Monday, Oct. 25, 2010

Archos Gmini 400

For years Steve Jobs refused to make a video iPod — he said no one would watch video on a tiny screen — but that didn't stop Archos from creating the first iPod-sized personal video player back in 2004. Watching movies wasn't exactly easy on the Gmini 400's tiny 2.2-inch screen, but you could do that, as well as listen to music, look at photos, and play games. Early adopters loved its versatility, but the Gmini never went mainstream, partly because Archos lacked an iTunes-like store for buying video (finding legal movie downloads was nearly impossible in 2004). Eventually Steve changed his mind, and it turned out being the first to do portable video didn't matter so much; while Archos continues with its Vision line of portable video players, the Gmini is all but forgotten.

Rojas and Block are the founders of gdgt, a social gadget site helping users get better answers and product reviews.