Archos PMA 400

[djmspringcreek]

It's a little outdated now, but when I first was looking for the 770, I came across this.
Archos PMA (http://www.archos.com/products/ip_centric/pma_400/index.html?country=global&lang=en)

Sounds interesting. Same specs as the 770, except the OS isn't open source, although it is linux. It also has a 30gb hard drive, 8 hrs of battery life, and it can record live TV. It's $150 more than the 770, but that's not bad for 5 more hours of battery life, and a 30gb hard drive.
The main reason I didn't end up getting it was the lack of support from the open source community. There aren't any great sites like itt, maemo, or nokia770 for the archos.
Still an interesting competitor.

[Bill]

320x240 vs 800x480 not likely

[NokNok770]

At first when I read it, it sounds promising. But then I saw the 320x240....I'll pass.

[djmspringcreek]

Yeah. That's true. Guess I never saw that when I was checking it out. Too bad. That (and the non open source OS) seem like the only two barriers to it being a really good device.

[richardg1952]

Yeah. That's true. Guess I never saw that when I was checking it out. Too bad. That (and the non open source OS) seem like the only two barriers to it being a really good device.
Not true. The PMA400 runs Linux and there is a nice community variant from openpma.org.

The screen is smaller but very usable. I easily store multiple full length movies, a slew of mp3 files etc with room to spare on the 30gb drive. Most open source applications avaiable for the Zaurus have also been ported to the pma.

I enjoy the 770 but it can't replace my pma400 for movies and real pda functionality.

For me, the 770 + the pma400 are perfect travel companions that make it easy to leave the laptop at home.

pma400
linux 2.4, 30gb hd, 802.11b, 320x240 d

770
linux 2.6, 1gb mmc, 802.11g, 800x480

[Coolty]

How much does a pma400 go on ebay for? I saw a gmini, but I don't know if its the same thing...

[Karel Jansens]

pma400
linux 2.4, 30gb hd, 802.11b, 320x240 d

770
linux 2.6, 1gb mmc, 802.11g, 800x480

I've always been told the Archos is really really slow. Any truth to that?

[richardg1952]

How much does a pma400 go on ebay for? I saw a gmini, but I don't know if its the same thing...
Not the same. Price for a PMA400 range from $450 - $700 according to froogle. $700 was the list price about 6 months ago.

[richardg1952]

I've always been told the Archos is really really slow. Any truth to that?
Before installing the beta OS on the 770, I felt the Archos was much faster. Now I'd give a slight edge to the 770.

[djmspringcreek]

Not the same. Price for a PMA400 range from $450 - $700 according to froogle. $700 was the list price about 6 months ago.

If you go straight to the Archos website, you can pick one up for $500.

However, when you look at the price of a 100GB model with a bigger screen (4", 480*272 pixels) for $550, I'd probably just get the 100GB model + the 770.

I hadn't seen that website before. I'll have to check that out.

[BenTheDog]

Also the wifi range on my PMA400 is very poor indeed.