Archos AV700 looks to be a real monster of a PMP (Portable Media Player) and will according to rumours make a video iPod seem ridiculous. Archos AV700 is actually more of a UMPC unit focusing on multimedia, or more precise a portable Media Center computer. The main act with Archos AV700 is its 7″ LCD display with a resolution at 480x234px. Except for support for most music and video formats AV700 has two (!) integrated digital TV tuners to be able to receive DVB-T signals while travelling. With two tuners can find one program while recording another, and this is a handheld unit, even though a relatively big one.
The size of AV700 is up to par with Intel’s new UMPC concept through its 7″ LCD display, but the UMPC concept has no specifications for TV tuners. AV700 weighs 590g (1.3lbs.) which is considerably less than the 1kg (2.2 lbs.) max for the UMPC concept.
Archos AV700 can be equipped with a harddrive up to 100GB for both storing music and video or TV recordings. AV700 seems to be a real multimedia beast that could be a very interesting alternative for those who are looking for a portable unit with a sufficient display and TV properties.
The battery is suppose to last up to 30h for listening to music and 4h when watching video, while the price for a 40GB version will be 699 euro when the unit arrive in May. We are eagerly awaiting more information about Archos’ new addition to the PMP market.
