Archos announces the affordable and stylish Cobalt and Power smartphones at CES

By Robert Nazarian Published January 4, 2016

If you’re looking for a new smartphone that won’t break the bank, than look no further than the Archos Cobalt and Archos Power devices. Announced today at CES, these Android phones won’t blow you away in the specs department, but their prices will.

Leave the charger at home

The Power (pictured above) is all about battery life, which is two days according to Archos. The Archos 40 Power is the entry-level model and it features a 4-inch WVGA display with a resolution of 800 x 480. While that would have been a hit in 2009, unfortunately, not so much today.

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The 40 Power is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Spreadtrum SC7731C processor, and it has 512MB of RAM along with 8GB of internal storage. The included MicroSD slot means you can add up to an additional 64GB.

The rear camera is 5 megapixels and it sports an LED flash. The front-facer comes in at 2 megapixels.

The battery is 1,900mAh, which doesn’t sound like much. However, when you consider the display resolution and processing power, it will more than get the job done.

The 50 Power gets a a larger 5-inch 720p display with a resolution of 1,280 x 720. The processor, RAM, and internal storage all get bumped up to a quad-core MediaTek MTK6735, 2GB, and 16GB respectively.

The rear camera gets a large bump as well. It shoots up to 13 megapixels and has auto focus and an LED flash. The front-facer gets a minor bump to 3 megapixels. Finally, the battery gets a huge bump to 4,000mAh, which truly is incredible. Sadly, both phones are only 3G compatible.

The Archos 40 Power and Archos 50 Power will go on sale in May for only $50 and $120 respectively.

Get the look you want

ARCHOS-Cobalt — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Archos says the Cobalt comes in colors for every taste, but unfortunately there are only two choices: cobalt blue or dark grey.

The Archos 50 Cobalt has a 5-inch 720p display with a resolution of 1,280 x 720. It’s powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6535P processor and it has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. The included MicroSD slot means that you can add up to an additional 64GB.

The rear camera is 8 megapixels and it includes auto focus and LED flash, while the front-facer comes in at 2 megapixels. The battery is 2,000mAh, which won’t provide the same kind of life as the Power, but it should easily get you through the day.

You can also opt for the Archos 55 Cobalt, which gives you a larger 5.5-inch display with the same resolution as the 50 Cobalt. The processor gets a minor bump to a quad-core MediaTek MT6735P, and the RAM and internal storage grow to 2GB and 16GB respectively.

The rear camera gets a boost to 13 megapixels with the same auto focus and LED flash, while the front-facer stays the same at 2 megapixels. Finally, the battery gets a bump to 2,700mAh, which should also get you through the day.

Both phones offer LTE connectivity, which is astounding for the price. You can grab the 50 Cobalt for $100 or the 55 Cobalt for $140. They will both be available starting in April.

Robert Nazarian

Former Contributor

Robert Nazarian became a technology enthusiast when his parents bought him a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color. Now his biggest…

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