Archos 45

Archos announced two new smartphones that offer LTE connectivity and decent specifications at entry-level prices. The new devices, part of the Helium line, are the French company’s first LTE-enabled smartphones.
The company recently revealed it would exhibit a line of wearable devices and smart home gadgets at the Consumer Electronics Show next week, but Archos’ bread and butter, smartphone and tablets, will take center stage.
The new Helium 45 and Helium 50 pack a Snapdragon 400 SoC, combining a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.4GHz with an Adreno 405 GPU running at up to 450MHz. Both phones come with 1GB of RAM, but the cheaper Helium 45 only packs 4GB of internal storage, as opposed to the more decent 8GB on the Helium 50. The biggest difference is in the displays: the Helium 45 comes with a 4.5-inch IPS LCD display of 854×480 (FWVGA) resolution, while the Helium 50 can cross HD resolution of the checklist with a 5-inch IPS LCD of 1280 x 720.

Archos 45 image gallery

Other specs include microSD card slots, 5MP (Helium 45)/8MP (Helium 80) rear cameras, and 1700 mAh (Helium 45)/2000 mAh (Helium 80), and the typical bevy of connectivity options. The devices are compatible with 800 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 MHz LTE bands, which limits their compatibility in the United States to Sprint LTE customers.

Archos 50 image gallery

Both phones run stock Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and Archos promised that it’s working closely with Qualcomm to deliver a speedy update to KitKat. Overall, Helium 45 and 50 compete squarely with the Moto G in terms of bang-for-the-buck, having LTE as an advantage over Motorola’s cheaper offering.
Here are the full specs:

As for the aspect that will likely decide the success of Archos’ new smartphones, the Helium 45 will be available for just $199.99, while the Helium 50 will go for $249. Both devices will be on show at CES next week, and we’ll be there to bring you a hands-on.