Archos Platinum Range Of Smartphones Launches In May

Tablet manufacturer Archos is branching out into smartphones and has announced a new range of unlocked Android handsets.

Archos said its new ‘platinum’ range of smartphones take advantage of its expertise in tablets and the first swathe will be released at the end of May.

The Archos 35 Carbon will cost just £79.99, while the Archos 50 Platinum is £179.99 and the Archos 53 Platinum £199.

Archos platinum range

“The smartphone market is shifting, as SIM-free sales versus subsidised sales are increasing,” said Loïc Poirier, CEO of Archos. “Archos is prepared to respond to this change, as we can offer retail channels affordable, unlocked and feature-rich smartphones without the heavy price tag.

“Smartphones and tablets are interrelated markets that have quickly crossed over with the arrival of ‘phablets’- half-phone, half-tablet devices. It makes sense that this should be our next phase of products as it’s a natural fit for our brand and long term growth plans.”

All three devices boast super slim designs, Qualcomm processors, IPS screens and support dual SIM Cards. The Archos 50 Platinum and 53 Platinum are virtually identical except the former has a 5-inch screen and the latter a 5.3-inch display.

They run Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, have 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage that can be expanded via a MicroSD card slot up to 64GB. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and Archos promises that it will offer an experience comparable to the Samsung Galaxy S3 for half the price.

The lower-end Archos 35 Carbon runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, has 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage that can be expanded by up to 32GB.

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