Archos 97B Platinum

Presenting the ARCHOS 97 Platinum HD, with its super-high resolution IPS screen, quad-core processor running Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” and featuring complete access to the Google Play store and Google mobile applications.

The ARCHOS 97 Platinum HD runs Android 4.1 ‘Jelly Bean’ for tablets so includes all the improvements that come with Android ‘Jelly Bean’ including even smoother interface animations, voice assistant and Google Now that shows you the right information at the right time.

LAS VEGAS, US--How low can tablet prices go this year? If the Archos 97B Platinum is any indication, you can soon get a pretty good slate for US$299.

The company showed off the latest tablets in its Archos Elements series at CES 2013 and its high-end 97B Platinum caught our eye. This 9.7-inch slate looks really attractive with its silver aluminum chassis, and more importantly, it has a 2,048 x 1,536-pixel screen resolution that's identical to the Retina display-equipped iPad

Archos was keen to impress us with the fact that, like all the other Archos Elements devices, the 97B Platinum is Google certified, which is often not the case for budget tablets. However, we were more impressed by the hardware on the 97B Platinum, especially that high-resolution IPS display.

The processor isn't too shabby either--we were told it's an Allwinner A31 quad-core processor with eight-core graphics (PowerVR SGX 544). It also comes with 2GB of RAM, which makes for a rather fluid experience when we played around with this Android 4.1 tablet. It also has front- and rear-facing cameras, though we didn't manage to get the specifications for those.

The 97B Platinum is only available with Wi-Fi and comes with a micro-USB port and HDMI. There's a microSD card slot to augment the limited 8GB internal storage.

Archos also has a slightly less powerful version, the 97B Titanium, that has an identical chassis design and screen. The difference lies in the internals--the Titanium, which costs US$250, only has 1GB of RAM and a dual-core processor.

If the Nexus 10 is too expensive for you at US$499, these new Archos tablets may be good alternatives with comparable high-resolution screens. You'll also get Archos' media playback app, which has more features than the default Android player.

The Archos 97B Platinum is expected to ship in the US and Europe in April, while the Titanium model will be available in March.