Hello, Giktimes! Ever since the first announcements, many people have liked the Archos 50c Helium. First of all, the price is slightly lower than its price segment, and it has a really powerful, productive processor. And also a pleasant matte body, which does not leave fingerprints and which fits well in the hand (a similar solution has proven itself well since the days of Note3). So, Archos 50c Helium 4G is a new smartphone from the French manufacturer in the mid-price segment.

The manufacturer claims the following competitive advantages of the model:

• High data transfer speed due to 4G/LTE* technology (category 4, 150 Mbit/s)
• 5" screen
• Powerful processor
• Support for 2 SIM cards

Let's take a closer look at the technical characteristics of the device

• Screen: TFT-IPS, 5”, 854 x 480, capacitive multi-touch
• CPU: 4-core MediaTek MT6732, 1.3GHz
• GPU: Mali-T760 MP2
• OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
• RAM: 1GB
• Built-in memory: 8GB
• Memory card support: Micro SD up to 64GB
• Communication: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz || 3G/UTMS 900/2100 MHz || 4G/LTE 800/1800/2600 MHz
• SIM: 2xMicro SIM
• Wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, FM
• Navigation: GPS,A-GPS
• Cameras: main -5MP (Flash, autofocus), front 0.3MP
• Sensors: accelerometer, compass
• Battery: 2500 mAh
• Dimensions: 146×73.5×9.1 mm
• Weight: 180 grams

Packaging and delivery.

This is what a smartphone box looks like.

Inside the box, in addition to the phone and operating instructions, there are: a headset, a USB cable<=>micro USB, power supply

Appearance

Case material - textured matte plastic with leather finish). There is a silver edging around the perimeter of the device.

At the top of the front panel there are: front camera, earpiece, notification indicator, light sensor.

At the bottom there are three touch buttons: “Menu”, “Home screen”, “Back”.

On the rear panel, the main camera lens and flash are located on top, and the main speaker is located on the bottom.

Under the removable panel, the device has 2 slots for Micro-SIM, as well as a slot for microSD.

At the top end there is a 3.5 mm audio jack and a micro-USB port, and at the bottom there is a microphone

The right side of the smartphone is occupied by the power button and volume button. There are no buttons on the left.

Ergonomics

The smartphone fits well in the hand. There is some inconvenience in working with the device at first (if you are not used to 5-inch devices), but it quickly goes away. The phone is well built and does not creak.

Screen

The smartphone has a 5-inch TFT-IPS screen with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels. The resolution is a little low for such a diagonal, but due to this the device shows good performance. The text is readable and the images look decent. The screen has good viewing angles. In sunny weather the backlight is not enough, in other situations it allows you to read the screen without any problems.

Interface

The interface is standard for this version of the operating system. You can change the interface as you wish. Among the standard settings, it is possible to change the background. Your humble servant installed a launcher, of which there are plenty in the Play Market. Thanks to launchers, you can change the interface as you please. Go Launcher EX and Launcher PRO are perfect for these purposes. It should also be noted that any changes to the appearance of “stock” and the original Android settings lead to changes in performance. Using a smartphone with one hand is convenient. You can easily reach all the menus and buttons.

The device in operation

The smartphone has a quad-core MediaTek MT6732 with a clock frequency of 1.3 GHz, a Mali-T760 MP2 graphics accelerator and 1GB of RAM. 5.6 GB of 8 GB of internal memory is available for use - part of it is occupied by system files. For tests, I used a 32GB microSD card from Kingston (http://www.ulmart.ru/goods/239204). The speed of the memory card is more than sufficient and does not lead to freezes or slowdowns of the smartphone.

Due to high performance, games do not slow down. Everything is comfortable. The smartphone worked normally. No manipulations were used to improve performance.

In the test for AnTuTu Benchmark The device scored 29910 points. The screenshots show that the performance is higher than that of the HTC One, although the latter costs more ARCHOS 50c Helium almost 3 times!

The main speaker is loud. It provides good playback of audio content, and also allows you to hear calls and notifications wherever your phone is.

Camera

The program for working with the camera is standard. There are settings - white balance, ISO, exposure, HDR. Among the interesting options is activation of shooting when the camera captures two fingers or a smiling face.

