I forget about Archos. I know I'm not the only one.
However, when it comes time to list the brands that produce high-end smartphones, the French company's name never really comes up. When I actually sit down with their newest line of devices, though, I often end up fairly impressed.
Certainly, the Diamond line unveiled at this year's IFA fits the bill. The Diamond Tab, which is only presently launching in one, smaller-sized 7.9-inch configuration, features a 1.7 GHz octa-core processor, 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage expandable via a microSD card slot.
The display is an impressive 2048 by 1536 pixels, and LTE is standard. The device's build is also quite premium-feeling — it's not dissimilar from the kind of quality we've come to expect from Apple's iPads, with a metal unibody frame.
It's pretty solid for a $200 price point when the device launches here in October.
The Diamond Plus smartphone sports a similarly premium build, featuring a metallic backing and a 5.5-inch 1080p display. Inside is 16 GB of storage, 2 GB of RAM and a 1.5 GHz octa-core processor — only a slight step down from its tablet sibling. On the rear is a 16 megapixel camera.
The handset is due out in November, priced the same as the Tab. Not too shabby, Archos.
