Home > Consumer Reviews > G Mini 120 20 GB MP3 Player & Recorder

Hello all,

I gave the Gmini 5 stars because I really think it deserves more than the 3 it has cumulated so far; in truth, it deserves 4. Additionnally, I find the comment given by Aron Pilhofer (below) to be quite correct. The device has flaws, but it does eveything it says, as advertised...mostly.

Usage
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Before I left for India, I filled the 20 gigs with MP3s. Whenever I needed to dump my photos (from a Canon S45) on it, I would first delete music files to make room for the pics, create a new subdirectory, insert the flash card and press one button. It worked every time, although once I got a corrupted movie file (probably due to my cheap Transcend 256MB flash card). When CD burners were available in web cafes, I would make the occasionnal backup. The device was always correctly detected by win2K and XP, but almost never by Win98 (to my surprise, I din't come accross any Linux stations - not in India, Thailand or Nepal).

Playing music was flawless and straightforward. I never much used my FM remote, but it worked fine (yes, there is a hiss when the remote's LCD is lit, but this only lasts a few seconds).

Battery
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For most of my usage, the battery life was quite adequate (I'd say 6 or 7 hours). 95% of the guest houses (hotels) I went to had electrical outlets, so I had no problems keeping the battery full. A (good) friend of mine even helped me build a custom battery pack for it (which generated unsollicited interest when crossing borders :), but I only used it once or twice, namely for the 12 hour flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong.

Sound
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For my ears (+ the Sony earbuds I used), the sound quality was more than adequate. The guy I travelled with for a bit had miniature portable speakers that we plugged into the Archos. That worked OK, but get some with internal amplification if you can.

Problems
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I had read about "significant" delays when selecting or browsing tracks; there are delays here and there, but nothing that bothered me at all, not even after 5 months of regular use. Here are a few problems that I did notice:

-Bad buttons-
As mentionned in many reviews I had read, the buttons are a problem. Sometime's you'll press the "down" button, and the device will register it as a "menu" button press. I really wonder how this can be. While it is a bit annoying when it occurs, it does not prevent the device from working correctly (and will not lead you to do something tragic like deleting all your files).

-System hangs-
There is also the possibility of system hangs or freezes. This has happened to me once or twice, but I was able to get out of it. If I recall, the device froze on me because I tried to pull out some attached cable without letting the device finish its work, or something like that. I simply replugged the cable, pressed a few buttons and eventually, the Gmini was able to fall back on its feet.

-Free space-
This is not a big thing, but it did give me a few headaches. If you delete files from the Gmini120 through Windows (while USB connected), the free space will later not be accounted for or recognized by the Gmini OS (e.g., you got 15GB of data on it (5GB free), you plug in the USB cable, it appears as a new mass storage device in Windows, from there, you delete 5 gigs of data, you unplug the device, from the Archos interface, you go to the system menu and you will find only 5GB free). Just make sure you always delete files from the Archos interface, not from Windows. The one time this happenned to me, I solved the problem by filling a dummy directory with garbage data from Windows, and then deleting it from the Archos interface.

Recording
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I sold my Sony Minidisc just before I got the Archos. It was a really neat device, perfect for recording and playing, light, small, rugged + very long battery life (on a single AA!!!). However, Sony disallows uploading music to the PC (something I only found out after buying it ;( -- make sure you know what you're getting into before purchasing an MD); AFAIC, this is a big limitation. So I got the Archos instead, which records quite nicely to *standard* formats with a quality that is quite sufficient for my average user needs.

The future
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Ha! I think my next "ideal travel" mate will be something like the Flipstart (www.flipstartpc.com). There's a bunch of similar devices listed at www.handtops.com. Really exciting stuff - can't wait for availability and for prices to go down (wayyyy down). The Sony U50/U70 is almost perfect for my needs, but too too expensive - there's also the Yopy (www.yopy.com).

Gmini 220
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I don't know about the 220, but everything about it seems better than the 120. I would definitely look into it. Check out DPReview's "storage and media forum" (forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1023) and the Archos GMini Yahoo group (groups.yahoo.com/group/ArchosGmini/) for more info. Even with the new iPod pricing (299$ for a 20GB), I still think the Archos is a better choice. Too bad the 120 is no longer available.