The phone has 2 cameras: 5MP and 0.3MP. The quality of the main camera is average. Landscapes often turned out blurry.

At close range, the images were also of average quality. Although if we compare 5MP cameras from various smartphone manufacturers, the shooting quality on this device is very high.

The best shots were obtained when the objects were 3-4 meters away from the lens.

Panoramic photography showed itself to be quite good, without any glitches in gluing

The quality of the front camera is more than enough for broadcasting video conferences.

Wireless interfaces

The smartphone supports GSM, UTMS (2G and 3G), as well as LTE (4G) networks.

The device works with 2 SIM cards and is capable of managing the networks of two different operators simultaneously. There is support for Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n on the 2.4 GHz frequency band, Bluetooth 4.0. 50c Helium is capable of receiving radio signals in the FM range.

Autonomous operation

The device has a 2500 mAh lithium-ion battery. With moderate use of the device in talk mode, the charge lasts for 1.5-2 days, while we can still afford to listen to music and surf the Internet for a couple of hours. Games with good 3D graphics drain the phone in 5-6 hours at medium brightness. If you play a simpler toy, in the style of Tower Defense, the battery will last for another couple of hours.

Results

Archos 50c Helium very good for its price segment. Its main advantage is speed. Both transmission speed and data processing are fast. During the entire period of use, the phone never froze. There are no delays when watching videos in high quality, and the screen size allows you not to strain your eyesight. Convenient to carry in a jeans or jacket pocket. The phone looks stylish and elegant with its white color and leather-like back panel. The dimensions of the device allow you to comfortably use the phone with one hand. The device will be a very good choice for those who do not want to choose between quality and price and for those to whom style is not an alien concept. In general, the emotions from use are very positive.

Pros:

• Dual SIM support
• Nice design
• High speed
• High data transfer speed

Minuses:

• Weak battery

Thank you for your attention, stay with Yulmart on Geektimes.ru!

Our reviews:
» Olympus E-PL7: learn how to make budget phones | Part 1
»

Smartphones with large batteries have become a kind of calling card for inexpensive brands. Almost each of them has its own “long-liver”. So the well-known company did not stand aside. More recently, a smartphone entered the market Archos 50 Power, the main feature of which is a battery with a capacity of 4000 mAh. Yes, this is not a record; monsters with batteries of 5000 mAh or more have been on the market for a long time, but they look the part. In our case, we managed to reach a compromise - a fairly capacious battery is combined with a pleasant appearance and small dimensions.

Specifications:

• Screen: 5 inches, IPS, 293 ppi, 1280x720;
• Operating system: Android 5.1;
• Processor: MediaTek MT6735P, 4 cores, 1 GHz;
• GPU: Mali-T720;
• RAM: 2 GB;
• Built-in memory: 16 GB,
• Memory card support: microSD up to 32 GB;
• SIM slots: 2, micro-SIM+nano-SIM, Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS);
• Communication: GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz; LTE 800/1800/2100/2600 MHz;
• Communications: Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n 2.4 GHz;
• Navigation: GPS;
• Cameras: main 13 MP (flash, autofocus), front 2 MP;
• Battery: 4000 mAh;
• Dimensions: 145 x 72.2 x 9.2 mm;
• Weight: 148 grams;
• Price: 8000 rubles.

Packaging and accessories

The smartphone arrived in its original packaging. The box size is quite small, decorated simply and without unnecessary information. As always, there is an image of the device itself, its characteristics and information about the manufacturer.

Contents of delivery:

• Smartphone Archos 50 Power;
• Charger;
• USB-MicroUSB cable;
• Headset;
• Clip for opening the tray with SIM cards;
• Screen film;
• Documentation.

Agree, the set, by modern standards, is quite good. Even if the headset is not of the best quality, and the film is the most ordinary, but they still exist, for which we thank the manufacturer.

Appearance and features

The smartphone is black, completely black. This is what is most noticeable upon first inspection. The second is its streamlined shape, all corners are rounded, no sharp edges. When turned off, the screen merges with the front panel and the result is a completely black block, which looks great. The frames around the screen are average; they cannot be called particularly narrow. The glass of the front panel is ordinary, straight, without roundings and the 2.5D effect, that is, films can be glued without any problems. The build quality of the case is not the best. Although the case is not collapsible, the back cover is not removable, but it does not feel monolithic. When pressing on the back cover, a soft crunching sound is heard.

