Cheap Android tablet with retina display – Archos Platinum

Archos have just unveiled a new range of cheap Android tablets, this time with retina display. Archos expects release to start in April, but if you can’t wait that long, some models from Archos Titanium line started hitting the market in March. [Updated]

(Archos 97 Platinum was finally in online stores on July 15.)

Nobody seems to unveil more tablet models than Archos does these days. Adding to their lineup is the new Platinum range that will consist of the 9.7-inch Archos 97 Platinum HD, with a 2048×1536 resolution IPS display, the 11.6-inch Archos 116 Platinum, with a 1920×1080 resolution IPS display, and the 8-inch Archos 80 Platinum, that will feature a more regular 1024×768 resolution IPS display.

As you may have noticed, 9.7-inches is a rare size for tablets outside of the Apple iPad. HP was one of the few others that dared to copy Apple’s iPad size with their iconic HP TouchPad. But Archos loves tablets of the 9.7-inch scale and have produced previous tablets of the same dimensions.

Underneath it all, the Platinum range runs on a Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, 1.2GHz Quad-Core CPU’s, PowerVR SGX 544 8-core GPU’s, 2GB of RAM, and flash memory starting with 8GB, with the addition of memory expansion.

Archos initially expected the release of the 80 Platinum in February for $199, and for the 97 Platinum HD to become available in February too for $299, while the 116 Platinum was to hit the market in April for $349. But Archos later changed their strategy and now seem to aim for a full April release on all tablets.

However, as we have seen with Archos in the past, they often have delay their tablet releases. Not to mention the quality issues that have hovered Archos like a dark cloud. We can only hope that some positive developments have changed these issues for the better.

In addition Archos also announced that their new Platinum tablet range will be on display at the CeBIT computer expo in Hannover from March 5th to 9th.
– Tom Bowen