Archos Gmini series
Encyclopedia
The Gmini is a series of portable audio and video players
released by Archos
in 2004 and 2005.
as well as photo, audio and video playback capacities, the Gmini 400 was introduced October 2004.
The player featured MP3, WMA and WAV playback facilities and also loaded user-placed, APIC album covers on the display while the appropriate song was playing. The device was ID3
Tag compatible, and organized users music collection by reading this meta-data. This feature, called ARCLibrary, was intended to provide non-tech savvy users of the device a simple means of organizing audio collection.
The device contained an MPEG-4
player, enabling users to watch MPEG-4 encoded video files in DivX
AVI
format. The Gmini 400 also had an image viewer compatible with PNG, BMP
and JPEG
image file formates. There is also functionality built in within the device to play games available from the manufacturer's website.
In addition to these other features, the Archos Gmini 400 contained a CompactFlash
reader enabling the user to slot in a memory card
, increasing the unit's capacity, play files stored within the card, and transfer files from the card to the unit. It was not possible to transfer files from the Gmini 400 to the CompactFlash card, presumably to discourage sharing of media files amongst Gmini users.
This device was first released Tuesday, August 31, 2004, and weighs 160 g.
protected WMV
video files, as well as MP3, WMA, AVI, JPG, PNG, and BMP.
As with the Gmini 400, the unit also displays images with its built-in image viewer
. The Gmini 402 also connects to an external audio source for out-aloud listening, and also connects to external video sources too, for watching videos from the device on televisions, etc.
The player includes a built-in game engine
, Mophun
, for 3D style games.
Playback autonomy
on the device is stated at 4 hours, when viewing videos, and up to 10 hours when listening to music. This depends on the usage of the device, such as reading/writing/copying or deleting files.
The unit connects to a personal computer as a "USB Mass Storage Device" for drag and drop mobility.
This player was released on Tuesday, July 12, 2005, and weighs 160 g.
This player, along with a couple AV series
players, were sold by Dish Networks under the PocketDish brand as the AV402E.
modes, which enables users to choose size over quality, as well as recording directly into MPEG4 in VGA resolution.
The Gmini 402 Camcorder is Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh compatible, and is recognized instantly as a "Mass Storage Device".
This unit plays AVI, WMV, MP3, WMA, DRM WMV, WAV, JPG, BMP and PNG.
This unit was first released Friday, November 11, 2005, and weighs 160 g.
's PlaysForSure system which allows users play DRM restricted music.
This unit is classed more as an "entertainment centre" than an MP3 player, and includes a built in speaker for listening out aloud. Even though the speaker may not be the best quality, there is also functionality to be able to connect the device up to an existing external Hi-Fi system and listen outward that way.
The player supports all the standard formats, and also contains a photo viewer - images and videos can be viewed on the 4" colour screen within the unit. The Gmini 500 is fully USB 2.0 compliant.
This device was released Tuesday 20 December 2005, and weighs 320 g.
/Sega Game Gear
, Nintendo Game Boy
/Game Boy Color
, Nintendo Entertainment System
. There is also a Sega Genesishttp://archopen.org/tiki-list_file_gallery.php?galleryId=5 emulator for the Gmini 402 named "pico", possibly a port of PicoDrive which has also been ported to other portable devices.
Since then GliGli has ported the applications to the Gmini 402 and 402 Camcorder. They, along with other homebrew applications including Doom, have now been embedded into the fan made operating system named "MediOS" for the Gmini's and other Archos players.
, WMA
, protected WMA, and WAV
files, and also contains what's known as ARCLibrary, a feature that organizes all digital media on Archos devices. The model also supports gapless playback
.
The model also supports Windows Media
PlaysForSure standards, so purchased music can be synchronized with the player. The Gmini XS 202 is Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh compatible, and uses the USB 2.0 interface to transfer music to its 20 GB built in hard drive.
The player is also ID3
tag compatible.
The Archos Gmini XS 202 was released on Friday, October 28, 2005, and weighs 120 g.
