Last Update January 24, 2008

• Screen Size
  The Archos has a 4.3", 800 x 480 screen, vs. the iPod touch's 3.5" 320 x 480 screen. The bigger screen of the Archos makes a significant difference in viewing pleasure, whether viewing movies, photos, or web pages.
  


• Storage Available
  The Archos 605 is available in 4GB flash (with SD slot), and 30, 80, and 160GB hard drive models. The iPod touch is only available with flash memory, maximum 16GB.
  


• Video Recording on Device
  The Archos records directly from most video sources using the optional DVR Station. This feature is essential for me. I have used an Archos AV500 to record shows before with great results, the 605 is even better. No direct recording with the iPod touch. The 605 has a manual VCR like scheduler as well as a graphical TV program listing via WiFi download to facilitate scheduling. Both work well.
  


• Editing on Device
  The Archos 605 allows basic editing on the device. You can mark begin / end points on a section of video recorded by the 605, and then copy the marked video as a new file, or overwrite the existing file. The iPod touch does not support editing on the device.
  


• Speaker
  The Archos 605 has a built-in speaker that has ample volume, and good TV quality sound. The 605 Flash has a very good speaker, the hard drive based 605's have an ok speaker. It is a nice option to watch your recorded TV shows using the built-in speaker rather than earbuds. The iPod touch has no built-in speaker.
  


• Flash Support
  The optional Opera browser for the 605 supports Flash. You can watch YouTube Flash videos rather than hoping your favorite has been coded in H264. Some Flash videos on other sites do not play, hopefully a Flash update will soon be available. I believe the 605 is Flash version 7 compliant. The iPod touch does not support Flash.
  


• Download to Device
  I can download video podcasts directly to the 605 via WiFi, and then play them without syncing with a computer. ITunes is needed for iPod touch video podcasts downloads.
  


• On-line Stores
  You can purchase music directly from the iTunes Music Store with the iPod touch. The 605 can not play DRM music from the iTunes store; however, now there are many DRM free stores that you can purchase music from using the 605. I have purchased music from the Amazon Music Store using the 605. Additionally, the 605 can purchase or rent movies directly from the Archos Content Portal. The iTunes Store does not offer movie purchases directly from the iPod touch.
  


• SD Support
  The Archos 605 (Flash model only) has a SD/SDHC slot which I use to add / transfer data without tethering the device to a computer. The iPod touch requires iTunes on a computer. Using the 605, I can take an SD card from a digital camera, and copy all files directly to the 605 for backup / viewing. The iPod touch does not have a memory expansion slot.
  
  
• File and Network Browser
  The Archos 605 has a file browser which allows me to delete, organize, and rename files directly on the device. The iPod touch does not have a file browser function. Using the 605's network file browser, I can access my Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices as well and copy files to / from the 605, and the NAS devices. I have all my technical documents on NAS devices in PDF format, as well as my vacation photos, and personal videos. I can either stream the documents / videos / pictures directly from the NAS devices to the 605 over the WiFIi network, or copy them from the NAS devices to the 605 for later viewing when a network is not available. I have streamed large PDF's, photo collections, and high bit rate videos via WiFi to the 605 with very acceptable performance, and without dropping a video frame. I have just started a project of converting hard copy receipts etc. into PDF's which will be stored on the NAS devices as well.
  
  I tried to access the NAS devices using Safari since the iPod touch does not have a file browser, but received a "Safari can not display local files" message. For me, the 605's ability to stream / copy files to / from the 605, and NAS devices gives a huge advantage to the 605 over the iPod touch. My NAS devices are on 24/7, my PC's and Mac's are not. In addition to the 605, my Windows Mobile, and Palm OS devices can access the NAS devices. Too bad, the iPod touch does not share this ability. It is nice having a central location for file / multimedia storage when using such a diverse selection of devices.
  


• Virtual Keyboards
  Virtual keyboards, what can I say, I just do not like them. I tried a landscape virtual keyboard on a 4" VGA resolution PDA several years back, and didn't like it. I still don't like virtual keyboards after using the virtual keyboards on the 605's, and iPod touch. I'll take a good slide-out physical keyboard (similar to the PPC-6700) any day over the overhyped virtual keyboards. That being said, I prefer the virtual keyboard on the 605 over the iPod touch because the 605 has larger spaces between the keys due to the larger physical screen size. I can type with fewer errors on the 605 due to the larger key spacing.
  


