Archos Diamond S - Technical specifications. Archos Diamond Alpha - a smartphone worth understanding Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the amount of memory for saving data

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Audio file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different audio file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital audio data.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.

There are manufacturers on our market that we almost never hear about. Their devices are not prominently displayed in storefronts, there is little talk about them, and the gadgets themselves are rarely recommended. However, these brands remain afloat even in today's difficult conditions. One such manufacturer is the French brand Archos. The company has been around since 1989 and has always been involved in electronics. Smartphones with a company logo appeared relatively recently, in 2013, so the company is still new to this field. Today we will talk about the Archos Diamond S model with a glass case and 4G support.

Equipment and first impressions

The smartphone will arrive in the hands of the buyer in a beautifully designed package. The gadget comes with a charger with a detachable cable, a headset, a protective film for the front panel, a paper clip and accompanying documentation. Everything would have been fine, but the smartphone that came to me was packed and had not been opened before me, and the package was not quite neatly wrapped and the cardboard around the device itself was torn. The Diamond S is not the cheapest smartphone, and it would be nicer to receive a new device in its entire package.

Setting up the smartphone goes well and without any problems. As often happens, immediately after the first turn on the device receives a small update. Diamond S was not spared this. A small update that corrected a couple of errors was quickly installed, after which it was possible to download all the necessary applications and so on. The speed of operation is quite satisfactory. And this corrects the sensations spoiled by sloppy packaging.

Design and usability

Archos Diamond S is available in two color options: black and white. The first version is monotonous, without inserts of a different color, and the white version has a “golden” frame. The case materials here are a mixture of budget and premium levels: the front and back panels are glass, and the edging is plastic. Tactilely, this is a little misleading, because the usual metal frame of glass smartphones here, naturally, does not cool your hand, as you intuitively expect. This also affects the subjective feeling; personally, I don’t like the combination of glass and plastic. The latter can also be pleasant, but I would not say that Diamond S has it like that.

The dimensions of the case fit well into the comfortable range: 145 x 71.5 x 6.5 mm, weight – 118 grams. The smartphone is light, I would even like to add a little weight to it. It is not felt at all in your pocket, and due to the weak tenacity of the glass, it can easily slip out of there. It seemed a little strange that the kit included a protective film only for the front panel, since the back panel may also need such an accessory. However, using the gadget with one hand is easy, but lifting it from a table (or any other flat surface) is not so much.

The placement of all working elements on the case is as follows: on the left side there is a tray for two SIM cards, on the right there is a memory card tray, a volume rocker and a power button; there are slots for speakers at the bottom, a microUSB connector and a headphone jack at the top; on the back panel there is a camera with flash; in front above the display there is a speaker, proximity and light sensors and a front camera, and below the display (almost on the frame) there is a microphone.

The location of the charging connector on top is not the best (it is inconvenient to talk when the wire is connected), and the connector is also upside down. According to the instructions, both bottom holes have speakers, but only the right side plays. At the same time, the system does not have stereo settings, and third-party music players also do not offer such an option. So, we can assume that the second slot was made for symmetry, since its practical use has never been established. These are the main two complaints that arose about the device during use.

In general, the gadget turned out to be convenient. It does not slip out of your hands, with some skill you can use it with one hand, and you don’t need to get used to anything for a long time. Externally, it looks quite good, vaguely reminiscent of glass Sony smartphones. Among its competitors, Diamond S looks quite good, although it is not as practical as devices made from other materials. Of course, there are some minor shortcomings (the buttons are a bit wobbly, there are subtle defects on the edges), but you can live with them. Buyers of such smartphones are usually not so picky about minor assembly errors and key play.

Display

The smartphone has a 5-inch display with a Super AMOLED matrix. Its resolution is 1280x720 pixels (294 ppi). If the relatively low pixel density is not the worst thing, then the quality of color reproduction is already causing discomfort. After some time, for example, browsing on a smartphone, there is a strong difference when switching to a monitor screen with an IPS or TN matrix. Even without a direct comparison, it is clear that the picture is too green. At an angle, this effect, as usual, intensifies. Of course, fans of caustic pictures may like this, but if you’re not used to it, your eyes get very tired when reading social networks, books and other activities for a long time.

But the display has something to praise for. In the sun the picture remains readable. The light sensor quite clearly adjusts the backlight level, although in complete darkness you will have to turn it up to minimum manually. In the settings, you can adjust the picture a little - although you won’t be able to achieve major changes, you can still minimally increase the level of personal comfort. By using the AMOLED matrix, you can display the clock and notifications on the screen when it is turned off. The bonuses are very pleasant, but they do not greatly compensate for the flaws in color rendering. Moreover, there are a sufficient number of smartphones in this price category that can please you with a good picture.

