Archos 55 Helium Ultra
Specifications
Secondary Camera: 2 MPix
Pricecompare
Reviews for the Archos 55 Helium Ultra
Source: Mega Obzor RU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Support 4G; good price; good built quality; decent hardware; good display. Negative: Short battery life.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 01/08/2017
Comment
Model: With Chinese manufacturers churning out smartphones at rapid pace in the smartphone market, it is interesting to see how European rivals match up by offering equally impressive alternatives. One such device is the 55 Helium Ultra by French manufacturer Archos, which offers various mid-range specs yet for a budget price tag. Its dimensions measure at 155.00 x 77.00 x 8.10 mm and it weighs 162 g. On first glance, the design of the smartphone is retained minimal and despite its low price factor, it is not cheap looking. There is protrusion from the camera on the rear side of the device, which some users would mind (or not). The display of the smartphone stands 5.50-inch with 1280 x 720 pixels. It is arguable that pixel density may not be as high yet considering the low price factor, it is pretty decent. Quality of images rendered is clear as it still qualifies as HD and does not appear to be substantially compromised. On the performance level, it is powered by MediaTek’s MT6737, a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. This platform allows the smartphone to perform everyday tasks and web browsing a breeze. It comes with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB internal storage. The storage capacity can be expanded by up to 128 GB with a microSD card.
For optics, it comes with an 8 MP primary camera on its rear and 2 MP secondary camera. One should not expect too much from these specs; nonetheless, they are still capable of capturing decent images. Archos ships the 55 Helium Ultra in dual SIM mode. Battery life is above average as it comes with a non-removable battery rated at 2700 mAh. It comes pre-installed with Android 6.0. It does not support NFC or USB OTG. This is hardly surprising; after all, it is designed to be an entry-level smartphone. Users may want to consider its sibling, the 50f Helium, if they fancy having a fingerprint scanner (albeit at a cost of an inferior chipset and lesser RAM). Meanwhile, its other sibling, the Archos 55 Helium 4 seasons comes with 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, and 4 back casings. Over all, the 55 Helium Ultra is evidence that not all budget friendly smartphones are derived from Chinese device makers. This device is promising as it offers users with a fast platform, a decent wide screen and a reasonably large battery yet without breaking the bank.
Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam
ARM Mali-T720: Integrated graphics card in ARM based SoCs. Can be configured with up to 8 cores (T720 MP8) and 650 MHz core clock (at 28nm). Supports OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL 1.1, DirectX 11 FL9_3, and Renderscript.
These graphics cards are not suited for Windows 3D games. Office and Internet surfing however is possible.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
MT6737: ARM based quad-core SOC (4x Cortex-A53) with 64-bit support and a clock of up to 1.3 GHz.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
5.50":
It is a very small display format for smartphones. You should by no means be mis-sighted and you will generally see very little on the screen and only have a small resolution available. In return, the device should be very small and handy.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Archos: The French manufacturer Archos S.A. was founded in 1988. While they initially produced products such as MP3 players, they have started producing laptops, smartphones, and tablets in 2009.
The world market shares are small, but there are many reviews on Archos smartphones and tablets. While the ratings were below average in the early years, they have become better by 2016.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.