• Firmware Updates
  Firmware updates can be downloaded directly to the 605's via WiFi without a computer, unlike the iPod touch which requires iTunes. You also have the option of downloading the 605's firmware updates to a desktop as well.
  Helpful Hint - If you use a Macintosh to download a firmware update, two items with a .aos extension will be copied to the 605, a data fork, and a resource fork. The data fork contains the update, and will be deleted after the update is executed. The resource fork will remain. The 605 will identify the resource fork as an update file since it also has a .aos extension. The 605 will try to execute any resource forks with .aos extensions as update files whenever you disconnect the USB cable, or power cord from the 605. Since the resource forks with .aos extensions are not update files, you will receive a bad file error code 203 anytime you try to do an update on the 605 until you delete the left over, unnecessary resource fork(s) with .aos extensions that were copied from your Macintosh to the 605 when you copied the firmware update(s). True update files may not execute because the 203 error code sometimes terminates the entire update process. The 605's file explorer does not show resource forks when you do a file listing. Connect the 605 via USB to a PC, and any resource forks on the 605 will show (file name begins with a period). You can then delete any left over firmware update resource forks (file name begins with period, ends with .aos) on the 605 from within Windows Explorer. After you delete the left over, needless (to the 605) resource forks, no more false update dialog boxes, and no more bad file error code 203 messages.
  


• Screen Display
  I like the colors on the Archos' screen better than the iPod touch. The iPod touch's colors appear overly saturated to me, the 605's more natural. I am making my judgment based on the default screen settings, and realize your judgment may be different. I also realize the default screen settings can be changed. The 605 has screen brightness, contrast, and gamma settings along with an overall LCD brightness setting. The iPod touch has one brightness setting. You can fine tune the 605's screen more due to the additional settings available. I am impressed with the quality, and crispness of the text displayed on the iPod touch.
  


• Sexy / Elegant Device
  The iPod touch is very slim, cool, and some would say elegant. I am not denying those attributes, the iPod touch is definitely a cool device. The 605 may not be quite as sexy looking; however, the Archos is a nice looking device, is well made, has a bigger screen, and meets my needs much better than the iPod touch.
  


• Touch Interface
  Both devices have a touch interface, and the Archos also has buttons on the right that can perform most functions. It is nice to have your choice of navigation methods which the 605 offers vs. the one navigation method on the iPod touch. I have been using a touch interface with my Smartphones, and PDA's for years. Although Smartphones, and PDA's come with a stylus, more frequently than not, I navigate with a finger(s), not a stylus. Both the iPod touch, and 605 use large icons, large menu text, and ample line spacing to facilitate touch navigation with a finger, and those enhancements are welcome. The iPod touch has flashier transitions, but I am not impressed much by eye candy.
  
  A stylus is supplied with the 605, but is not needed to navigate the 605's interface due to the larger icons, menu text, and line spacing used in the interface. The iPod touch does not support stylus input, I have tried. However, and this is a big however, sometimes the spacing between links on a webpage is too small to easily select the desired link with your finger. The ability to use a stylus results in a more positive user experience. Until all webpages incorporate the larger spacing that both the 605, and iPod touch use in their interfaces, the ability to use a stylus in addition to fingers for navigation is a plus.
  


• Multitouch
  The iPod touch also supports multitouch. I have only experienced one true multitouch gesture (multitouch by definition is responding to more than one touch at the same time), the grossly overhyped (bordering on nauseating) zooming in and out by moving two fingers simultaneously. Some would say that is two gestures (zoom in, zoom out), I won't argue the point. Frankly, I do not like the multitouch zoom feature. It seems unnatural, awkward, smudges the screen, and doesn't always work on the first try. Sometimes, I am forced to use multitouch to zoom on the iPod touch because the double tapping zoom doesn't work with all webpages. The more I use the multitouch pinching zoom feature, the more I find multitouch quite annoying to use. Pinching the screen to zoom looks cool in the commercials, but gets old very quickly.
  
  Although I do not particularly like the multitouch zoom in / out, I am sure it will impress the clientele at the local coffee shop. It is definitely not the best way for me to zoom in / out on a 3.5" glass screen, and certainly not the revolution in interface design that the overhype claims. The 605 does not have multitouch, and I do not miss it. Although I am getting old, I am still relatively arthritis free. Multitouch could be difficult for someone with arthritis, or someone with long fingernails. Although I am not impressed with the limited multitouch implementation on the 3.5" iPod touch, and iPhone screens, I do believe multitouch has a solid future, and could indeed be revolutionary in larger screen devices such as Microsoft's Surface Table, and the devices Jeff Han has demonstrated. I realize many are impressed with the iPod touch's multitouch implementation, and I respect your opinon. I just do not believe a very limited multitouch implementation on a 3.5" screen is that big a deal.
  