Sound

As mentioned above, there are two slots for sound, but only one speaker works. There are no stereo settings in the system; the player also only shows mono mode. Of course, if there were 2 speakers, this would not change the sound quality much, and it is not at all the strong point of this smartphone. I am completely satisfied with the speaker only in the case of notifications (if the ringtone is not your favorite song, but a regular standard melody). The included headset also sounds bad, and good headphones do not receive a decent signal. Only owners of wireless headsets and/or speakers will have pleasant sound.

The earpiece sounds comfortable even on a noisy street. The microphone hears the user well, but the lack of a noise reduction system still lets in noise, such as the road, and your subscriber will hear it.

Cameras

The 16-megapixel sensor, subject to certain conditions, can please you with a good picture. So, if there are no fast moving objects in front of the camera and there is enough light, then the frame will look beautiful not only on the smartphone screen, but also on a large monitor. The key to a good result will be the HDR mode, but, for example, passing cars can be displayed in several places in the image (visible in test photos). Quite expectedly, in low light, a lot of noise appears in the photo and the sharpness is greatly reduced. The video is recorded without stabilization, focusing takes a long time, it is better to adjust it manually (using Tap-to-focus).

You won't be able to quickly launch the application and focus. This is another reason why the camera is not suitable for dynamic scenes. For those who like to photograph, for example, their pet, it will be difficult to take an acceptable photo at this speed of the camera. But the application is quite intuitive and easy to use.

The front 8-megapixel camera is similarly dependent on light. This is an ordinary mediocre front-facing camera that makes the photo look soapy, hiding skin defects and other small details. At the same time, in artificial lighting the entire frame will be covered with artifacts. In general, such cameras may be sufficient for those who rarely take photographs and are more in need of other smartphone functions. But such cameras are not suitable for people who cannot imagine life without Instagram.

Hardware platform and software

Just a couple of years ago, inexpensive smartphones could not please with good performance. Today that has changed. The Archros Diamond S is equipped with an eight-core MediaTek 6753 processor, a Mali-T720MP video core, 2 GB of RAM, a 16 GB storage capacity and a microSD card slot. Like the one we recently visited with exactly the same hardware, Diamond S does not show any records in tests, but behaves remarkably well in everyday work. At the same time, it allows you to install a memory card without compromising the second SIM card; it also supports LTE networks (only one card has an Internet connection). Very good.

For demanding games, this is certainly not the best solution. There are often drops in FPS and short delays in the picture. But everything else works quite nicely. Simple tasks are completed quickly enough; launching applications and switching between them does not take long. This makes the device really enjoyable to use. During games, navigator operation and video recording, you can feel the heating of the rear window, but it cannot be called high. Otherwise, only positive impressions.

Out of the box, the user will have access to Android 5.1 with virtually no changes. I'm glad that there was no large amount of pre-installed software (although a couple of old games will still be offered during the first setup). As is usually the case, such devices do not receive major updates, so you shouldn’t count on Android 6 and higher (I’ll be happy to be wrong). However, I personally did not have any global complaints about the performance and operation of the software while using the device.

Autonomy

One of the key factors when choosing a smartphone is often the battery life. In Diamond S, the capacity of the non-removable battery was 2300 mAh, which is not very impressive compared to the figures of competitors. But the device holds up well enough for an active day. I most often got 5 hours of screen operation per day, with the remainder being 20-30% of the charge. Yes, you have to connect to the outlet once a day, but the battery consistently lasted for a day without resorting to the energy saving mode.

Those who play a lot of games and/or often use a navigator will need to carry a power bank or charger with them. A full charge from the included unit will take almost 3.5 hours.

• Case materials: Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and metal
• Operating system: Google Android 7.1.1 + Nubia UI 5.0
• Network: 2G (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)/3G (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)/LTE (800/1800/2100/2600 MHz), two nano SIM cards
• Processor: 8 cores, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (4x2.35 GHz Kryo and 4x1.9 GHz Kryo)
• RAM: 8GB LPDDR4
• Storage memory: 128 GB UFS 2.1 (no memory card)
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (b/g/n/ac) MIMO DualBand, Bluetooth 4.2 (LE), USB Type-C (USB 2.0) connector for charging/syncing, USB-C for headset or 3.5 mm adapter
• Screen: capacitive, IPS 5.73"" with a resolution of 1080x2040 pixels, aspect ratio 17:9
• Camera: main module 12 (f/1.8, 1/2.55", 1.4 µm) / 23 (f/2.0) MP, front 5/5 MP, dual flash
• Navigation: A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
• Additionally: fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, proximity and lighting sensors
• Batteries: non-removable, lithium-ion (Li-Ion) capacity 3100 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging
• Dimensions: 147 x 72.7 x 8.5 mm
• Weight: 170 g
• Price: from 38,000 rubles (Q1 2018)

