Audio and video manufacturer announces first foray into smartphone sector with trio of smartphones from £80
Fancy an unlocked Android smartphone but don’t want to have to raid your life savings? Archos ( www.archos.com.) a player (hah hah) in the portable audio and video player market, is bringing out Google certified smartphones as low as £80 (OK ‘ it’s £79.99 but we figure you’ll give the penny to charity).
The phones have screen sizes from 3.5” to 5.3” in size and will include a range of features, connectivity, CPU’s and storage. The ARCHOS 50 Platinum has the 5.0 inch full black IPS display paired with a quad-core CPU at 1.2GHz and an 8MP camera. All smartphones in this new line will include pure unskinned Android OS, Google Certification for access to Google PlayTM and Google Mobile Services including Google Now, dual SIM flexibility to manage two providers simultaneously from one phone, Cloud-based Contacts and Storage, front and back cameras.
The ARCHOS 35 Carbon ( £79.99), ARCHOS 50 Platinum ( £179.99) and ARCHOS 53 Platinum ( £199.99) will be the first in a new line of smartphones to be released and will be available from the end of May 2013.Each smartphone will feature Qualcomm CPU and will run dual SIM cards so you can experience the delights of two networks at once (and two bills). Archos is claiming Samsung S3-like performance from the ‘Platinum’ at half the price. Archos reckons the smartphone market is moving more to SIM-free sales versus subsidised sales are increasing. “We can offer retail channels affordable, unlocked and feature-rich smartphones without the heavy price tag,” says Loïc Poirier, CEO of ARCHOS.
“Smartphones and tablets are interrelated markets that have quickly crossed over with the arrival of “phablets”. 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.”
