First seen in the wild back at CES in Las Vegas, the Archos Platinum line of tablets has now been officially announced, dated and priced. The range of three slates -- the 80, 97 and 116 -- will range between 8 and 11.6 inches in size and pack some pretty premium looking specs for a less than premium price.
The range will all share some common specs, including a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU with 8-core GPU, 2GB of RAM, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, microSD card and microHDMI support as well as front and rear cameras. From this common ground, each tablet in the range has an IPS display of differing resolutions, including one that goes toe-to-toe with the iPad's Retina Display.
First up is the 80 Platinum, and as the name suggests is the 8-inch variant. This comes with a 1024x768 resolution display, and will cost just £179/$199 when it goes on sale sometime this month. The 116 Platinum is the pretty massive 11.6-inch tablet, with a display resolution of 1920x1080. This one won't be available until April, and is priced at £299/$349
It's perhaps though the 97, the 9.7-inch sibling that sits between these two, that is the most interesting. The 97 Platinum houses a whopping 2048x1536 resolution display, which as we found during our brief hands on at CES, is absolutely stunning. The 97 Platinum will also be available sometime this month, for the very reasonable price of just £249/$299. While the screen might not be quite as high-res as the Nexus 10, it is a decent bit cheaper. The full press release can be found after the break.
More: Hands on with the Archos Platinum tablets
ARCHOS Introduces the New Platinum Range
The Platinum tablets are amongst the first Android tablets to offer a super high resolution IPS screen combined with the performance of a Quad-Core CPU
Denver, CO – February 14, 2013 - ARCHOS, an award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, introduces the Platinum range, a new line of tablets that feature a sleek aluminum design combined with the best high definition IPS displays, quad-core processors and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. There will be three tablets in the range including an 8-inch, 9.7-inch and 11.6-inch all of which deliver true vivid colors, sharper text and amazingly fast performance.
The entire Platinum range will all share the following features:
• High-Definition IPS display with capacitive multi-touch screen
• QUAD core CPU at 1.2 GHz with 8-core GPU, with 1080p video decoding
• 2 GB RAM
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• Full access to the 700,000 applications
• Archos Media Center applications
• Front and Back Cameras
• Mini-HDMI and Micro SD ports
The ARCHOS 80 Platinum, an 8” tablet, features a 1024x768 resolution IPS screen and when compared to the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 it is almost twice as fast, has double the RAM and has a back camera for a fraction of the cost. The 80 Platinum will be available in February for $199.
The ARCHOS 97 Platinum HD, a 9.7” tablet, features a stunning 2048x1536 resolution IPS screen, which is comparable to the Retina display found in the iPad, but is 40% less expensive.
The 97 Platinum HD will be available in February for $299.
The ARCHOS 116 Platinum, an 11.6” tablet, features a 1920x1080 resolution IPS screen, unlike anything currently on the market. The 116 Platinum will be available in April for $349.