Contents of delivery

• Smartphone
• Network adapter
• USB cable
• USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter

Introduction

The French company ARCHOS, whose name is an anagram of the founder’s surname (if anyone didn’t know), presented in Russia a powerful Omega smartphone in the flagship Diamond line. The gadget has impressive technical specifications: inside you will find a Snapdragon 835, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory, two main cameras and two front ones, a FullHD+ display with an aspect ratio of 17:9 and thin frames, QC fast charging and all available communication capabilities .

It is worth emphasizing that Diamond Omega is the original version of ZTE Nubia Z17s. In this regard, everything is official: Nubia has entered into an agreement with ARCHOS to sell Nubia smartphones under the ARCHOS brand in Europe and Russia.

At the moment, Omega is sold at an extremely bold RRP price of 45,000 rubles. But if you search, you can find a smartphone, officially, for 38,000 rubles, which radically changes the perception of the device for the better.

Design, dimensions, control elements

Unfortunately, we will soon have to remove the “Appearance” item from reviews, since all smartphones will become the same: a large screen that occupies the entire front panel, and a rear glass panel of different colors. Already now you can notice the unification (or is it easier to call it copying?) of devices to the appearance of any flagship gadget. For example, the entire 2018 will be marked by the Apple iPhone X and its signature “bangs.” You and I are making fun of this strange move, but you and I want to get high-quality footage with front cameras and an excellent earpiece. But how to create a large camera module and a better speaker if the boundaries of the screen are moving more and more towards the boundaries of the body? The only more or less reasonable move is a small island at the top of the front panel to accommodate all the necessary elements.

Taking a little break from ARCHOS. I wanted to say that phones are now the same and describing their design is almost pointless. Another thing is materials. It uses third-generation Gorilla Glass on both sides. The front part has a slight 2.5D curve. The frame of the device is metal.

The color of the device is fashionable – dark blue. There are no other options. Since the back cover is mirrored, it shimmers beautifully in the light. Although they could have made a more original “drawing” from several layers.

For a gadget with a 5.7-inch screen, the dimensions are very compact - 147 x 72.7 x 8.5 mm. Now, if only the thickness were about 7 mm... The phone fits well in the hand and does not slip out.

The build quality does not raise any questions: a tightly assembled device without any play, creaking, or pushing the cover down to the battery. There is an oleophobic coating: the screen does not get dirty as much as the back panel.

A few words about the perception of minimal frameworks. The screen looks impressive, considering that the developers have reduced to a reasonable minimum not only the top and bottom frames (9 mm each), but also the side ones (only 2 mm each). Holding such a gadget is quite comfortable, that is, I did not notice any false positives. It is also worth noting that the side edges of the screen do not bend, as is implemented in many similar devices.

From top left to right: two cameras, sensors, an earpiece and a barely noticeable indicator of missed events (lights dimly). The speaker is loud, the sound is clear, ringing, the timbre is closer to high frequencies.

At the bottom: microphone, USB Type-C, speakerphone. On the right are the power button and the volume rocker. On the left is a slot for two nano SIM cards.

On the back side at the top left there is a module with two lenses. It is framed with a red metal insert. To the right is a double two-tone flash, and just below is a fingerprint sensor. It seemed to me not very sensitive and fast.

In general, ARCHOS (or, more correctly, Nubia) turned out to be a good gadget in terms of workmanship and materials used in it.

Display

This device uses a screen with a diagonal of 5.73 inches. Physical size – 68x128 mm. There is an anti-reflective coating, which is quite effective.

ARCHOS Diamond Omega display resolution is 1080x2040 pixels, aspect ratio is 17:9, density is 402 pixels per inch.

Screen viewing angles are maximum, no distortion. The maximum brightness of white color is 350 cd/m2, the maximum brightness of black color is 0.55 cd/m2, contrast is 635:1. Brightness and contrast, even without the use of special devices, are noticeably lower than in many similar smartphones. On average, the brightness is 400, and the contrast is about 800:1.

Judging by the calibrator data, the ARCHOS matrix produces excellent rich colors: all parameters are larger than the sRGB triangle. But the gray color of the Omega screen is a big lie.

