Archos' AV 400 Nine-Ounce Personal Video Recorder, TV and More

Sometimes being a journalist has its advantages. Such was the case when Archos dropped by to leave its AV 400. Indeed, convergence and miniaturization have reached a milestone with this device. From now on a mere nine ounces (280 g) will be enough to hold a TV, a personal video recorder and a stereo sound system. Imagine a TiVo system that you hold in your hand.

At a minimum, the AV400 serves as a really cool audio/video Walkman. With dimensions of 5 x 3.5 x 0.75 inches (127 x 82 x 21 mm), this all-in-one multimedia device is the smallest on the market so far. At the same time, it incorporates a 3.5" screen, a loudspeaker, a 20 GB hard drive and a long-lasting battery.

The AV 400 connects to a PC with via a USB 2.0 link and is recognized as a hard drive, complete with a file directory. This means, of course, that you can copy 20 GB of data, videos, photos or MP3s. The portable stereo recognizes MP3, WMA and WAV files for audio, and JPEG and BMP for photos, DivX (4 & 5) and XviD for video.