Like the above player, the Gmini XS 100 players boasts functionality with Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh, and uses the USB 2.0 interface to transfer music quickly.
They come in 4 colours, Ice Grey
, Volcanic Black
, Funky Pink
and Techno Blue
. The devices are 3 GB or 4 GB.
The Archos Gmini XS 101 was released on Friday, November 12, 2004, and weighs 120 g.
screen, no PlaysForSure support, and a 20 GB hard drive.
The Archos Gmini XS 200 was released on Thursday, October 14, 2004, and weighs 120 g.
, WMA
and WAV
files. It cannot play DRM
-protected WMA
files. Its capacity is 20 GB.
This model also uses the ARCLibrary to organize music and media on the device. There is also a browser feature within the unit to enable users to copy, move, and rename files, and has a battery life of 10 hours.
The Gmini 120 features a built-in microphone and a line-in jack, and can record audio straight to MP3 format (112kbs from microphone, 192kbs from line-in jack. Both constant bit rate).
There is a slot in the top of the device that accepts CompactFlash
cards. This allows digital camera images (or any files) to be uploaded to the device, thus reducing the requirement of carrying round many memory cards. The device does not support image viewing, however.
This player was released November 1, 2003, and weighs 244 g.
There is also an optional FM Radio attachment available for this player so users can play and record directly from FM radio.
A version of this player was released as the Archos Gmini SP.
Portable media player
A portable media player or digital audio player, is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive, or flash memory. In contrast, analog portable audio...
released by Archos
Archos
Archos is a French consumer electronics company that was established in 1988 by Henri Crohas. Archos manufactures portable media players and portable data storage devices. The name is an anagram of Crohas' last name, and it is also Greek for 'master'...
in 2004 and 2005.
| Gmini 402 | |
| |
|
| Storage : | 20 GB |
|---|---|
| Display: | 2.2" LCD 220x176 pixels, 262 000 colours and TV output |
| Video: | DivX/Xvid AVI, MPEG-4 SP, WMV 9/10 up to DVD resolution |
| Audio: | Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 kbit/s CBR & VBR, WMA (including protected WMA files), WAV (PCM & ADPCM) |
| Photo viewer: | JPEG (except progressives) or BMP, Transfer photos from digital camera through USB Host port |
| Interfaces: | USB 2.0 high-speed device, compatible USB 1.1, PC & Mac, USB Host port compatible Mass Storage Device |
| Connections: | Earphones / Audio & Video line out, Microphone in |
| Battery life: | 10 hours for music, 5 hours for video on built-in LCD |
| Dimensions & weight: | 4.2 in x 2.4 in x 0.7 in - 5.6 oz |
Gmini 400
The first audio device to hold a color LCD screenLiquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
as well as photo, audio and video playback capacities, the Gmini 400 was introduced October 2004.
The player featured MP3, WMA and WAV playback facilities and also loaded user-placed, APIC album covers on the display while the appropriate song was playing. The device was ID3
ID3
ID3 is a metadata container most often used in conjunction with the MP3 audio file format. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, and other information about the file to be stored in the file itself....
Tag compatible, and organized users music collection by reading this meta-data. This feature, called ARCLibrary, was intended to provide non-tech savvy users of the device a simple means of organizing audio collection.
The device contained an MPEG-4
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a method of defining compression of audio and visual digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group under the formal standard ISO/IEC...
player, enabling users to watch MPEG-4 encoded video files in DivX
DivX
DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX, Inc. , including the DivX Codec which has become popular due to its ability to compress lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality.There are two DivX codecs; the regular MPEG-4 Part 2 DivX codec and the...
AVI
Audio Video Interleave
Audio Video Interleave , known by its acronym AVI, is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992 as part of its Video for Windows technology. AVI files can contain both audio and video data in a file container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback...
format. The Gmini 400 also had an image viewer compatible with PNG, BMP
BMP
-In computing:* BMP file format, the file name extension for the Bitmap image file format.* Basic Multilingual Plane, related to the Unicode character set.* Beep Media Player, a multimedia player.-Biology:...
and JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
image file formates. There is also functionality built in within the device to play games available from the manufacturer's website.