Battery

The ARCHOS Diamond Omega uses a non-removable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery with a capacity of 3100 mAh. The operating time of the device is typical for most similar devices with IPS matrices: about a day with a maximum amount of screen time of 3.5 – 4 hours. The smartphone plays 6 hours of HD video (MP4) at 100% brightness of the matrix backlight and sits down after 4.5 hours under the load of 3D toys (Marvell: Contest of Champions).

With battery charging, everything is very good here: thanks to Quick Charge from Qualcomm, the battery gets 50% charge in just 20 minutes. And 1 hour 15 minutes is required for 100% filling.

It seems to me that with a case thickness of 8.5 mm, it was possible to easily install a 3500 mAh battery, or even more. And so, without using AMOLED, it is almost impossible to achieve good results with 3100 mAh.

Communication capabilities

The device operates in 2G (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)/3G (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)/LTE (800/1800/2100/2600 MHz). Two nano SIM cards. VoLTE is present.

There is NFC, but, alas, without Mifare Classic and Mifare Ultralight.

The rest is standard for any Android smartphone: Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac MIMO two bands, Bluetooth 4.2, USB 2.0 with OTG support. There are GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS navigation. Accuracy up to 10 meters, sensitivity is average.

Memory and memory card

The device is on sale in only one configuration – 8/128 GB. The RAM speed is 5800 MB/s, the read/write speed of the internal memory is 725/235 MB/s. The reading is impressive, but the writing could easily be more!

Cameras

The ARCHOS Diamond Omega uses the same cameras as the ZTE Nubia Z17, which we tested not too long ago. The only point: ARCHOS also has two front cameras. The quality is similar, but you can do bokeh. In order not to burden the review with unnecessary information and not to engage in “copy-paste”, I refer you to the text of ZTE Nubia Z17.

I would like to add that the translation in the camera is not important, for example, the bokeh effect here is called “Book”. Why "Book"? Well, the rest of the pearls: “The beauty of a video call”, “Fno”, several untranslated moments.

Sample photos

Performance and OS

This device has one of the most powerful chipsets – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. I won’t describe its parameters, I’m sure you all know it very well – only the 845 Snap is cooler. Everything flies and loads with lightning speed. In general, the performance here is about 5 years old. The smartphone barely heats up under load. In the new version, Antutu scores about 200,000 points. A lot of? A lot of! For what? That was!

The system is Google Android version 7.1.1 with the Nubia UI 5.0 shell (it’s all strange: the phone is ARCHOS, but everything inside speaks of ZTE). The main difference between the proprietary UI: only the notification panel drops down from the top, and quick access to Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and other things is launched by swiping up from the bottom. Another cool feature is split screen. Here it is honest, that is, absolutely any application can be launched either from above or from below simultaneously with other applications/games/settings. For example, on the upper half of the display a game is running, and on the lower half you continue to communicate in Telegram.

The Archos Diamond line of smartphones has been replenished with a new model, which apparently claims to be the new flagship of the family. The smartphone is called Archos Diamond Plus and is, in fact, an enlarged version of the Diamond S. However, it is not only the size that distinguishes the review hero from this also fairly recent model. Here, for example, it uses not an AMOLED, but an IPS display with an increased diagonal. There are a number of other differences, but in general, the new product displays a single common style for all products of this European company, which has released more than one generation of smartphones and tablets.

Key Features of Archos Diamond Plus

• SoC MediaTek MT6753, 1.3 GHz, 8 cores, ARM Cortex-A53
• GPU Mali-T720 @450 MHz 3 cores
• Operating system Android 5.1
• Touch display IPS 5.5″, 1920×1080, 401 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 16 GB
• Micro-SIM support (2 pcs.)
• microSD support
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• WCDMA/HSPA+ networks (900/2100 MHz)
• FDD-LTE networks (800/1800/2600 MHz)
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz), Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
• Bluetooth 4.0
• GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
• USB 2.0, OTG
• Camera 16 MP, autofocus, video 1080p
• Front camera 8 MP, fixed. focus
• Gyroscope, proximity sensor, light sensor, gravity sensor, electronic compass
• Battery 2850 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions 153×76×8.4 mm
• Weight 176 g

Contents of delivery

Archos Diamond Plus comes in a large square box made of hard cardboard. The packaging is made with attention to detail, has a fairly attractive appearance and a well-thought-out internal structure.

The set of accessories consists of a charger with an output current of 5 V 1.5 A, a Micro-USB connecting cable, a wired stereo headset with in-ear rubber ear pads, as well as a protective film for the screen, a key and a pair of plump paper books with information.

Appearance and ease of use

The Archos Diamond Plus smartphone has a fairly modern design, generally repeating the huge mass of similar products coming out of Chinese factories. The body of the device has a streamlined shape with a curved back cover, strongly rounded corners and flat side edges.

