Archos throws hat into Android smartphone ring
Known primarily for its tablets, Archos enters the smartphone market with a trio of Android handsets.
Archos announced today that it will release its first family of Google smartphones in Europe by the end of May. Each handset will feature dual SIMs, a pure Android OS experience, and cloud storage capabilities.
Its most entry-level device is called the 35 Carbon. For $99.99, it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, has a 1,300mAh battery, and is powered by a 1GHz processor.
It includes 512GB of RAM, 4GB of ROM, and a microSD card slot that takes cards of up to 32GB. Its 3.5-inch IPS display has a 320x480-pixel resolution, and its rear-facing camera can record 720p video.
The $219.99 50 Platinum is the company's flagship device. It features a bigger, 5-inch screen (with a 960x540-pixel resolution), Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with a 2-megapixel shooter in the front.
Inside, you'll find a 1.2GHz quad-core cortex-A5 CPU and a 2,000mAh battery. It's capable of holding 64GB of expandable memory.
Finally, the $249.99 53 Platinum is a (you guessed it) 5.3-inch device. It has much of the same specs as the 50 Platinum, including the same processor, display resolution, and cameras.
It also features Android Jelly Bean and a microSD card slot that can hold up to 64GB, but it features a bigger, 2,800mAh battery instead.
Although there's been no mention of any U.S. availability, what do you guys think so far? Does Archos have what it takes to make it big in the smartphone leagues?