Many digital music fans are wondering if or when Apple will produce an iPod that sports a color screen and the ability to play back video, but Archos Inc. has stepped up to the plate with its own offering, the US$399.95 Gmini400. The company announced on Thursday that the Gmini400 is shipping. The 20GB hard drive-based digital music player features a 2.2-inch color LCD screen plus video playback and gaming capabilities.
The Gmini400 features USB 2.0 connectivity and support for Macs and PCs, and also sports a built-in CompactFlash reader, along with stereo analog line in, composite video out and analog line out, and a built-in microphone. The Gmini400 measures 4.2 x 2.4 x .70 inches and weighs about 5.64 ounces.
The device has a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery that’s good for about 10 hours of music playback or 5 hours of video, according to the company. It can playback MP3, WMA and WAV audio files, and supports MPEG-4, AVI, XviD and DivX video formats. It can also view JPEG or BMP image files. The Gmini400 plays games built using the Morphun engine, the same technology used on some cell phones, although they must be purchased from Archos specifically.