Most of the body here is made of aluminum, but the side inserts at the ends are still plastic. It is in the plastic, and not metal, segments of the case that all the holes for connectors and microphones are cut out; it is the plastic that protects the corners during impacts and falls. So the Archos Diamond Plus case cannot rightfully be called all-metal, but this is how most metal cases of modern mobile devices are now arranged. Plastic inserts are necessary to ensure that the metal does not shield the antennas of the communication modules.

Due to the ergonomic shape with a sloping back wall, the smartphone is held very comfortably in the hand; the flat sides prevent it from slipping out, despite the rather slippery matte metal. In terms of dimensions, this is the now familiar format of a 5.5-inch tablet phone; such dimensions cannot be called acceptable for comfortable placement in a human hand. And even more so, such a device cannot be used with one hand. The weight is also quite large, the smartphone is quite weighty.

There are no complaints about the quality of the materials: there are no creaks, flexions of the back cover or crunching when compressed, the case gives the impression of a tightly built, reliably assembled product. And at the same time, one cannot help but notice how unevenly the plastic inserts fit to the metal at the joints. The manufacturer failed to solve this problem at the proper level.

Since there is no removable cover here, the device has an appropriate option for installing cards: a metal tray is inserted into the side slot and removed using the supplied paperclip key. The sled has two cells in which you can put two Micro-SIM cards or a memory card instead of one of them. Officially, microSD cards up to 32GB are supported, but our review Transcend Premium microSDXC UHS-1 128GB card was confidently recognized by the device. Hot-swappable SIM cards are supported, and when a memory card is inserted, the device reboots itself.

On the opposite side there are standard mechanical buttons (the volume here is adjusted not by a rocker, but by two separate buttons); they have a springy action and a clear response. The keys are located at the top of the edge and are easy to manipulate with either hand.

There is another mechanical key on the Archos Diamond Plus case, which is located next to the card tray. This button is an additional tool for quickly launching applications; the user can set its actions independently. By default, the key is set to call the camera with a short press and take a screenshot from the screen with a long press. In this case, the button works even when the screen is off.

The back of the smartphone is usually used to house the camera module with flash, as well as the speaker output.

The front panel is completely covered with flat protective glass without edges. At the top there are sensors, a front camera module and an LED event indicator. There are no touch buttons at the bottom.

At the bottom at the end there is a Micro-USB connector that supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode, and next to it is a speaking microphone hole.

The audio jack for a 3.5 mm minijack for connecting headphones is located at the top end. The connectors of the device are not covered with plugs, and there are no fastenings for the strap on the case. The device does not receive protection from water and dust, nor does it support wireless charging.

Screen

Archos Diamond Plus is equipped with a touch matrix made using IPS technology with full lamination. The physical dimensions of the screen are 68 × 121 mm, diagonal - 5.5 inches, resolution - 1920 × 1080 pixels, pixel density is 401 ppi. The thickness of the frame from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body on the sides is about 4 mm, and at the top and bottom - 16 mm, the frame is quite wide.

The display brightness can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment. Multi-touch technology here allows you to process 5 simultaneous touches. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is locked using a proximity sensor. You can unlock the screen by double-tapping the glass, as well as using a variety of gestures while simultaneously navigating to gesture-linked apps (such as the camera or music player).

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Archos Diamond Plus, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen on the Archos Diamond Plus is slightly darker (brightness according to photographs is 106 versus 112 for the Nexus 7). There is practically no ghosting of reflected objects in the Archos Diamond Plus screen, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. There is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating on the outer surface of the screen (even better in efficiency than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.

When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 520 cd/m², the minimum was 150 cd/m². The maximum brightness is very high, and given the excellent anti-glare properties, readability even on a sunny day outdoors should be at a good level. For complete darkness conditions, the minimum brightness will be higher than the comfortable value, but not everything is so bad - see below. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker slot). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. If it is 100%, then in complete darkness the automatic brightness adjustment function reduces the brightness to 200 cd/m² (very high), in an office illuminated by artificial light (about 400 lux) the brightness increases to 415 cd/m² (also a lot), in in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) is set to 540 cd/m² (what is needed). The brightness slider is at 50% - the values ​​are as follows: 30, 230 and 540 cd/m² (suitable values), at 0% - 10, 40 and 540 cd/m² (the average value is too low). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately, and there is some possibility of adjusting the nature of the brightness change to the user’s requirements. At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.

