade as quickly as possible, not to mention the much improved looks. Read on for a video comparison on the matter. Or read the entire review here.

Stuff.TV has a video of the Archos 5. The portable media player boasts a touch-screen UI co-developed with Texas Instruments. It has an Opera browser preloaded that supports Flash, unlike the iPod Touch Safari web browser. The screen is 5 inches with 800 x 480 pixels. More features can be added through plug-ins with extra cash but a premium price is always expected from Archos gadgets. In return you’ll get the best portable media player brand and for Archos 5, a PMP and Internet device which surpasses the iPod Touch on many points.

[via gmp3]

It’s not the 606 and other 6th generation PMP Archos announced to day but a new line of devices - namely, the “5″ and “7″ multimedia Internet tablets. Problem is with these new devices, there’s no need for Archos PMPs. The Archos 5 and 7 are not only WiFi-enabled multimedia players, they have a new UI that is significantly better than the Archos Gen5 UI and capacities range from 60GB to 250GB (350 to 500 euros) for the Archos 5 and 160GB to 320GB (450 to 550euros) for the Archos 7. The 5 and 7 are not only screen-dominated devices, they come with various accessories (DVR station, battery dock, GPS car holder, FM remote) so that you could do just about everything you can think of doing to entertain yourself on the g0 and each Archos 5 and 7 come with WebTV & Radio, something Archos WiFi 5th-Generation owners are already enjoying after they shelled out $20. Very exciting news for Archos fans.

Update: You can slide in a 3G SIM card in these new Archos devices, so there you go WiFi, 3G and if you take a look at the video below, a pretty neat web browser.

[via archoslounge]

Read on for another photo and a video.

[archos via dapreview]

Nothing much in the PMP world today except this little bit of rumor… Archos Gen6 will be announced at an upcoming Archos event on June 10th in London. An Archos bigwig named Tony Limrick will be presenting the new series. Is 3G finally coming to the Archos? Now, I having nothing against more features but shouldn’t Archos finally do away with their two-generation-old design and push its PMPs into new frontiers in form factor?

[via dapreview]

Remember Charbax? If you’re a long-time fan of this site, you’ll definitely remember our video journalist for CeBIT 2007.

Charbax just got the new firmware for GPS capability on his Archos 605. The GPS function on his Archos 605 demo is fully dependent on WiFi connectivity. The user interface on the navigation software is pretty good and if should be a pleasure to use with a GPS receiver in your car. It’s a real navigator, too, which you can use to plan your journey. For use with an In-Car Holder, the Archos 605 will be powered by a Sirf 3 GPS receiver

[via archosfans]

Archos Gen5 PMPs just got better, way better. With several press releases, the French PMP manufacturer has made available GPS feature on the Archos 605. Once a rumor, it’s now official and Archos didn’t even have to make hardware changes. According to Archos, the 605’s 4.3-inch screen is unmatched by other GPS devices in the market. “With more than 50 times the hard drive size, twice the screen resolution, and similar pricing as stand-alone GPS navigation products, the ARCHOS 605 GPS is the ultimate navigation and entertainment device.” The GPS sells for $129.99 separately or comes bundled with a 30GB Archos 605 for $399.99.

TVPortation is Archos breakthrough technology that convert a portable device into portable TVs. It’s available for the 605 and 705 WiFi Archos PMPs. It uses the Archos TV+ as media server. Henri Crohas, ARCHOS founder and CEO claims, “The ARCHOS TV+ is the first home entertainment device that combines a home TV streaming server with a DVR, giving TV, movie and music fans everything they need to stay entertained and connected both inside and away from the home.”

Through a free firmware update, 605 and 705 users will be able to support Adobe® Flash® 9, Windows Media Video® (WMV) 9 and ON2 video formats. This will open up almost all videos on the Internet for Archos WiFi PMP users, and it’s free. Plug-ins for Web TV and Radio have also been made available for $19.99.

Last but not least, Archos and Paramount has signed an agreement allowing Archos users to watch movies like “Cloverfield,” “Shooter,” and “Beowulf” on their portable players. In North America and Europe, Paramount content will be preloaded to ARCHOS TV+ WiFi Digital Video Recorder (DVR) so you can get movies directly on your Archos WiFi portables.

Thanks to A Jackson for the tip.

[press]

French PMP manufacturer Archos is up to something big next week, April 23. According to T3, new PMPs from the company will feature GPS. Archos’s plan is to “direct you to your destination of choice in Europe, the USA or even China, and you can then pass the media player to the back of the car to let the kids entertain themselves with hours of movies, music and internet.” This could be the next generation (Gen-6) Archos we’ve been waiting for. Gen-5 was announced last September, which was over 6 months ago. Archos 606 and 706 are way overdue. To tell the truth, we’d wait a little while longer for an Archos PMP with WiFi, GPS and 3G.

[t3 via gmp3]

The Archos 606 may see the first implementation of SFR’s 3G+ plans for Archos players. The 606 will be the successor of the 605 and will boast the same casing dimensions with 1 to 2 centimeters of screen space added. It’s all black as well and this artist’s impression of the device, if I may say so, not bad looking at all. It’s even prettier than this iPhone2 mockup that we thought would look better with an Archos branding.

Archos 606 will have 30GB of storage. Hopefully it’s not a bad idea for Archos to skip current advances in flash storage. Should it be enough for SFR’s 3G+ plans, here are the possible prices: €14.90, €19.90, and €29.90 a month ($22 to $46), each of which will let you purchase the device for €249, €199, or €149 ($380, $305, or $230), respectively, or you can simply the player without a plan for €290, or about $460.

[archoslounge via engadget]