In addition to these other features, the Archos Gmini 400 contained a CompactFlash
CompactFlash
CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...
reader enabling the user to slot in a memory card
Memory card
A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...
, increasing the unit's capacity, play files stored within the card, and transfer files from the card to the unit. It was not possible to transfer files from the Gmini 400 to the CompactFlash card, presumably to discourage sharing of media files amongst Gmini users.
This device was first released Tuesday, August 31, 2004, and weighs 160 g.
Gmini 402
The Gmini 402 is the next model up from the Gmini 400. Featuring PlaysForSure compatibility, the owners of this model can download purchased, protected music, in WMA format, and play them back on the device. This player supports DRMDigital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
protected WMV
Windows Media Video
'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...
video files, as well as MP3, WMA, AVI, JPG, PNG, and BMP.
As with the Gmini 400, the unit also displays images with its built-in image viewer
Image viewer
An image viewer or image browser is a computer program that can display stored graphical image; it can often handle various graphics file formats...
. The Gmini 402 also connects to an external audio source for out-aloud listening, and also connects to external video sources too, for watching videos from the device on televisions, etc.
The player includes a built-in game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
, Mophun
Mophun
Mophun, a product of Synergenix Interactive, is an environment for developing Mobile-Phone Games and Applications. The games are developed in the C and C++ programming languages using an open source SDK available upon request from the website. A compiler translates the projects into a system...
, for 3D style games.
Playback autonomy
Peripheral
A peripheral is a device attached to a host computer, but not part of it, and is more or less dependent on the host. It expands the host's capabilities, but does not form part of the core computer architecture....
on the device is stated at 4 hours, when viewing videos, and up to 10 hours when listening to music. This depends on the usage of the device, such as reading/writing/copying or deleting files.
The unit connects to a personal computer as a "USB Mass Storage Device" for drag and drop mobility.
This player was released on Tuesday, July 12, 2005, and weighs 160 g.
This player, along with a couple AV series
Archos AV series
The Archos AV series is a line of portable media players from the company called Archos that was released through 2003 to 2005. This series introduced the digital video recorder for the AV500, an optional feature that would be compatible in subsequent players...
players, were sold by Dish Networks under the PocketDish brand as the AV402E.
Gmini 402 Camcorder
The camera is 1.2MP (Megapixel), and has video recording capabilities, with up to a 2x digital zoom. The player also holds 3 resolutionDisplay resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
modes, which enables users to choose size over quality, as well as recording directly into MPEG4 in VGA resolution.
The Gmini 402 Camcorder is Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh compatible, and is recognized instantly as a "Mass Storage Device".
This unit plays AVI, WMV, MP3, WMA, DRM WMV, WAV, JPG, BMP and PNG.
This unit was first released Friday, November 11, 2005, and weighs 160 g.
Gmini 500
Just after the release of the AV500, the Archos Gmini 500 was born. This device, along with a lot of Archos' latest devices, has full support for Windows MediaWindows Media
Windows Media is a multimedia framework for media creation and distribution for Microsoft Windows. It consists of a software development kit with several application programming interfaces and a number of prebuilt technologies, and is the replacement of NetShow technologies.The Windows Media SDK...
's PlaysForSure system which allows users play DRM restricted music.
This unit is classed more as an "entertainment centre" than an MP3 player, and includes a built in speaker for listening out aloud. Even though the speaker may not be the best quality, there is also functionality to be able to connect the device up to an existing external Hi-Fi system and listen outward that way.
The player supports all the standard formats, and also contains a photo viewer - images and videos can be viewed on the 4" colour screen within the unit. The Gmini 500 is fully USB 2.0 compliant.
This device was released Tuesday 20 December 2005, and weighs 320 g.