This smartphone uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of Archos Diamond Plus and Nexus 7, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera is forced to switch to 6500 K. There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:

Color rendition is not the worst, color saturation is natural, but the color balance is strongly shifted towards the blue area and the image is slightly brightened. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not change much on both screens, but on the Archos Diamond Plus the contrast decreased to a greater extent due to the strong brightening of blacks and a greater decrease in brightness. And a white field:

The brightness at an angle of the screens has decreased, but on the Archos Diamond Plus the screen at this angle is still slightly darker (brightness according to photographs is 219 versus 234 for the Nexus 7). When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly and acquires a slight reddish or bluish tint. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is not ideal, since in places closer to the edge the brightness of the black increases noticeably, and the backlight LEDs shine through the cracks of the case, which does not look very good:

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - about 910:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 21 ms (11 ms on + 10 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 32 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.05, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2, which is why the image is slightly brightened. In this case, the real gamma curve deviates little from the power-law dependence:

In this case, we did not find any dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the displayed image, which is very good.

The color gamut is very close to sRGB:

The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components with each other:

As a result, the colors have a natural saturation. The balance of shades on the gray scale is a very compromise, since the color temperature is much higher than the standard 6500 K, but at least the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

This device has a fairly advanced system of profiles and settings, supposedly providing the opportunity to adjust the color balance, etc. It is called MiraVision. However, attempts to correct the color balance using it were unsuccessful, since color temperature correction leads to the fact that the shade of the midtones changes, but the white point does not, it looks disgusting.

To summarize: the screen has a very high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day without any problems. In manual mode, the brightness cannot be reduced to a comfortable level for using the device in complete darkness. A mode with automatic brightness adjustment comes to the rescue and works adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating, the absence of air gaps in the layers of the screen and flickering, high contrast, acceptable, at least in visual assessment, color balance and a color gamut close to sRGB. Significant disadvantages include low black stability due to deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane and a strong increase in color temperature. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices, the quality of the screen can be considered high.

Sound

Archos Diamond Plus sounds modest. Both in the speakers and in the headphones, the sound is dull, dim, and the frequency spectrum is not as wide as we would like. The only consolation is that the device sounds loud enough to not miss a call in a noisy environment; For headphones, the volume reserve is also sufficient, although without a reserve. The speaker does not cause any special complaints; it conveys all the intonations and timbre quite clearly, the voice of a familiar interlocutor remains recognizable.

To control the sound quality, it is possible to use the BesLoudness speaker volume amplifier and the BesAudEnh headphone sound enhancer. To play tunes in the smartphone, the standard Google audio player is used with the ability to choose from several preset equalizer values.

The device can record telephone conversations from the line; to do this, just click on the corresponding button in the telephone application interface right during the call. An FM radio with the ability to record broadcasts is also available in the smartphone.

Camera

The smartphone is equipped with two digital camera modules with a resolution of 16 and 8 megapixels. The front camera here is equipped with an 8-megapixel sensor and a lens with an f/2.4 aperture; it lacks autofocus and flash. The shooting quality is satisfactory for selfie level, nothing more.

The main camera has a 16-megapixel sensor and a lens with an f/2.0 aperture, fairly fast autofocus and an LED flash. There is an electronic shooting stabilization function, including for the front camera and for video shooting.

The control menu is very simple, familiar to most Chinese smartphones on the MediaTek platform without their own custom shells. Shooting is carried out in automatic mode, but it is possible to manually change exposure, sharpness, contrast, and brightness. You cannot transfer control of camera settings to third-party applications using the Camera2 API, and there is also no possibility of recording in RAW.

The camera can shoot video at a maximum resolution of only up to 1080p; there are no 4K or 60 fps modes. There is an electronic stabilization function. In general, the camera copes well with video shooting and records sound quite well: no noticeable sound distortion was detected, and the noise reduction system generally copes with its tasks adequately. Examples of test videos are presented below.

• Video No. 1 (42 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps)
• Video No. 2 (40 MB, 1920×1080@30 fps)

	Sharpness is generally good, but falls off a bit in the corners.
	Not bad sharpness according to plans.
	Large area of ​​blur on the left side of the frame.
	The camera works well with small contrasting details.
	The camera doesn't handle close-ups indoors too badly.
	Although in general the pictures are quite weak in room lighting.

From the first shots the camera gives the impression of being a good budget camera. On the other hand, its resolution obliges it to produce results slightly above average, and in this case the pictures look like 5 megapixels, no more. That is, a good 5-megapixel camera is quite capable of producing pictures no worse, and they will take up less space. The camera's problems are quite standard: a narrow dynamic range, not very clean optics that scatter light in places, strong noise and an equally strong noise reduction. There are also areas of blur, but mainly in the corners of the frame. However, the camera is quite suitable for documentary shooting, and perhaps even in room lighting.