• Double Tap Zoom
  I do like the double tap zoom available on both the iPod touch, and 605; I wish subsequent double taps would keep zooming in rather than toggling between zoom in / out. I have found the double tap zoom to be more reliable on the Archos 605. On the iPod touch, sometimes a web page starts to zoom in when double tapped, but then stops. On the Archos 605, double tapping the same web page at the same location consistently zooms the page.
  


• Zooming Photos
  The 605 has a nice feature for zooming photos. You tap an icon, and a slider appears which you use to adjust the amount of zoom. The iPod touch does not have a zoom slider for photos. The best photo application I have used on a mobile device is RESCO Photo Viewer for Windows Mobile. There are three magnifying glass icons at the bottom of the screen. One zooms out with every tap of your finger/stylus, another zooms in with every tap, and the third displays a menu with 7 magnification presets along with fill screen, and fit screen options. I wish RESCO's zoom feature could be exported from the Photo Viewer application to all the web browsers I use, both mobile, and desktop.
  


• Scrolling Pages
  The scrolling by flicking the finger is glitzy, but I believe not very efficient, and designed more to impress than navigate. I am definitely not a fan of the scrolling by flicking interface at all. It looks cool, but it can be difficult to locate what you want. I'll take a well calibrated navigation button any day. I much prefer using the buttons on the Archos 605 to scroll web pages than scrolling web pages using the finger on the iPod touch. In fact, the more I use the finger scrolling / flicking on the iPod touch, the more I dislike it. The finger scrolling / flicking gets tiresome very quickly, and blocks your view of the page you are trying to read. In landscape mode, 10 to 12 lines are displayed when text is zoomed to a readable level on the touch. Flicking the screen every 10 to 12 lines makes you yearn for a page down button, real or virtual. Please Apple, add some buttons (real or virtual) to your mobile devices. On my PDA's, and Smartphones, a quick press of a button scrolls one page while reading a web page or document, and it works great, much better than constantly using your finger to scroll. I wish both the iPod touch, and Archos 605 had a page down button (real or virtual) when using the web browser. The 605 has page up and down buttons for other apps, but these buttons function as page back, and page forward in the web browser. I know Apple has an excellent reputation for interface design, and generally supplies a nice interface; however, Apple can learn from its competitors.
  


• Stand for Viewing
  The 605 has a nice collapsing stand built in the back to allow viewing from many angles. The iPod touch has a small plastic stand that could easily be lost. The built-in stand may seem like a minor feature, but for me, it is a welcome addition since I was always looking for something to lean the AV500 against on the table.
  


• Web Browser
  Safari is an excellent mobile browser. The optional Opera browser for the 605 is also an excellent browser. The 605 does support Flash video, the iPod touch does not support Flash video. Considering how ubiquitous Flash video is on the web, Flash video support is essential for the full internet experience, and its absence in mobile Safari is a major negative.
  
  I have encountered some links on tech websites that display as links in mobile Safari, but do not respond when tapped. Tapping the same links on the Archos 605 will load the linked pages fine.
  
  Zooming webpages with double tap on the iPod touch
  If a page is formatted in multiple columns, Safari does an excellent job zooming when double tapped. If a page is not formatted in multiple columns, sometimes Safari seems confused, and double tap zoom does not work. The page starts to zoom in response to a double tap, but returns to the original text size which is too small to read. You are now forced to use the multitouch pinch zoom. The multitouch pinch zoom will enlarge the text to a readable size, but the number of words on each line is not reduced. Because the number of words per line is not reduced with multitouch pinch zooming, horizontal scrolling is required to read each line which gets frustrating after about two lines. This required horizontal scrolling detracts immensely from the user experience. When viewing these same single column pages in desktop browsers (including desktop Safari), the number of words per line is adjusted when the window size is changed, and word wrap works correctly at all text sizes with Pocket IE. These single column pages also properly word wrap using NetHopper on an Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 which was introduced in 1997.
       Update 12/2/07 - Viewport Meta Tag
  If you add <meta name="viewport" content="width = 320" /> to the HEAD section of a webpage, the iPod touch, and iPhone will render fewer words per line. Single column webpages with this viewport meta tag can zoom to a readable text level on the iPhone / iPod touch without horizontal scrolling being necessary to read each line. I have added this meta tag entry to all my personal pages so iPod touch, and iPhone users can read the pages without horizontal scrolling. There will be many single column webpages that do not have the new meta tag added, and iPhone / iPod touch users will have to horizontally scroll when reading each line. Hopefully, Apple will update mobile Safari so all single column webpages can zoom to a readable text size without requiring the user to horizontally scroll each line.
  