Homebrew
A firmware exploit discovered by user GliGli provided the possibility for product enhancement by the community of Gmini 400 enthusiasts. The Gmini 400 has become a haven for emulator gaming, with an emulator for Sega Master SystemSega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
/Sega Game Gear
Sega Game Gear
The was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
, Nintendo Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
/Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
, Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. There is also a Sega Genesishttp://archopen.org/tiki-list_file_gallery.php?galleryId=5 emulator for the Gmini 402 named "pico", possibly a port of PicoDrive which has also been ported to other portable devices.
Since then GliGli has ported the applications to the Gmini 402 and 402 Camcorder. They, along with other homebrew applications including Doom, have now been embedded into the fan made operating system named "MediOS" for the Gmini's and other Archos players.
Gmini XS 202
The Gmini XS 202 is a fairly popular model supplied from Archos. This model supports MP3MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, WMA
Windows Media Audio
Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
, protected WMA, and WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
files, and also contains what's known as ARCLibrary, a feature that organizes all digital media on Archos devices. The model also supports gapless playback
Gapless playback
Gapless playback is the uninterrupted playback of consecutive audio tracks without intervening silence or clicks at the point of the track change. Gapless playback is common with compact discs, gramophone records, or tapes, but is not always available with other formats that employ compressed...
.
The model also supports Windows Media
Windows Media
Windows Media is a multimedia framework for media creation and distribution for Microsoft Windows. It consists of a software development kit with several application programming interfaces and a number of prebuilt technologies, and is the replacement of NetShow technologies.The Windows Media SDK...
PlaysForSure standards, so purchased music can be synchronized with the player. The Gmini XS 202 is Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh compatible, and uses the USB 2.0 interface to transfer music to its 20 GB built in hard drive.
The player is also ID3
ID3
ID3 is a metadata container most often used in conjunction with the MP3 audio file format. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, and other information about the file to be stored in the file itself....
tag compatible.
The Archos Gmini XS 202 was released on Friday, October 28, 2005, and weighs 120 g.
Gmini XS 100
The XS 100 group of players features a 1.5" screen, full PlaysForSure capabilities, and supports MP3, WMA, protected WMA, and WAV files. It also features the ARCLibrary for organizing media files within one's media collection.Like the above player, the Gmini XS 100 players boasts functionality with Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh, and uses the USB 2.0 interface to transfer music quickly.
They come in 4 colours, Ice Grey
Grey
Grey or gray is an achromatic or neutral color.Complementary colors are defined to mix to grey, either additively or subtractively, and many color models place complements opposite each other in a color wheel. To produce grey in RGB displays, the R, G, and B primary light sources are combined in...
, Volcanic Black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
, Funky Pink
Pink
Pink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....
and Techno Blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
. The devices are 3 GB or 4 GB.
The Archos Gmini XS 101 was released on Friday, November 12, 2004, and weighs 120 g.
Gmini XS 200
Archos' Gmini XS 200 is a previous model to the XS 202, with a monochromeMonochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
screen, no PlaysForSure support, and a 20 GB hard drive.
The Archos Gmini XS 200 was released on Thursday, October 14, 2004, and weighs 120 g.
Gmini 120
This particular model plays MP3MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, WMA
Windows Media Audio
Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
and WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
files. It cannot play DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
-protected WMA
Windows Media Audio
Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
files. Its capacity is 20 GB.
This model also uses the ARCLibrary to organize music and media on the device. There is also a browser feature within the unit to enable users to copy, move, and rename files, and has a battery life of 10 hours.
The Gmini 120 features a built-in microphone and a line-in jack, and can record audio straight to MP3 format (112kbs from microphone, 192kbs from line-in jack. Both constant bit rate).
There is a slot in the top of the device that accepts CompactFlash
CompactFlash
CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...
cards. This allows digital camera images (or any files) to be uploaded to the device, thus reducing the requirement of carrying round many memory cards. The device does not support image viewing, however.
This player was released November 1, 2003, and weighs 244 g.
There is also an optional FM Radio attachment available for this player so users can play and record directly from FM radio.
A version of this player was released as the Archos Gmini SP.