Archos 404

What do you get if you cross a PMP with a camcorder?

We call it the PMPorder. Archos calls it the 404 Camcorder. Naturally, when we first heard Archos was going to shove a camcorder in a PMP, we got so excited we peed a little. Alas, the way it's gone about making it means budding Spielbergs will be left more than a touch disappointed.

You can capture MPEG-4 footage at a 640 x 480 resolution at 25 or 30 frames per second, which is roughly equivalent to DVD quality. Sounds nifty. When you watch your masterpieces back, though, you'll find that they're more Blair Witch Project than Lawrence of Arabia. Images are noisy, even with the settings cranked up to the highest quality. There's no optical zoom either, so tight shots look even blockier than regular footage.

Still photos turn out a little better, but without a flash, indoor and nighttime shots are a no-no. At heart, it's still a standard PMP, and to its credit it plays back DivX and XviD videos just fine, as well as delivering some great-sounding audio - once you ditch the headphones supplied and plug in a decent pair, that is.

Unlike the Archos 604 (T3 133, 4/5), this doesn't have a widescreen, which somewhat limits its video playback - if you're watching a widescreen video, you either have to zoom in, slicing off the sides, or stick it in letterbox format.

The thin, rugged case is a plus point, but all things considered, the 404 Camcorder is a bit of a disappointment. This is never going to compete with a real camcorder, or even a cheap digital snapper. It's a poor camera, a worse camcorder and it's not even as good a video player as the cheaper 604.

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