Archos unveils Platinum range of 8, 9.7 and 11.6-inch tablets

by Mark Tyson on 15 February 2013, 12:30

Tags: Archos (EPA:JXR), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), PC

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Archos has officially announced its Platinum range of Android tablets. The range comprises of three different sized tablets which share many qualities, such as a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and aluminium construction, but are differentiated by their screen size, resolution and, of course, price.

The new Archos Platinum range consists of the Archos 80 Platinum, the Archos 97 Platinum and the Archos 116 Platinum. The model numbers tally with their screen sizes of 8-inches, 9.7-inches and 11.6-inches.

Each of the tablets has the same core computing hardware, ports and interfaces. The Platinum range is equipped with “1.2 GHz Allwinner A-31 quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processors with 8-core graphics and support for 1080p HD video decoding” reports Liliputing. Also in common are the 2GB of RAM, mini-HDMI port and microSD card expandability. All the tablets sport front and back facing cameras and come with Android Jelly Bean 4.1 installed. The tablets are compatible with the Google Play store, as you would expect.

The screen and price differences

Here we see the differences emerge. However all the screens are of the IPS type facilitating wide viewing angles.

  • Archos 80 Platinum: 8-inch, 1024 x 768 pixel display. £179 RRP. Available in this month.
  • Archos 97 Platinum: 9.7-inch, 2048 x 1536 pixel display. £229 RRP. Available in this month.
  • Archos 116 Platinum: 11.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display. £299 RRP. Available in April.

Archos Android smartphones

According to rumours emanating from the French MiniMachines.net website Archos is about to edge into new territory. The company has danced around the periphery of the smartphone market for a long time with its personal media players and tablet launches and even home telephone systems but now it seems like it is about to stick its toe in the water.

According to the MiniMachines report, via techradar, Archos plans a trio of smartphones which are the “3.5-inch Archos Carbon 35, the 5.2-inch 52 Titanium, and the 4.8-inch 48 Platinum”. The Carbon and Titanium phones will be launched with Android ICS installed but the Platinum will use Jelly Bean from the outset

The cheapest model, the Archos Carbon, priced at around £77, will have a 480 x 320, 3.5-inch screen and 512MB of RAM. The 5.2-inch Titanium phone will reportedly only have a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, it will be powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. The 4.8-inch Platinum will feature the best resolution of 1280 x 800 and the fastest processor, a 1.7GHz quad-core. The Archos Platinum is expected to cost about £215.

The Android tablet and smartphone marketplace is already very crowded. Archos has really taken its time to get ready and put out some offerings in the smartphone market. Hopefully we will find out more about the company’s new range and their particular selling points at the MWC in a week or so.



HEXUS Forums :: 8 Comments

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The tablets are compatible with the Google Play store, as you would expect.

Actually, a lot of Archos tablets have a proprietary store rather than Google Play, so I wouldn't expect this, and it's rather good news ;)

Hmmm, I've been fancying a 4:3 tablet for a while, and a 2048x1536 Archos would fit the bill quite nicely. Although I'd've prefered the 8“ to be a bit more adventurous than 1024x768: a nice 8” 16x12 would be spot on for me… ;)
These Archos tablets seem to be using some of the parts in the Chinese supply chain. They have just used what is available off the shelf. This is wise, the screen on the 97 is likely the same one that Onda and Apple use.

If I were to guess the SOC is the Allwinner A31 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allwinner_A31 which benchmarks very favourably compared to the Tegra 3 or Exynos http://www.newaydeals.com/testing-of-allwinner-quad-core-chip-a31-cpu/

The 80 and 97 sound very much like Onda V812 and V972, I wouldn't be supervised if they share a lot in common. However that price on the 97 is very competitive, close to the ebay price of the V972 without the worry about customs.

I picked up a DGM 27" monitor for the same reason, peace of mind getting it from a UK seller. I had a real faf buying my Ainol Novo 7 Aurora. I would rather buy an Archos knowing I can get that support
If they can get the updates out OK, that 4.8in phone doesn't sound too bad… Things are pointing towards buying a handset outright and getting PAYG or 12-month contracts…
The Article
The Platinum range is equipped with “1.2 GHz Allwinner A-31 quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processors with 8-core graphics and support for 1080p HD video decoding” reports Liliputing.

Gunbuster
If I were to guess the SOC is the Allwinner A31 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allwinner_A31 which benchmarks very favourably compared to the Tegra 3 or Exynos http://www.newaydeals.com/testing-of-allwinner-quad-core-chip-a31-cpu/

Good guess ;)

Allwinner seem to churning out quite a few mid-to-high end SoCs, and the base specs of this one certainly look pretty tasty.

My only real problem with the 80 is this: http://www.ebuyer.com/450264-sumvision-cyclone-voyager-tablet-pc-cycvoy8 - Whilst it's not quite as powerful, it's got more than enough oomph to power Android and pretty much any app/game on it, has the same screen size/resolution, and is £75 - i.e. more than 40% - cheaper…
My main issue with a tablet, more so than even a desktop or laptop is viewing angles. Having tried an Advent with a TN screen I will never, however cheap, buy a TN based tablet. It has to be IPS/PLS/OLED/VA based. No point having all the power in the world if you can't see it.