So there, that's my review. Figured I'd give a little something back to the community. Here's a link to my photos of India and Nepal, for anyone who might be interested (sorry, the comment are in French): www2.jenfil.com:443/gallery/inde. Note: I'm Canadian, not French - I got the Archos because it was my best choice, not out of patriotism. :)


Adiosssssssssssss
jpv

You know, some of the criticism here is warranted. But a lot isn't. I honestly don't know how you can blame Archos if you don't bother to actually read up on the product?

No, it does not come with a photo wallet or flash card reader. That is on the order of $50 extra (quite reasonable in my opinion). And I don't know how anyone could say the Gmini is anything but a huge upgrade from the Studio20. My goodness, for USB 2.0 alone it's worth it.

My experience: I have had mine for about three months now. I use it every day, and I have yet to experience a single problem with it.

The good --
1) The navigation functions/layout are 10000 percent better than the Studio models. The larger screen, navigation buttons all make it much, much easier to find the files/music/whatever you are looking for. You can very easily navigate around your machine, rename, move and delete files without having to be connected to a computer.
2) Battery life is good to great compared to similar units. I get 6-7 hours minimum, which is pretty darn good. That's what my pal gets from his iPod, so I'm pretty happy with that. Archos implies an "up to" 10 hour battery life, which I think is pretty inflated.
3) The Music Match software works quite well with the unit, though if you don't have USB 2.0, you will end up dragging and dropping files the old fashioned way. For some reason, it takes Music Match four or five times longer to move files to the Archos when you use the built-in function to do that.
4) The fact that you can mount it on any system without installing a driver is huge. I can bring it to work, and mount it on my local machine without having to get the IT staff to add drivers to my 'puter. I use it to move large files from home to work and back, and in that capacity it works just great.
5) Unlike just about anything else on the market, the archos is expandable. I have not purchased any of the add-ons, but it is nice to be able to add functionality like that on an as-needed basis.
6) Cost. The Gmini is still less than $250, which is just a little more than the Studio 20. Dirt cheap comparatively. My friend spent $300-plus on a used iPod, which doesn't have as much space or any of the features my Gmini does.

The Bad -
1) Unlike other Archos models, the Gmini has built-in music library software that (in theory) allows you to select and play songs, artists or albums without creating playlists. Unfortunately, it relies on Music Match to build the library database. So, if you don't use Music Match to move you MP3 collection to your Archos, you basically cannot use the library function.
2) This may be an issue just with my person unit, but the "up" navigation button is not as responsive as the others. It's not a huge issue, but I thought it might be worth mentioning in case others have problems.

The bottom line is this: The Gmini is a more-than-adequate alternative to an iPod, especially if you want it to do more than play music. For my personal needs, it's great to be able to cart around my photos, data, files, music, etc. on a pocket-sized machine I can whip out and mount on any computer I come across. I couldn't be happier.

first, great service by amazon. got the unit exactly when they said i would.

i had the original archos jukebox 2 years ago. i went to the ipod because of the craze that it would be the best mp3 player hands down. well, im back to archos. if youre thinking about getting an ipod, understand that A, it seperates music by id3 tags, and B, the battery dies in a year and it is $100 to replace! the gmini 220 seperates songs by folder much like using windows explorer. if you dont want to deal with the hassle of making sure all your mp3 id3 tags are correct so the ipod will read them then get the archos.

this unit is really easy to use. it takes a little getting used to, but so do all of these mp3 players. a couples of the features that are really cool and good to have. 1. the CF card reader. not only is it really neat, but you can use that to transfer music to or from the player (in small quantities) if you find yourself without your usb cable. you can also use it to store pictures from a camera or other digital devices. 2. the internal microphone and line in recording. FINALLY! i can make tapes into mp3s and even radio shows i like. all you have to do is use the supplied cables to record from a device, or you can even use the mic which i found to be pretty good quality. the display is very nice. i was worried it would be difficult to operate the device with one hand, but it is pretty easy.

ok, so why 4 stars instead of 5? well, the battery doesnt appear to be as long as they said it is. they list 10 hours, but i think it is probably close to 8. this isnt THAT big of a deal, and any other mp3 player most likely will give you the same thing. also, the unit did freeze up a few times. this has happened with all the mp3 players i have had (3). i dont think they will ever make mp3 players perfect, but this one is the best i have used so far. i would recommend it over the ipod.