Telephone and communications

The Archos Diamond Plus smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for LTE Cat.4 networks with a theoretical maximum speed of up to 150/50 Mbit/s. With FDD LTE, the smartphone can operate at frequencies of 800/1800/2600 MHz, that is, it operates in all three of the most common bands among Russian operators, Band 3, 7 and 20. In practice, with a SIM card from the MTS operator, the device confidently registered and worked in LTE networks Moscow region. In general, the quality of signal reception from cellular networks does not cause any particular complaints; the device confidently maintains communication indoors and does not lose the signal in areas of poor reception.

The rest of the network capabilities of the smartphone are typical for a Chinese smartphone on the MediaTek platform: there is no NFC, but MTK has its analogue called Hot Knot; only one Wi-Fi band is supported (2.4 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth 4.0 channels. The Micro-USB 2.0 connector supports connecting external devices (USB Host, USB OTG), so you can connect flash drives and mice with keyboards to the Micro-USB port.

The navigation module works with both GPS (with A-GPS) and the domestic Glonass. There are no complaints about the operation of the navigation module; the first satellites during a cold start are detected within the first minute. Among the smartphone's sensors there is a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the digital compass of navigation programs operates.

The smartphone supports dual SIM cards. When making a call, you can select the desired card; you can also pre-assign one of the SIM cards as the main one for organizing voice calls or sending SMS messages. A SIM card in any slot can work with 3G/4G networks, but only one of the cards can function in this mode at a time. To change the assignment of slots, cards do not need to be swapped - this can be done directly from the phone menu. Work with two SIM cards is organized according to the usual Dual SIM Dual Standby standard, when both cards can be in active standby mode, but cannot work at the same time - there is only one radio module.

OS and software

The device uses the Google Android software platform version 5.1 as a system, but the Google proprietary interface has been slightly modified by the manufacturer. In appearance, the entire design in the Material Design style remains the same, but the organization of the application menu is arranged differently, as in the sixth version of Android Marshmallow. That is, it does not use horizontal scrolling of screens, but a vertical menu with the most frequently used programs highlighted at the top. Functions for working with gestures and a separate additional hardware programmable Q Key button on the side of the device were also added.

But that is not all. The most unusual thing that can be found among the settings of Archos Diamond Plus is the function of integrating the memory of the installed microSD card with the internal memory of the device so that they become a single array. This feature is called Archos Fusion Storage, and it really works here. Moreover, despite official warnings about the supported maximum capacity of SD cards up to 32 GB, in fact the device supports cards with a capacity of 128 GB without any problems. When you insert a memory card, the smartphone reboots itself and then shows the “total” amount of memory in the settings. In our case, it turned out to be as much as 130 GB, although the device’s own free memory was initially no more than 8 GB.

Performance

The Archos Diamond Plus hardware platform is based on an eight-core MediaTek MT6753 single-chip system (SoC). This SoC is configured with eight Cortex-A53 processor cores operating at frequencies up to 1.3 GHz. The Mali-T720 video accelerator with three cores with a frequency of up to 450 MHz is responsible for graphics processing. The amount of RAM is 2 GB, and less than 8 GB of the total volume of 16 GB is available for the user’s needs in the device. It is possible to install microSD cards, but to do this you need to remove one of the SIM cards. The smartphone supports connecting external devices to the USB port in OTG mode.

According to the testing results, the familiar platform, as expected, showed average or even slightly lower results. For example, in the popular AnTuTu benchmark, the hero of the review gave about 37K points, while today's record holders have already reached the figures of 80-90K. In other tests, both complex and specialized, the device demonstrates results that are absolutely typical for this platform, which has already been tested in our test laboratory more than once. The MT6753 SoC is noticeably inferior to its more powerful sister MT6752, whose frequency of the same CPU cores reaches 1.7 GHz. There is also a difference in the video accelerator: instead of the powerful Mali-T760 with a core frequency of up to 700 MHz, the triple-core Mali-T720 with a core frequency of up to 450 MHz is used here.

As for competing solutions, when comparing SoC MediaTek MT6753 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 615, which are similar in positioning, the MediaTek solution, as expected, turned out to be a little faster. All other modern solutions, such as Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 930/935, Samsung Exynos 7420, MediaTek MT6752, and even such outdated solutions as Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, in any case turn out to be more powerful than the hero of the review. However, the capabilities of this SoC should currently be sufficient to perform most standard tasks. So far, no particular problems have been noticed with games; “Tanks,” for example, can be played on the smartphone without any problems or delays, although the back wall of the case heats up noticeably.