Dimensions 145 x 72.2 x 9.2 mm. The length and width are quite standard for a 5-inch device, but the thickness is quite large, but this is due to the capacious battery, so it is justified. The smartphone weighs 148 grams, which is not much.

The back cover is plastic with soft-touch coating. It is pleasant to the touch, non-slip, but a little soiled. Due to the rounded body, the smartphone fits perfectly in the hand. This applies to both people with large palms and small ones. In terms of ease of use, Archos 50 Power deserves a solid “A”.

The case has a standard set of controls and ports. Above the screen is a speaker, camera and proximity/light sensor. There are no complaints about these elements; they work correctly. There are no buttons under the screen; they are moved to the screen itself. Some people categorically do not recognize on-screen buttons, others quite like them, so this moment, as they say, is not for everyone.

At the back is the main camera module, LED flash and speaker. There are no complaints about the sound; it is quite loud; at high volume levels, no particularly strong flaws can be heard.

On the left side is a volume button. An unusual solution, but quite convenient. At the bottom there is a MicroUSB port, which is shifted to the left.

On the right is the SIM card tray and the power button. On top is a standard 3.5 mm audio output. Actually, this is where the body elements end.

Let's say a few more words about the SIM card tray. To remove it, the kit includes a paperclip. You can install either two nanoSIM+microSIM format SIM cards, or one microSIM and a microSD memory card. This option is now the most popular; in order to expand the built-in memory, you will have to sacrifice a second SIM card. The smartphone has one radio module; the cards operate in Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) mode, which means that one card is unavailable when talking on the other. Also a standard scheme, almost all modern smartphones with two SIMs work on it, with rare exceptions.

Screen

The smartphone is equipped with a 5-inch diagonal screen, IPS manufacturing technology. Resolution is 1280 by 800 pixels, which gives a density of 293 ppi. The screen diagonal, by modern standards, is quite small, as is the resolution. But there are no obvious flaws in the image. Individual pixels are visible only upon closer inspection; in everyday use, the screen looks high-quality and pleasant. The colors are natural, no obvious shift to any shades was noticed. The brightness is sufficient for comfortable use in daylight. The minimum brightness level is suitable for using the smartphone in the dark.

The viewing angles are wide, which is expected, because the matrix is ​​IPS, and they have long learned to do them well, even in the budget segment of devices.

There were no obvious overexposures against a dark background; the illumination was uniform.

Operating system and software

The smartphone runs on a non-new version of the Android 5.1 operating system with minimal intervention in design and design. In general, the system is “clean” and looks exactly as Google intended. And this is good, since budget brands’ own shells often make things worse. The appearance of the system will be familiar to many users of newer smartphones. There is a menu where all applications are stored, access to widgets from the desktop, a double curtain, and so on. The set of pre-installed software is minimal, only services from Google, no proprietary or third-party applications.

SIM card management, an application for calls and for writing short messages are absolutely standard. When using two SIM cards, you can choose the one that will be used by default for calls, Internet or SMS, or set the ability to select a SIM for each action.

Performance and memory

The manufacturer chose MediaTek MT6735P as the platform. This is an already proven budget chip with four Cortex-A53 cores, the operating frequency of which is limited to 1 GHz. The Mali-T720 core with support for OpenGL ES 3.0 technology paired with OpenCL 1.2 is responsible for graphics processing. This platform is intended for mid-price devices aimed at everyday tasks and working with media content. The main advantage of the MT6735P is its omnivorousness in terms of supporting communication networks. The chip works without problems with any cellular networks, including Russian ones.

Now about memory. The amount of RAM is 2 GB, of which 1.3 GB is free after booting the system. A good indicator. In our opinion, and not only in ours, 2 GB is now the minimum amount of memory for stable operation. The built-in permanent memory is 16 GB, of which 10 GB is accessible. In principle, you can do without a memory card, but then you will have to save space and use cloud services.

You shouldn't expect anything supernatural from the Mali-T720. The video core is definitely not for heavy games. You can easily and without any problems play timekillers and 2D games; when starting more complex 3D games, you will have to “play” with the settings; for example, Asphalt 8 runs well at medium settings, but at high settings freezes are clearly noticeable. So if gaming is a priority, then this smartphone is unlikely to satisfy the high needs of a gamer.

