First things first, you don’t usually name an entry level anything “Platinum”, but apparently there’s no rule against that – so here is ARCHOS, known purveyor of Android devices for the masses, with two new phones aimed at people who might be buying and using smartphones for the first time. The ARCHOS 45c Platinum and the 50b platinum are the newest devices out of the French electronics device company. Let’s see what they’re like.
The ARCHOS 45c Platinum has a 4.5-inch 854x480 display while the 50b Platinum has a 5-inch qHD (960x540) screen. This might be the main difference of the two phones, as they both sport the same MediaTek 1.3Ghz quad-core processor, supported by 512MB of RAM and a Mali 400MP2 graphics unit. Both will have a meager 4GB of internal storage, both expandable via the microSD slot. The bonus for buyers of the 50b will be an 8GB microSD that comes extra out of the box. (45c gallery below)
The 50b also curiously has a plastic protector case that comes with it out of the box – where this is usually relegated to an accessory that the user buys separately. As you can see, these two phones are not going to win any awards for bleeding edge hardware, but they are targeted squarely at a very specific portion of the entry level market. You see, these two phones offer Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, which may not be the case for other entry level phones. We’ve seen Samsung upgrade their entry level gadgets to KitKat as well. (50b gallery below)
At a retail price of USD$100 and USD$120 respectively, we can be pretty sure that you will get what you paid for in terms of features and hardware. Both units have dual SIM capability, and even have a tolerable 8MP/5MP main shooters and a 2MP front-facing camera. Togeher with the large screens and Android KitKat out of the box, these devices will fight toe-to-toe with all the other entry level devices out there, and it might just win a few battles or so.