Testing in the latest versions of comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in 3DMark game tests,GFXBenchmark, and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Thermal photographs

Below is a thermal image of the rear surface, obtained after 10 minutes of running the battery test in the GFXBenchmark program (closer to white - higher temperature):

It can be seen that the heating is more localized in the upper part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 38 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is not very much.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a table.

According to the testing results, the subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are needed to fully play most of the most common multimedia files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 sound format.

¹ sound in MX Video Player was played only after installing an alternative custom audio codec; The standard player does not have this setting

Further testing of video playback was performed Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We did not find the MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 frames/ With). In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The test results are summarized in the table:

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.

According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. With the exception of 60fps files, in which an average of two frames per second are dropped due to the screen's non-standard refresh rate of a strange 58Hz. The situation is aggravated by the fact that first frame by frame is displayed, then, to compensate for the time discrepancy, several frames are skipped at a time (usually two in a row). As a result, it is almost impossible to watch video at 60 fps; the picture constantly jerks. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p), the image of the video file itself is displayed one-on-one, exactly along the edge of the screen and in true Full HD resolution, but the rightmost (in landscape orientation) column of pixels is not displayed. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows, only one shade closest to black does not differ from it in brightness, and in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed.

Battery life

The battery installed in Archos Diamond Plus has a capacity of 2850 mAh that is quite decent for modern smartphones. Accordingly, nothing prevented the hero of the review from demonstrating a fairly good level of autonomy. The device performed confidently in all standard tests, with no noticeable failures identified. There were no records, but the test subject in any case demonstrates above average battery life in all tests, and this device definitely has no problems with this. In this case, testing was carried out at the usual level of energy consumption, although in the settings you can also enable the energy saving mode.

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted 12 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching videos in high quality (720p) at the same level The device withstood brightness for at least 9.5 hours via a home Wi-Fi network. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone worked for almost 4 hours.

The smartphone battery charges quite quickly for such a volume. From any third-party charger with an output current of 2 A, the smartphone is charged with a current of 5.1 V 1.2 A for approximately 2 hours 40 minutes.

Bottom line

As for the price of Archos Diamond Plus, it is planned by the manufacturer at 22 thousand rubles, but the model has not yet gone on sale, and the final price will be adjusted depending on the state of the exchange rate.

The Archos Diamond Plus smartphone is in all respects a solid average, no higher. The capabilities of the device are not so high that it can be classified as a flagship, but for its level the smartphone is quite satisfactory in all respects, although, perhaps, the price is slightly too high. Archos Diamond Plus has a high-quality screen, a solid metal body and a good level of autonomy. However, cameras, sound, a not very wide range of communication capabilities and a rather modest platform in terms of performance are nothing to particularly praise for. But no outright failures, defects or defects of the device as a whole were revealed during testing, this is the main thing.

In conclusion, we suggest watching our video review of the Archos Diamond Plus smartphone:

Our test object today is a smartphone from the French company Archos, which, almost six months after the official announcement at IFA-2015, begins to be sold in Russia.

Specifications

• Screen: 5.0"", AMOLED, 267dpi, 1280 x 720, Gorillas Glass 3;
• Operating system: Android 5.1;
• Processor: Mediatek MT6753, Cortex-A53, 8 x 1.3 GHz;
• GPU: Mali-T720 MP3, frequency 600 MHz;
• RAM: 2 GB;
• Built-in memory: 16 GB, support for microSD, MicroSDHC memory cards up to 128 GB;
• Cameras: 16 MP (flash, autofocus), 8 MP;
• Battery: 2300 mAh, non-removable;
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 145.3 x 71.2 x 6.6 mm;
• Weight: 118 g;
• SIM slots: 2, microSIM, Dual SIM Dual Active;
• Communication: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz, WCDMA 900 / 2100 MHz, LTE 800 / 1800 / 2600 MHz;
• Price: approximately $169.

Equipment

In addition to the documentation, the smartphone comes with a needle for removing SIM cards, a 5V - 1A adapter, a simple stereo headset with a single control key, and a USB cable with an extended plug (not every wire can replace it).

Appearance

The side edges of the phone are formed by a thin (6.6 mm) plastic frame with a texture vaguely reminiscent of metal. On its right side there is a volume rocker and a power button, and on top there are jacks for a headset and a USB cable.

Display

Iron

Software

Connection

Battery

Camera

Let's sum it up

Pros:

• Android 5.1 without third-party add-ons;
• Fast central processor;
• Works in 4G networks;
• Separate slot for SD card.

• Outdated graphics chip;
• Ineffective oleophobic coating on glass surfaces;
• Poor white balance in most photos.

• Only one SIM card supports Internet access;
• PenTile subpixel layout visible to the naked eye.