Archos Gmini 402

With the GMini 402, you can do more than listen to your favorite tunes. You can watch movies, scroll through your digital photos, or play games on this svelte player.
Music sounded clear, with little distortion. The included earbuds are comfortable and delivered sound without much background noise. Be careful of the volume, as it can get very loud. Individual controls adjust bass, treble, and bass boost. The GMini 402 plays MP3, WMA, and WAV files, and it’s compatible with several online music stores that support the WMA format. The built-in voice recorder records WAV files through either the line-in or microphone jacks. This is a great way to make notes to self or conduct interviews.

Similar in size to the 20GB iPod, the GMini 402 opts for a landscape view as opposed to most players’ vertical orientation. The 2.2-inch (320 x 240 pixel) color screen is brighter than the iPod’s, making videos and photos standout. In Photo mode, you can watch slideshows and zoom in on individual pics. The zoom will bring out even the smallest details, which makes it easier to see things in the backgrounds of photos. You can view a single photo or four or nine thumbnails at a time.

The controls on the GMini 402 are simple. The basic Power, Select, Back, and navigational controls are present, and the three buttons under the screen control access your music, video, and photo folders.

When you’re not on the road, plug the GMini 402 into a larger TV to display recorded videos or photo slideshows for a crowd. We played The Village on a 32-inch TV, and it looked surprisingly good, but not quite DVD quality. If you can’t find anything to watch on your hotel’s TV, it beats carrying a stack of DVDs.

The GMini 402 plays games downloaded from the Archos Web site. At press time, there were about a dozen arcade-style games from which to choose ($5.99 each). Gameplay on the GMini 402 is reminiscent of the Game Boy Advance.

If you want an all-in-one device that looks cool, but won’t break the bank, pick up Archos’ latest offering. With the GMini 402, you’ll have all of the music, photos, videos, and games to keep you entertained wherever your travels take you.