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Archos GPS in-car holder

Manufacturer: Archos Technology Inc. Part number: 501092

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$90.07 - $129.99 at 6 online stores

CNET Editor rating:
3.0 stars Good
Average user rating: 0.5 stars out of 3 reviews

More product information:: Editors' review; User reviews; Specifications; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: The Archos GPS in-car holder is a great way to extend the capabilities of an existing Archos 605 WiFi, but the end result isn't as sophisticated or portable as many standalone systems.
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	Rate this store See store profile	In stock Free Shipping on $24 and up	Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price	$129.99 Shop now as of 12/02/2008
	Rate this store See store profile	In stock Try Free Amazon Prime for one Month		$94.92 Shop now as of 12/02/2008
Amazon.com Marketplace	Rate this store See store profile	In stock		$90.07 Shop now as of 12/02/2008
Buy.com	Rate this store See store profile	In stock FREE SHIPPING		$93.24 Shop now as of 12/02/2008
Next Warehouse	Not yet rated Rate this store See store profile	In stock		$100.13 Shop now as of 12/02/2008
Costcentral.com	Rate this store See store profile	In stock		$92.22 Shop now as of 12/02/2008

*Total price for the Archos GPS in-car holder are estimated and may vary slightly based on exact tax, shipping, manufacturer rebate or any sale/promotion on the merchant site.

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CNET editors' review

Archos GPS in-car holder

price range: $90.07 - $129.99

Reviewed by: Donald Bell
Reviewed on: 08/12/2008

The good: The Archos GPS in-car holder transforms the Archos 605 WiFi portable video player into a fully functional GPS navigation system.

The bad: Using the Archos 605 WiFi as a GPS system requires the bulky GPS dock, and the suction cup window mount and associated power cables are awkward.

The bottom line: The Archos GPS in-car holder is a great way to extend the capabilities of an existing Archos 605 WiFi, but the end result isn't as sophisticated or portable as many standalone systems.

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The Archos GPS in-car holder ($129) transforms your existing Archos 605 WiFi portable video player into a full-fledged GPS navigation system. For Archos 605 WiFi owners whose GPS needs are strictly in-car, the Archos GPS in-car holder is a great value compared with a similar priced standalone system.

Design
Constructed mostly of black plastic, the Archos GPS in-car holder isn't much to look at. The holder uses an adjustable arm and high-grade suction cup to attach to the inside of your car's windshield, while jawlike clamps keep your Archos 605 WiFi secured. Powering the Archos GPS in-car holder requires an included adapter cable that runs from the side of the cradle to your car's cigarette lighter, which can be a messy proposition depending on your car's design. A second, shorter cable connects from the Archos 605 WiFi's dock plug to the bottom of the GPS holder.

Features
At first glance, the Archos GPS in-car holder may seem like a glorified suction cup, but its built-in GPS antenna offers the only way to add in-car navigation to your Archos 605 WiFi. Unfortunately, requiring a bulky dock attachment to turn the Archos 605 WiFi into a GPS receiver makes it a poor choice for those whose navigation needs extend beyond the car.

If you can accept its in-car limitations, the Archos 605 WiFi's large 4.25-inch antiglare touch screen is a natural fit for a navigation system, and GPS-enabled features such as 3D maps (courtesy of TeleAtlas), searchable points of interest, spoken turn-by-turn directions, and saved locations, are every bit as good as many of the modest systems offered by Garmin or Magellan. You won't see advanced features such as Bluetooth call handling or voice recognition on the GPS-enabled Archos 605 WiFi system, but at this price, we were more than happy with the options offered.

The best argument for using an Archos 605 WiFi as an in-car GPS system is its secondary use as entertainment for bored passengers. With or without the Archos GPS holder, having a 605 WiFi handy is great for watching movies, listening to music, playing games, and browsing the Internet--features that standalone GPS devices include in a more limited scope.

Setting up the Archos 605 WiFi and GPS holder in our car was fairly straightforward, although we weren't thrilled with the dangling power cord.

Performance
Setting up the Archos GPS holder in our car took minor effort, however, it's not the sort of thing you want to habitually move around or take between cars. Two adjustment knobs on the GPS holder allow you to position the Archos 605 WiFi however you like, and a sliding suction cup lock creates a tight seal with your windshield.

After placing an Archos 605 WiFi in the GPS holder and powering it up, it takes about 45 seconds and a few taps of the screen before you can really use the GPS navigation feature. We weren't thrilled with twiddling our thumbs for nearly a minute, but even dedicated GPS systems need time to get their bearings.