As for everyday tasks, such as launching useful applications, the Internet, instant messengers, and the like, no problems were noticed. In the Google Chrome browser, you can easily work with multiple tabs while keeping several communication applications running. There is enough RAM, as well as processor speed. Everything in the interface is as smooth and fast as possible.

Wireless interfaces

The smartphone works in any cellular networks, including 4G. During use, it was noted that the signal reception within the city was stable, no communication failures were noticed. This applies to both 2G/3G networks and 4G. Mobile Internet speed is high.

The Wi-Fi module also works stably. 5 meters from the router the signal is maximum, the data transfer speed corresponds to the stated tariff.

Navigation is carried out using GPS; unfortunately, there is no GLONASS support. A “cold start” takes no more than 20 seconds, and 10 satellites were detected. The location accuracy is very high.

Camera

The main camera module has a resolution of 13 MP. Autofocus works with average speed and accuracy. Frankly speaking, the photo quality is not at all up to par with 13 MP. If in daylight the photo turns out to be at least somewhat tolerable, then in artificial light or in the twilight the photo is of very poor quality. The front camera is similar. Suitable for video calls only.

The camera interface is unremarkable. There are few settings, but all the most necessary ones are there. The maximum photo resolution is 4160x3120 pixels, the maximum recorded video resolution is 1280x720 pixels.

Examples of photos.

Autonomous operation

Naturally, autonomy is the main advantage of the Archos 50 Power. The 4000 mAh battery provided results in the PCMark test for more than 8 hours. At the same time, Wi-Fi was turned on and the brightness was set to 100%. The battery discharge is uniform, without jerks or surges. As for battery life in real life, this is the same smartphone that does not need to be charged every day. With a mixed usage scenario (several hours of Internet, constantly loaded instant messengers, several calls, some games), the smartphone lasts 2 days. If you use the device in a gentle mode, then Archos 50 Power will work on a single charge for 3 or even 4 days.

Eventually

Archos 50 Power has two big advantages. The first is, of course, its capacious battery, which provides excellent operating time. The second is appearance. The smartphone looks simple, but at the same time stylish. The all-black color does the job. In addition, many will like the screen of the device; it is quite good for this price segment. The only nuances include low performance in games; after all, the platform is already quite old and is of little use for heavy modern games, at the same time it is more than enough for the smooth operation of the interface and simple toys.

The price of Archos 50 Power is about 8,000 rubles. For such a stylish “long-liver”, it is completely justified. In addition, the brand is quite famous even on the Russian market.

Pros:

• High autonomy;
• Good screen;
• Stylish appearance;
• Fast GPS operation.

Minuses:

• Low performance in games;
• Mediocre cameras.

Official firmware [stock ROM file] -
Custom Archos firmware -

If custom or official firmware for Archos has not yet been added here, then create a topic on the forum, in the section, our specialists will quickly and free of charge help, including. with backup and manuals. Just don’t forget to write a review about your smartphone - this is extremely important. Firmware for Archos 50c Platinum will also appear on this page. Please note that this Archos model requires an individual ROM file, so you should not try firmware files from other devices.

What custom firmware are there?

1. CM - CyanogenMod
2. LineageOS
3. Paranoid Android
4. OmniROM
5. Temasek's

1. AICP (Android Ice Cold Project)
2. RR (Resurrection Remix)
3. MK(MoKee)
4. FlymeOS
5. Bliss
6. crDroid
7. Illusion ROMS
8. Pacman ROM

Problems and shortcomings of an Archos smartphone and how to fix them?

• If the 50c Platinum does not turn on, for example, you see a white screen, hangs on the splash screen, or the notification indicator only blinks (possibly after charging).
• If stuck during update / stuck when turned on (needs flashing, 100%)
• Doesn't charge (usually hardware problems)
• Does not see the SIM card (SIM card)
• The camera does not work (mostly hardware problems)
• The sensor does not work (depends on the situation)

For all these problems, contact (you just need to create a topic), specialists will help for free.

Hard Reset for Archos 50c Platinum

Instructions on how to do a Hard Reset on Archos 50c Platinum (factory reset). We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the visual guide called on Android. .

Reset codes (open the dialer and enter them).

