The manual gadget

Retina what now? French gadget peddler Archos has just revealed its new line up of Android tablets, and despite their low pricetags, they’re packing some seriously impressive tech. Best of all, they’re all packing super sharp screens with enough pixels to take on the fourth-generation iPad. Read on to meet them.

Archos has three new Android tablets on show, and like Barnes & Noble’s Nook line, they’re low-price slates with super sharp displays. Up first is the Archos 80 Platinum, an eight-inch tab with a 1024×768 display like the iPad mini – and a pricetag of just £179.

Next up is the Archos 97 Platinum, a 9.7-inch number with a sharper-than-full-HD 2048×1536 display for £249. Last but not least is the Archos 116 Platinum, a £299 11.6-inch tablet with a full HD screen for kicking back and gawping at movies. All three slates run Android 4.1 on quad-core 1.2GHz processor, and can be hooked up to your telly via HDMI for apps on the big screen.

One big difference between Archos’ slates and the Nook HD and HD+ is the software: Barnes & Noble’s tablets have their own rather limited app store, while Archos’ machines run full Android with access to all the hundreds of thousands of apps and games on the Play store.

The Archos Platinum line ships this month, save for the 116, which is out in April. Worth the wait to save money or just a false economy? We’ll let you know with full reviews of all three, but in the meantime get stuck in in the comments below with your thoughts!

The manufacturing white label behind products from LG Electronics and many, many other companies, LG Display will have something new for us in Las Vegas as well. In a press release, the company announced it will show off Ultra HD (4K) panels in 55-, 65- and 84-inch sizes (shown above), complete with its FPR passive 3D tech built in. Since LG Display makes panels for quite a few of the HDTVs on shelves, it follows that well be seeing actual products shipping in those sizes in the coming year from several brands. It also will show off its work in other areas, with a 30-inch 4K monitor, a 5.5-inch 1080p screen for smartphones, a 1,920 x 1,200 7-inch tablet display, and a new QSXGA (2,560 x 1,700) screen destined for laptops that packs all of those pixels into just 12.9-inches.

PPI isnt everything however, and LG Display is bringing several displays notable for their tiny bezels as well, including a 23.8-inch monitor in its Neo-Blade Series, a 13.3-inch laptop screen with a 2mm bezel, and a 4.7-inch mobile screen with a 1mm thick bezel. Finally, the new year also brings tweaks to its OLED displays, which will show off an ultra light and thin design at just 3.5kg and 4mm thick --- and hopefully actually being released in the US this year. Check out the release after the break for the full list of goodies, well be getting our own look at them in just a few days.

via:engadget