The Archos GPS in-car holder shined in its most important role: dispensing directions. Inputting street addresses using the 605 WiFi's large and forgiving onscreen keyboard is a snap, and the turn-by-turn directions dispensed through the holder's built-in speaker are clear and easy to understand. Using the Points of Interest feature, we quickly found dozens of local restaurants, banks, gas stations, and hotels, although our favorite subway terminal was absent from the local public transit listings.

To truly test the mettle of the Archos GPS in-car holder, we veered off our designated course several times to see how the system would react. Without fail, the Archos GPS system would gently chime in about 5 seconds after a missed turn, offering a sensible new route.

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Average user rating: 0.5 stars out of 3 reviews
My rating: 0 stars

Showing opinion 1 to 3 out of 3

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1 stars

IT SUCKED. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY!

by DRTODDMD on August 15, 2008

Pros: CAN USE YOUR ARCHOS FOR ANOTHER FEATURE

Cons: ROUTING SOFTWARE WAS POOR. IT WOULD NOT ALWAYS USE HIGHWAYS WHEN THERE WAS A PARALELL ROAD W TRAFFIC LIGHTS. IT WOULD GAVE CRAZY INNACURATE ROUTES, MAKING U-TURNS, ETC AND YOU STILL HAD PROBLEMS REACHING YOUR DESTINATION. NOT RELIABLE!

Summary: I STRONGLY DO NOT RECOMMEND. FURTHERMORE, ARCHOS GAVE ME A HARD TIME WHEN I INSISTED THEY ACCEPT THE RETURN OF THIS CRAPPY PRODUCT. THEY ANNOYINGLY ARGUED I WOULD HAVE TO ...

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Summary: I STRONGLY DO NOT RECOMMEND. FURTHERMORE, ARCHOS GAVE ME A HARD TIME WHEN I INSISTED THEY ACCEPT THE RETURN OF THIS CRAPPY PRODUCT. THEY ANNOYINGLY ARGUED I WOULD HAVE TO PAY A 15% RE-STOCKING FEE FOR THIS POORLY DESIGNED PRODUCT. I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THEM TO APPEASE THE DISGRUNTLED CUSTOMER AND GRATIOUSLY ACCEPT THE RETURN, RATHER THAN ARGUE WITH ME OVER $20. SO I FOREWARN ANYONE INTERESTED IN THEIR PRODUCT-GET A GARMIN OR TOM-TOM

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1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
1 stars

Will Not load Maps properly, poor support

by jpnll on November 22, 2008

Pros: Not much, since it does not work. :(

Cons: Due to some sort of license & code issues, while the GPS software loads and works, the maps will not.

Summary: Three re-loads, two activation codes, two phone calls plus wait time to technical support, and all technical support at ARCHOS can say is "we are working on it, we suggest ...

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Summary: Three re-loads, two activation codes, two phone calls plus wait time to technical support, and all technical support at ARCHOS can say is "we are working on it, we suggest you return the unit to the store you bought it for a refund."

One main reason I bought the 605 WiFi was so I could use the GPS addon. ARCHOS is clearly aware of the map loading issue, they themselves told me, but nobody from ARCHOS has been informing the merchants who sell these units that they have this defect.

Returned to the store and exchanged it for a dedicated GPS that worked perfectly out of the box.

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1 stars

Bad Design- Lousy Customer Service

by lv2cook on September 23, 2008

Pros: There is simply no good feature in this product.

Cons: Bad design and very lousy customer service. All of the problem mention by DRTODDMD above plus it heats up your archos very very very quick. We even try to cover the archos with a hat so it will not expose to the sun, no help!

Summary: The product design was so bad, it keep letting the sounds out either through the speaker or the archos. The only way you can completely disable all of the sound ...

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Summary: The product design was so bad, it keep letting the sounds out either through the speaker or the archos. The only way you can completely disable all of the sound is connect the archos output to one external speaker and the GPS output to another external speaker. Very weird design. The power connection is tricky to connect the the archos and the insert the whole thing into the holder.
The the packaging is lousy, the map code was not printed on the sleeve or any where that indicated but on the CD itself, you MUST copy it down before insert the DVD into your computer for installation. This part is NOT in the manual. And after you did all of that, the map code does not work (and I am not the only person that has the problem). When we called customer service, it is a very rude customer service, the most annoying one that archos has to this day, who insist that we wait 48 hours for the code (that should be in the package in the first place) and after 48 hours, we called back, we were asked (by the same person) to wait for more. And yes, I can count, 48 hours is 48 hours.

We are simply returning this product. Very very disappointed in the direction that Archos took lately. Don't waste your money.

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Archos GPS in-car holder

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