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Review: Archos 45 Platinum

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Archos are more well known for their MP3 players, but little to most people is they actually make Android phones as well. More so, they do so at a very competitive prices.

Here we review the Archos 45 Platinum. Some of the highlights that stick out are:

  • Extremely competitively priced at £140 (on average)
  • Dual SIM as standard
  • Ability to add microSD card up to 64GB
  • Android is stock, so nothing from Archos on top (there are slight additions to account for the two SIMs).

Look and feel

The four buttons at the bottom may make this look like an old phone, but it actually looks and feels good.

The screen is 4.5″ across, with a resolution of 960x 540. While this is not quite HD, you are getting a fairly good deal for the price you pay. On the back is the 5MP camera, with flash. A removable cover lets you access the two SIM slots as well as the micro SD slot.

The two SIM slots are clearly marked. One of them gives you 3G+ access, while the other only allows you 2G. However, they are clearly marked.

One interesting aspect is that the phone actually takes full size SIMs. It does come with a micro-to-full SIM converter, so you can at least put in one SIM from your other smartphone. Obviously, you can buy them for pennies, so it isn’t quite a problem. A removable battery is also there.

On the bottom is the micro-USB slot. The right has the volume rocker key, while the top has the 3.5mm slot for your headphones/headset and the power key.

DUAL SIM

The phone, as mentioned before, has two SIM slots. That allows you to make calls/send texts from both the SIMs, and it asks you every time you make the call.

It obviously allows you to do the same when it comes to receiving calls.

However, only one SIM goes up to 3G, so you have to be sure to choose which one you want for your data.

This means that you can a second SIM along with your main one to accept and make calls, whether it is a work phone, or just another SIM you have for travelling purposes.

Definitely a good touch, and this is pretty much the only area where the Android on this phone differs from the stock version. You can set different ringtones, etc. for your SIMs.

Android

Probably the best thing about this phone is the fact that Android (Version 4.1.2, Jelly Bean) is stock. You have access to all the features Android offers, with none of the skins all the other phone manufacturers insist on putting on top of their UIs. They do some Archos based apps, but they are un-intrusive, and you are welcome to ignore them.

However, since this isn’t a Nexus, do  not expect to get updates as soon as they are announced from Google.

CPU performance

The phone packs in a quad core 1.2 GHz processor. While this won’t do wonders, I found it to be fairly reasonable. I played heavy games on the phone, which I find hit the processor the hardest, and while it isn’t as fast and slick as the Galaxy S4 I normally use, you do not feel it lagging either. Probably an advantage of keeping the Android stock.

In fact, for this price, this is actually a very decent phone.

It also packs in 1GB of RAM.

Camera

Once again, nothing worth writing home about, but the camera on this phone is exactly what they used to be, a camera in your pocket, with your phone. The picture quality, to be fair, is very decent. You have no extras such as Image Stabilization or fancy sensors, but once again, this is something they have held back on to keep the price point low.

4GB Storage

That is one aspect that this phone definitely suffers on. 4GB is simply not enough. A micro-SD card will definitely be required if you want this phone.

More information

More information about the phone can be found on the Archos website:

http://www.archos.com/us/products/smartphones/platinum/archos_45platinum/index.html

Verdict

For the price, this phone is quite a lot more advanced than the competitors on the market. So if you really want a smartphone, that ticks all the boxes (apart from the camera), and don’t want to pay the usual price, get this. Also, people who carry two phones, this is quite simply a natural choice!

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