  Zooming webpages with double tap on the Archos 605
  The 605 responds consistently when double tapped. Unfortunately, it also does not reduce the number of words on each line when zoomed, and horizontal scrolling could be required. The essential words here are horizontal scrolling could be required, not is required. The 605's larger screen size, higher resolution screen, and fewer default words per line allow most single column pages to be read easily without zooming the page which eliminates the horizontal scrolling for each line that is necessary with the touch. I do wish both the touch, and 605 would perform a new word wrap whenever a single column page is zoomed. Hopefully, future updates will correct this problem.
  
  Is the full internet always better? - hint - No!
  Apple sometimes dismisses (bordering on mocking) other mobile browsers; however, the various screen layout options available with other mobile browsers sometimes render a more readable web page with less effort, and less horizontal scrolling than Safari. Apple also mocks the mobile internet and implies the mobile internet experience is always inferior. There are times when the mobile internet is a better user experience than the full internet on a small screen. There are many web pages that contain too much data to read on a 3.5" screen no matter how good the browser is, and no matter how high the dpi of the screen. These web pages are very busy looking on a 1024 x 768 screen, and definitely not made for viewing on a small screen. This is not the fault of the browser, just the limitation of the small screen real estate. Many of the sites that are busy on a 1024 x 768 screen, but downright congested on a smaller screen, offer mobile editions which are automatically displayed for other mobile browsers. Since mobile Safari, and Opera (on the 605) are not identifed by a website as mobile browsers, you get the congested on a small screen full page. These congested full web pages are much easier to read on the 605 than on the iPod touch. Physical screen size does matter. I prefer reading some web pages with the "one column" layout option in Microsoft's Pocket IE vs. Safari on the iPod touch, but prefer reading those same web pages with the 605. I know, I have to dip my hands in acid because I wrote mobile Safari is not the best browser for every web page ever developed.
  
  Web Browser - Final Thoughts
  Overall, Safari is an excellent browser; however, it is not the perfect mobile browser stipulated by the hype, not the only mobile browser that can render full pages, and not the first mobile browser able to render full pages. Apple likes to tout the iPhone / iPod touch as supporting the full internet. Does a device that does not support Flash, Windows Media, Real Player, and Java really support the full internet? I don't think so. Also, single column pages that have displayed properly on every other desktop / mobile device I have tried sometimes require horizontal scrolling to read every line at an easy to read text size on the touch. Is this really the ideal, perfect mobile browser? The bottom line is the best mobile browser / device for viewing the web is dependent on which webpage you are trying to view. I certainly would not use the touch to view single column pages, and the full internet experience for me includes Flash videos. The 605 supports some Flash videos, but not all. The Nokia N800's browser supports Flash 9. I regularly use the N800 to watch Flash videos from the NY Times home page.
  
  Overall, Opera on the 605 is an excellent browser also. Although not perfect, it has been more consistent in displaying readable "full internet" webpages with a minimum of effort than Safari on the iPod touch. Opera, combined with the 605's larger physical screen size, has been a more enjoyable browser experience for me than Safari on the iPod touch.
  


• Fingerprints on Device
  As stated before, the iPod touch is sexy, cool, and ultra-slim. It is a fingerprint magnet though, both the screen, and the chrome back. The 605's matte touch screen seems to resist fingerprints much better than the iPod touch, and the aluminum body does not attract fingerprints at all.
  


• Optional Battery Dock / Mini Dock for 605
  The optional Battery Dock, and Mini Dock for the 605 expand the functionality of the 605 while vastly decreasing the charging time compared to USB. Both docks include an AC adapter which plugs into the dock, and charges the 605 much quicker than USB charging from a computer. In addition to the charging ability, both docks add a USB host port, and replicate the USB client port since the built-in client port is covered by the dock when attached to the 605. The USB host port allows the 605 to stream / copy files to /from USB devices like USB flash drives, and portable hard drives. I have successfully attached several flash drives, and a 160GB Western Digital USB hard drive to the 605, and streamed videos directly from the flash drives / 160GB hard drive as well as copying files to / from the drives, and the 605. The docks also include an AV out port which allows the 605 to be connected to a TV. The AV cable, and USB host cables are included with both docks. An unexpected added benefit of the AV out port is using it with your headphones / earbuds. The audio level from the AV out port is significantly higher than the audio level available from the headphone port on the 605. When I am in a high ambient noise area, I plug my earbuds into the AV out port rather than the headphone port on the 605. The battery dock also contains a battery which gives additional playing time to the 605. The battery dock does not charge the 605, but does provide additional play time when the built-in battery is discharged.
  


• Comfortable to Hold
  The Archos feels better in my hand, and the iPod touch's chrome back is too slippery to hold comfortably.