Removing the back of a phone used for some to be essential in order to get access to the battery, now a lot of phones come sealed so batteries cannot be changed. This phone from Archos arrived without a back as the last reviewers cat had stolen/eaten/hidden it. But as it only performed a fashion role it is not essential; however I would not like to meet that reviewer’s cat on a dark night.
Buy Now...
click image to enlarge
Without the cosmetic back you get more information on what button does what and how to insert SIM or Micro SD Card and the case is still sealed.
It is 15.2x7.5x.7cm and weighs 186grams. The viewable screen is 12x6.8cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 5½ inches.
While there are Android 7 phones out there I have yet to handle one so this Marshmallow offering is the latest Android 6 to have come my way.
The right side has the volume rocker with the on/off button below it. The base has USB for charging. The left side has the SIM/Micro SD Card tray and the top has 3.5mm socket for headphones. The back has the adequate speaker near the base and the fingerprint reader central near the top with the camera top towards the side with its LED flash towards the centre of the top.
For logical reasons I cannot tell you what colour the back was but the sides are metal and the front screen surround is shiny black with the screen itself being rather reflective and sadly it does show finger marks especially when the screen is blank.
The 1080x1980 display – the same as most PC’s – is called an immersion experience, it is certainly a clear and sharp one to view in all but the strongest sunlight. The processor is one of the new breed of ‘octa’ core offerings that means eight different cores so it is rapid.
4GB of RAM is all most standard computers had to work with until recently so everything has its place without delay. It comes with 64GB of internal memory and you can add to that with a Micro SD Card, the largest I have is 64GB but larger are available.
For those who have sensitive data this can be secured by the finger print sensor on the back below the camera.
While mentioning the camera you can take 1080P video and the back camera is 16MP and the front ‘selfie’ unit is 8MP.
The sealed battery is said to last for 12 hours of calls, 6 hours of playing videos and a massive 300 hours in standby.
While I am not a games fan there are three supplied, a reasonable word processor and spreadsheet and the built in Archos video player has always been good.
In use I got 4G coverage everywhere I travelled around London and even made uninterrupted phone calls in the notorious black spot between Clapham Junction and Earlsfield.
The Archos 55 Diamond Selfie is available SIM free directly from Archos for £199.99 or from Amazon for around £240.
https://www.archos.com/gb/products/smartphones/diamond/archos_55diamondselfie/index.html
!!
