What is a camcorder doing in a roundup of hard drive-based audio players? Simply put, the Archos Gmini 402 Camcorder is a terrific music player. Despite its name, the Gmini 402's strong suit isn't its videography skills. But that's a minor gripe considering that the Gmini offers multimedia extras for a reasonable price.
The Gmini 402 won't replace your camcorder (its maximum video resolution is just 448 by 336 pixels), and its 1.2-megapixel photos won't inspire you to ditch your digital camera. But of the ten players we tested this month for our Top 5 chart (see a complete list and reviews), the Gmini 402 was the only model to earn a score of Superior for its overall audio quality. In particular, it delivered the lowest level of cross talk (meaning that its left and right channels remained distinct, creating a wide stereo image).
The 20GB Gmini crams in a lot of entertainment, but the unit isn't outsized at all. Yes, it's roughly twice as thick as the ultrathin 30GB Apple iPod, but despite its many talents, it is almost the same size as the other two 30GB music players on the chart: the Creative Zen VisionM and the Toshiba Gigabeat S30.
Enjoying video for even short periods requires a large screen, and the LCD on most of these players is greater than 2 inches diagonally, though the screen on the budget-priced Archos 104 is a mere 1.5 inches. The iPod and the Creative Zen VisionM offer the roomiest screens, which measure 2.5 inches; the Toshiba Gigabeat S30 features a 2.4-inch display, and the Archos Gmini 402 has a 2.2-inch one. These screens are fairly large for a portable device, but they are still not big enough to watch comfortably for more than a few minutes.
The players' sound quality, thankfully, won't have a similar effect on your ears. In the PC World Test Center's new audio-quality tests, most models here performed admirably. Keep in mind, however, that we tested the output from the player itself--it's unlikely you'll be wowed if you use only the included earbuds.
If you like to crank up the volume, the iPod is your best choice: It reached the loudest level before creating 1 percent distortion, an industry-standard measurement. If it's low noise you're after, the Toshiba Gigabeat S30 will please you: In our lab tests the Gigabeat delivered the highest signal-to-noise ratio.
How about TV viewing? Besides serving up photos, video, and FM radio, some players enable you to be a couch potato wherever you go. For example, you can hook up the Creative Zen VisionM to a TV set and display photos or video, using the included adapter. Better yet, the Gigabeat, which runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, lets you download TV shows from a PC running Windows XP Media Center.