Archos intros its first Windows Phone 8.1 handset, plus new Android devices

While Archos is far from being one of the industry’s big players, it managed to launch an impressive number of smartphones and tablets until now. Today, the French company announced several new products, one of them being its very first Windows Phone device.

Called 40 Cesium, Archos’ first WP handset - pictured below - will be available starting September for just $99, obviously being an entry-level device. The Archos 40 Cesium will run Windows Phone 8.1, featuring a 4-inch display of unknown resolution, a quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor, and three colored back cases. The handset will directly compete with Microsoft's cheap Lumia 530.

Archos also has a new Windows 8.1 tablet: the 80 Cesium, which should be released in October for $149. The 80 Cesium will offer an 8-inch IPS display with 1280 x 800 pixels, and a quad-core Intel processor. Other features haven’t been revealed. 

On the Android front, Archos announced the 50b Platinum and 45c Platinum smartphones, plus the 101 Oxygen tablet, all running Android 4.4 KitKat.

The Archos 50b Platinum features a 5-inch IPS screen with 540 x 960 pixels, dual SIM capabilities, 8 MP rear camera with LED flash, 2 MP front-facing camera, a quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor clocked at 1.3 GHz, 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB of expandable internal memory, and a 1900 mAh battery. The 45c Platinum is a bit smaller, sporting a 4.5-inch IPS display with 480 x 854 pixels, but keeping most of the other features listed above. As for the 101 Oxygen slate, this offers a 10.1-inch 1080p display, 1.5 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal memory, and a quad-core processor - likely also a MediaTek unit.

Archos will launch the 50b Platinum and 45c Platinum smartphones in September (for $149 and $129, respectively), and the 101 Oxygen tablet in October (for $249). All new Archos devices will be showcased at IFA 2014 early next month. 

1. Archos 50b Platinum

2. Archos 50b Platinum

3. Archos 45c Platinum

4. Archos 45c Platinum

source: Archos (PDF)