I can't stand the radio anymore so decided to get this for daily car commute. Every song I own in one spot without changing discs. I'm still working on playing it to the car stereo (tape adapter I think), but here are some impressions after 2 weeks.
Pro's 1. Simple transfer of Compact Flash to the Gmini220 through provided port.
2. Simple recognition on Mac G4 through keyboard USB or a PC USB running Windows XP. Acts as a hard-drive very simply.
Stores anything you can put on it.
3. Can view jpg in low or RAW format on 2.5" screen.
4. Plays music to headphones or other sources via headphone jack. RCA plugs are provided to play direct to audio source or record from one.
5. Easy navigation when you figure it out. When playing music the buttons are familiar. When browsing the hard drive off of the computer the buttons are up-down, left-right, select, menu, back, etc.
6. Although the manual doesn't promise much functionality when using iTunes to download, I'd disagree. I'm using iTunes to convert files, then open up Musicmatch to (View) (Portable Device) and then update the ArcLibrary. Musicmatch wasn't recognizing any info or tags but iTunes does.
7. 6-28-05) and going strong. I found a jack to plug directly into my Pioneer car deck and it's wonderful!!
Cons -
1. Kind of touchy. I had a corrupted hard-drive that would not recognize any changes on the Arclibrary, essential for genre, album, artist view outside of the general browser function.
I called tech-support and was advised to backup all my files, re-format the hard-drive as a fat32 format (right click on your JUKEBOX drive when it's plugged into the computer and select Format) Downloaded the recent firmware 1.13, unseated and installed the new firmware, then dumped everything back onto it. Easy, and I've never tried something like that before.
2. Battery anywhere from 3-5 hours maybe. So So
3. FM Transmitter is terrible option, tried and sorry for it.
4. If you lose functions sporadically, check the setup Arclibrary may have turned off. Turn it back on & you're OK.
5. 6-28-05) New Foo Fighters as .wma files won't play from Gmini to headphones but plays via the computer on a media player.
Great functions really for the price, far more than I've discovered with other products.

In some ways this is the best mp3 recorder I've used. It's extremely quiet. It's compact. Its controls are intuitive. The rubberized portions of the case help prevent slipping. The internal microphone does a great job. It has two major flaws, however, and one is fatal.

The non-fatal flaw is that an external microphone requires a preamp. Preamps are not cheap.

The FATAL flaw, which gave me no choice but to return it, is that IT HAS NO SHUTDOWN PROTCOL. If the battery runs out while you're recording, YOU'VE LOST EVERYTHING!!! (Guess who lost an entire evening of wonderful music made with friends.)

If Archos would bring out a Gmini with a mic input and a shutdown protocol, you'd find my iRiver ihp-120 and my Sony high density Mini Disc recorder listed on eBay, half.com, or over here at amazon.

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Added in edit: I have no idea how to use these things effectively as MP3 players. I want an effective recorder for music jams, so that's thew perspective from which I'm reviewing them.

I've gone through a bunch of options. I've tried the iRIver 320 and 120. I've got a Sony HiMD mini-disc. I've been scouring the web for news/rumors of a forthcoming model by *anybody* that would meet all my needs. The Marantz PMD660 looks promising...for $600 street. I've given up.

I realized that of all of them, the Archos was the best compromise. While the lack of a shutdown protocol can be disastrous, it's straightforward (two button pushes) to save and start again. The sound through the built-in mic and the highest quality mp3 microphone bitrate (112 kbps) are adequate. The convenience of the Archos's drag-and-drop capabilites won out over the HiMD's ability to use an external mic. I'm not trying to approximate the sound of a studio recorder. I admit I'm nervous about the many failures I've been reading about, but I got another one and this time I'm keeping it. The current $50 Archos rebate didn't hurt either.

When I took it out of the box, the up-button didn't always register, but it seems to be fine with a few minutes of use. I've still got nearly 2 weeks to return it if it acts up again, but if I end up returning it, it will be for an exchange, not a refund.

[...]
I sold the iRiver ihp-120 on eBay. I'm holding onto the HiMD recorder for the moment simply because I can run it off of AA batteries if I need something away from an electrical output for an extended period. Otherwise, I'd get rid of it, too.