1. *2767*3855#
2. *#*#7780#*#*
3. *#*#7378423#*#*

Hard Reset via Recovery

1. Turn off your device -> go to Recovery
2. "wipe data/factory reset"
3. “yes - delete all user data” -> “Reboot System”

How to log into Recovery?

1. hold down Vol(-) [volume down], or Vol(+) [volume up] and the Power button
2. A menu with the Android logo will appear. That's it, you are in Recovery!

Reset Archos 50c Platinum You can do it in a very simple way:

1. Settings->Backup and reset
2. Reset settings (at the very bottom)

How to reset a pattern key

How to reset your pattern key if you forgot it and now you can’t unlock your Archos smartphone. On the 50c Platinum model, the key or PIN can be removed in several ways. You can also remove the lock by resetting the settings; the lock code will be deleted and disabled.

1. Reset graph. blocking -
2. Password reset -

Two cores, four, eight... manufacturers continue pull the wool over someone's eyes uninformed buyers, successfully convincing most of them that the number of cores is directly proportional to performance. This is not entirely true - not all Android applications are capable of using even two cores, so you should not expect performance miracles. There won't be any, especially since everyone eight cores The Mediatek MT6592 chip installed in Oxygen is based on low-productivity(but economical) ARM Cortex A7 architecture, but operate at frequencies that are low by today’s standards from 700 MHz to 1.7 GHz. The built-in storage memory also plays an important role - the results of the AndroBench 3 benchmark show that its operating speed is noticeably behind that of the memory of the Motorola Moto G, and sometimes even the Sony Xperia M2. Yes and Mali-450 MP4 video adapter is not the newest model, slightly behind the Qualcomm Adreno 320 in Snapdragon S4 chips.

Disappointed Are we stuffing a smartphone? Not at all. The browser is a pleasure to use no delays, all existing games run smoothly at high or even maximum settings (although it should be noted that the maximum display resolution is not that high). Such performance is still rare in a budget smartphone, so the Archos 50c Oxygen proved itself in this discipline Very good. You just need to understand that the coveted eight cores do not put the smartphone on the same level as flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S5, and if you need as much performance (as well as its reserve for the future) as much as possible, then you should look for something more powerful (and more expensive). Well, in its price range Oxygen has almost no equal, see for yourself by reading the benchmarks below. Competitors manage to get ahead only in tests of memory performance and, occasionally and only slightly, graphics.

Of course, the difference in real-life usage scenarios may be much smaller - benchmarks can distort the picture by using processor resources more efficiently than normal applications do. But, as we have already said, the performance of the system in all practical tasks is very good. The only thing you should be afraid of is the unexpected quirks of the Chinese company's chipset and the lack of support for third-party firmware like the popular Cyanogemod - Mediatek flatly refuses to release the source code necessary for their creation, thereby causing the burning hostility of supporters of flashing Android devices. If you are one of them, then Oxygen, like other devices with Mediatek chips, should be crossed off your list of potential purchases. In this case, one of the competing devices with a chip from Qualcomm may be a more attractive option, despite “only” 2-4 processor cores and slightly slower graphics.

The Archos 50C Helium smartphone is a model produced by the French brand, suitable for both active games and high-quality communication. Thanks to the built-in Android 4.4 Kitkat operating system, the device copes with various loads and allows the user to download modern applications.

What are the advantages of a French device?

Having purchased a gadget, you can use the services of several operators. Thanks to 2 SIM card slots, the user is able to separate work and personal calls. The built-in 4G module ensures the use of online content using the mobile Internet. It opens up new opportunities for the user: instant access to cloud storage, full HD video streaming, fast loading sites.

Advantages of the model:

• Thanks to the built-in 4-core processor, the gadget copes with multitasking conditions and quickly responds to user actions;
• The display of the model is equipped with an IPS matrix, which makes it possible to view videos and pictures from any viewing angle, giving images clarity, brightness, and saturation;
• A 5-megapixel camera in combination with editing tools allows you to capture interesting moments and make high-quality photos.

The price of the device corresponds to the level of performance.

In our marketplace you can buy “Archos 50c Helium 8Gb White smartphone” in Moscow. Cashback up to 461 bonus rubles. The product is available in 1 online stores. Prices start from 7690 rubles