Archos is rolling out a new line of tablets with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean software, Rockchip RK3188 quad-core processors, and prices starting at $200.
The company has been showing off the Archos 80b Platinum, Archos 101 Platinum, and Archos 97b Platinum HD for a few months, but now these three tablets are available for purchase (or in some cases pre-order) in the US.
Archos 97b Platinum HD
The most remarkable model of the lineup features an iPad-like 9.7 inch, 2048 x 1536 pixel IPS display, 2GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage.
Like all the tablets in the new lineup, the Archos 97b Platinum HD has WiFi and Bluetooth, a micro USB port, microSD card slot, and mini HDMI ports.
It has a 2MP front camera and 2MP rear camera. The table tmeasures 9.4″ x 7.2″ x 0.35″ and weighs 1.4 pounds.
Adorama is selling this tablet for $300. It’s also available from a few other retailers, but that’s the best price I’ve found so far.
Archos 101 Platinum
This model also features 2GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and all the same ports as the 9.7 inch model. But the Archos 101 Platinum also includes GPS support.
It has a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, a 2MP rear camera and a 0.3MP front-facing camera. The tablet measures 10.3″ x 6.7″ x 0.39″ and weighs 1.4 pounds.
The Archos 101 Platinum is available for pre-order from J&R for $270.
Archos 80b Platinum
If the Archos 97b Platinum is designed to be an iPad clone, the Archos 80b Platinum mimics the iPad mini. It has an 8 inch, 1024 x 768 pixel display.
This is the cheapest model in the bunch — it’s up for pre-order from J&R for $200. But it also has a lower resolution display than the other tablets, and features just 1GB of RAM.
The tablet’s also a bit on the heavy side for an 8 inch model. It weighs just under a pound and measures 7.8″ x 6″ x 0.38″.
The Archos 80b Platinum has a 2MP rear camera and 0.3MP front-facing camera.
For tablets in this PRICE RANGE they sure have crappy cameras. Last year you could get Asus and Samsung tablets with 5 & 8 megapixel cameras for similar prices. Still, it is an improvement over 2 years ago when they offered 4.3″ android 2.3 tablets for $249. However, I still fault google/android o/s for not supporting more pc based usb peripherals such as usb wifi dongles and the like… usb hardware makers should give serious consideration to providing ANDROID support/compatibility.
One of the best parts of the Archos 80 G9 was the ability to fold out the “leg” from the back and use it as a stand up “desktop picture frame” display without buying anything to do it (or needing to carry a device around to dock it into that would do the same thing).
Do any of these have that wonderful feature?
Oh – one of the worst things about the Archos 80G9 was that it could not be updated to the newer Android at all. Orphaned. And, that has many doubting that buying an Archos product will not be orphaned with an older Android at some point in time.
I still have mine, Another great feature was the full USB host port mounted in the back behind a slide out panel. It could take a USB cellular module, input accessories or even additional storage. Too bad the cellular module wasn’t allowed in the US. Archos had some great ideas, too bad it couldn’t compete with the rapidly evolving specs of their competition as well as a lack of design aesthetics.
Edited for spelling and grammar.