4. Simple But Effective

Unlike what Archos had planned, the Gmini 220 comes with the photo transfer and viewing program and one for sound recording with MP3 encoding. Browsing is a lesson in ergonomics. A four-position button is used for browsing, two on the right to validate or go back and one on the left displays a popup menu with options for the current task.

Tasks are viewed on screen by a system of directories and icons. This Windows-based logic is simple but effective. For instance, you just need to slot in the compact flash card and the screen divides in two to display the contents of the card and that of the Gmini. Then you proceed by copy/paste. Playing music is just as easy: the simple directory-browsing system helps you find your way when through a jungle of items. You use the main browser to manage all the data stored on the hard disk.

The sound quality is good, as well. When recording, you can encode in MP3 at 192kbps, which is adequate. The headphones supplied are, as usual, mediocre.

The Gmini 220 is attractive, no doubt about it. 20 GB for this size and weight will delight any self-respecting nomad. Its elegant unadorned finish increases its appeal. The large screen and the ergonomics of the browse system make it a pleasure to use. Now all we need to decide is whether it is worth the investment of $350. The insatiable audiophile who dreams of a hard-drive player will be delighted. If this audiophile is also a digital photographer who uses CF cards, so much the better. And so much the better if they have voluminous data to carry around.

There must be at least two reasons for the outlay of $350 to be worth it. The more so because the Gmini is not without faults, with its complicated connections, limited battery life and lack of USB charging capacity. Personally, I think Archos ought to have pushed their ambitions to the limit and offered us a color LCD screen because, with its photo album function, it would have been the device of our dreams.