Mobile Technology

Archos goes Platinum with three new quad-core tablets

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The 80 Platinum (left) takes cues from the iPad mini, while the 97 Platinum HD borrows from the 3rd or 4th-generation iPad
The 80 Platinum (left) takes cues from the iPad mini, while the 97 Platinum HD borrows from the 3rd or 4th-generation iPad
Archos' three tablets will arrive within the next few months

When you talk about tablet manufacturers, you might mention names like Apple, Samsung, Asus, and Amazon. Once you get past the big names, though, there is another – oft-forgotten – tier of businesses battling for your dollars. One of those is Archos. Its new line of tablets takes some cues from the iPad, though its pricing is more akin to budget tablets.

Meet the Archos Platinum series. Experiencing deja vu? That’s because the Platinum tablets are remarkably similar to the Archos Titanium tablets. With identical displays and near-identical designs, the big difference is that the Platinum slates rock quad core processors and have more RAM.

Specs

Archos' three tablets will arrive within the next few months

The Archos 97 Platinum HD is a pretty blatant iPad dupe, sporting a matching 9.7-inch, 2,048 x 1,536 4:3 IPS display. The 80 Platinum is similarly – ahem – "inspired by" the iPad mini, with an 8-inch, 1,024 x 768 display.

A third device, the 116 Platinum, goes in a more original direction – sporting an 11.6-inch, 16:9 IPS display.

All three tablets pack 1.2 GHz quad-core processors, with 8-core graphics. They also tote 2 GB of RAM across the board, and ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Unlike Archos tablets from years past, these devices include all of the standard Google apps (Gmail, Google Maps, etc.).

Pricing, release

If Archos’ new tablets tickle your fancy, they can potentially save you a few bucks. The 97 Platinum HD will ring up for US$299, while the 80 Platinum will cost $199. They’ll both ship later this month. The 116 Platinum won’t launch until April, and will set you back $349.On paper, these don’t look like bad deals. But Archos’ tablets have historically had some big Achilles' heels (poor viewing angles, buggy software, cheap build quality, etc.). So we’d recommend waiting for reviews – or your own hands-on time – before getting too excited.

Source: Archos

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3 comments
exodous
If they have one with any kind of large drive powered by SATA or mSATA standards I'll upgrade. I have loved my Archos 101 G9 250GB (whoo, long name), I can pack it full of HD movies and it caries my entire music collection and my entire comic collection. It does those three things well but it is not a gaming machine in the slightest, for that I have my phone.
I have to say after holding a physical mSATA drive I think it is a crime that more tablets just don't have them in it. My Archos 101 is a little bit thicker to hold a full 2.5 inch drive but it would be a lot smaller with an mSATA drive in it and for 10 inch tablets I can live with the extra bulk.
DCL
The archos platinum and titanium tablets sound pretty good. I realize that they are gearing up to compete with another popular tablet maker. In fact, they have gone so far as to incorporate built-in internal batteries. Too bad. Not going to buy one. Won't buy anything anymore that doesn't have a user replaceable battery. Why is it so hard to engineer an easily replaceable battery into a device? In the past, devices were engineered with batteries that were replaceable, but proprietary (you couldn't find replacement batteries, and if you could, they were very expensive). Now, the battery is engineered in, so there is no way to replace it. You must replace the device. I don't buy it.