ARCHOS recently announced the launch of their new Gen 5 lineup of personal media players leading out with the ARCHOS 605 WiFi as an upgrade to the 604 WiFi model featuring higher quality screen resolution and easier access media content. It features a higher resolution 800 x 480 4.3 inch touch screen, WiFi connectivity and comes in sizes of 4GB flash with an SD card slot or drive capacities of 30GB, 80GB or 160GB.

ARCHOS takes more advantage of the WiFi capabilities with the Gen 5 versions through a couple of new services. On the 605 WiFi users can access the ARCHOS TV Program Guide to view show times and set the device to act as a DVR and record programs with a single touch. The DVR capabilities still unfortunately require a separate base station to make it all possible.

Also new to the system is the ARCHOS Content Portal which enables users to purchase and download movies, television shows and music directly to the 605 WiFi without the use of a computer. The content is managed and downloaded wirelessly (interrupted connections resume download) and they provide a selection of multiple providers to obtain the media content. The wireless connectivity also enables streaming content from your PC media library.

In the new GEN 5 lineup of PMP’s coming soon from ARCHOS along with the 605 WiFi is an upgraded 7 inch PMP launching as the 705 WiFi and two smaller versions sans WiFi - the 405 and 105. No information on actual shipping dates or pricing was available, but ARCHOS has updated their site to show the new 605 WiFi features along with general GEN5 information.