I think everyone here will agree with this next comment: no one wants to pay $15-$20 bucks a month for crappy looking video clips that take a few minutes to load up and then playback on a tiny screen. If I’m going to watch something, I don’t want to have to squint, and I want to watch the full thing, not just some highlight reel. That’s why the Archos 704 looks so appealing, it has a nice screen, a big hard drive, and it just plays your media. Really, it doesn’t try to be a cell phone, gaming platform, or anything else you don’t want it to be.

The 704 sports a beautiful 800 x 740 7″ screen. Oh, and it’s also touch sensitive. Even those, err, bigger people, with bigger fingers can use this. Pretty much any video you throw at it can be played, however DivX and Xvid are not supported. You can chose either the 40 GB or the 80 GB version, which should be enough for a good selection of video and any pictures or music you want with you. The 704 even has wi-fi, which will allow you some basic browsing, but I imagine that’s a pretty crappy experience. What is cool though is the fact that you can access files on your home network or read mail from mobile versions of various webmail applications (I know Gmail and Yahoo! offer them). There are plenty more features packed into the Archos 704; it’s truly a multimedia powerhouse.

If you’re willing to be different, as in not use an iPod, the Archos 704 is a good choice for anyone who wants a nice, dedicated video player that has some real storage capacity. About $550.

Product Page - [via Shiny Shiny]