Unwired View » acer

Acer Liquid A1 to come in November for €380 unlocked

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:45:23 +0000

It looks like Acer Liquid A1, the world’s first Android smartphone powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, will not be as expensive as some may have thought.

Expansys Spain currently has the Acer Liquid on pre-order for €379.99 – that’s about $570, and it’s not much for what the handset has to offer.

The Liquid should be available starting November 28 – in Spain at least.

Apart from the Snapdragon processor, the Acer Liquid also features Android 1.6 with Acer UI 3.0, a 3.5 inch WVGA touchscreen display, GSM and HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, Facebook / Flickr / Twitter integration, and a 5MP autofocus camera.

Until the smartphone becomes available, here’s a short video preview of it from Stuff.tv:

Via Android Guys

Similar Posts:

Acer Liquid A1 – the first Android phone with a Snapdragon CPU

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:04:27 +0000

Acer has just announced its first Android smartphone – the Acer Liquid, which is also the world’s first Android handset powered by Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

Previously known as Acer A1, the Liquid runs Android 1.6 Donut (not Android 2.0 as rumored) and uses a “new user interface with easy access to entertainment and web bookmarks.”

Its specs include a WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) touchscreen display, HSPA connectivity, and a 5MP camera with autofocus and geotagging.

The smartphone also features a Spinlets application that offers “free streaming of worldwide music and video” for sharing “with friends and family through web-posting or e-mail.” Moreover, there are many social networking sites integrated, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Picasa.

Electricpig has some live photos of the Acer Liquid:

Acer didn’t say when the Liquid A1 will be available, and neither for what price. Anyway, the smartphone should come in three color versions: white, black and red.

Via Press release

Similar Posts:

Acer renaming its smartphones: neoTouch, beTouch E100, beTouch E101 and beTouch E200

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:33:49 +0000

Acer’s Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones will apparently have different names than the ones initially announced.

In the UK, the names will be changed as follows: Acer F1 will be Acer neoTouch; Acer C1 will be Acer beTouch E100; Acer E1 will be Acer beTouch E101; and Acer L1 will be Acer beTouch E200.

According to Clove, the smartphones should hit the UK next week, for prices between €200 (the 3G-less beTouch E101) and €370 (the Snapdragon-powered F1 / neoTouch, pictured below).

No word yet if the Acer A1 (which is an Android 2.0 smartphone) will have its name changed as well.

Similar Posts:

Acer A1 with Android 2.0 on pre-order

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:18:22 +0000

Acer A1, the first Android smartphone to come under the Acer brand, is now on pre-order at Expansys, which means it won’t be long until it hits the market.

Apparently, the A1 will come with Android 2.0 (although this version of Android OS hasn’t been officially announced).

Another interesting feature of the Acer A1 is its processor: Qualcomm 8250 at 768MHz. As far as I know, it’s the first Android smartphone to have a processor at more than 600MHz.

The handset’s other specs are somewhat similar to the ones of Acer F1, which should be released on October 6 (with Windows Mobile 6.5 on board):

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Tri-band HSPA (850/1900/2100 MHz)
3.5 inch WVGA touchscreen display
Wi-Fi
GPS
Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
3.5mm headset jack
5MP autofocus camera
512MB ROM, 256MB RAM
MicroSD card support
Talk time: up to 300 minutes
Standby time: up to 400 hours
115 x 62.5 x 12.5 mm
135 grams

The Acer A1 can be pre-ordered for €389,99 (about $569).

Via Android Guys

Similar Posts:

Acer F1 coming on October 6 for under $500?

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:15:17 +0000

Acer F1, the Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone seen in unofficial photos several times until now, will apparently be among the new Windows phones announced by Microsoft for launch on October 6 around the world.

As previously reported, the F1 is a really nice device. Not only that it’s well designed, but it also has some impressive specs, including: 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 3.8 inch touchscreen display with 480 x 800 pixels, accelerometer, quad-band GSM and tri-band HSPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera, 512MB ROM and 256MB RAM.

In the UK, Acer F1’s price will be of about £295 ($482) – not that much for a handset with those features.

Apart from releasing Windows Mobile devices, Acer is also getting ready to introduce its first Android smartphone this year – although it’s not clear yet when exactly.

Via PhoneArena

Similar Posts:

AT&T announces embedded laptops and netbooks

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:57:37 +0000

Not long after introducing netbooks for consumers, AT&T has now announced that it also offers embedded netbooks and laptops for small businesses.

Coming from top manufacturers like Acer, HP and Panasonic, AT&T’s netbooks and laptops feature built-in 3G wireless connectivity, thus being able to provide small businesses with access to the carrier’s 3G network in no less than 350 cities across the US.

The devices also feature AT&T Communication Manager, for access to 20,000 domestically AT&T Wi-Fi hot spots, and more than 90,000 AT&T Wi-Fi worldwide.

AT&T sells the laptops and netbooks in collaboration with CDW. Their offering includes Acer and HP netbooks for as low as $199 (with AT&T activation thru CDW), and HP notebooks for as low as $870 (also with AT&T activation thru CDW).

You can also buy the rugged Panasonic Toughbook, “with up to $150 off of select models”.

To check out the complete offering, visit CDW’s website.

Via Press release

Similar Posts:

Acer F1 specs confirmed, live pics spotted

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:47:58 +0000

We first saw the Acer F1 back in March, when the handset made quite an impression with its design and features.

The F1 is now showcased at Computex 2009, and its high-end specs have been confirmed.

First of all, the new Acer smartphone has a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and it runs on Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional.

The F1 looks very sleek, as you can see in the images below:

Its other features include:

3.8 inch TFT touchscreen display with 480 x 800 pixels
HSDPA 7.2Mbps
GPS
Wi-Fi
3.5mm headset jack
FM radio
5MP autofocus camera with LED flash

(the Windows Marketplace link was not functional)

Acer F1 might be released in September, probably under a different moniker, since F1 is just a codename. No word yet on the handset’s price.

Another interesting smartphone presented at Computex 2009 is Acer L1. Also running on Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, the L1 has a 2.8 inch touchscreen display, as well as an alphanumeric keypad:

Acer L1 will be available at the same time with the F1, thus starting September. Shortly after that, Acer should also unveil its first Android smartphone.

Via ePrice

Similar Posts:

Acer joins the Open Handset Alliance, officially promises an Android phone for Q4 2009

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:04:13 +0000

It’s not the first time that we’re hearing about Acer’s plans to release an Android smartphone, but this time it’s as official as it gets.

The Taiwan-based company has just joined Google’s Open Handset Alliance, making a step forward to delivering an Android device by the year’s end (sometime in the fourth quarter).

Of course, Acer didn’t unveil any details about how exactly its first Android smartphone will be. Well, if it’s something like that thin F1 presented a few months ago, I’m sure many Android fans will not hesitate to buy it.

As a reminder, the Open Handset Alliance currently has more than 40 members, including (besides Google): Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, HTC, Asus, Huawei, Toshiba, Telefonica and Vodafone.

Via The Wall Street Journal

Similar Posts:

Acer F1 may come in September powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon CPU

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:00:48 +0000

Acer F1, one of the smartphones said to come with Windows Mobile 6.5 on board, will apparently be launched in September 2009.

What’s more interesting is that, according to AllAboutPhones.nl, which participated at an Acer press event held in the Netherlands, the F1 will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor – like Toshiba’s ultra-thin TG01.

However, unlike TG01’s CPU, Acer F1’s processor will only run at 800MHz, not at 1000MHz. The new smartphone will also have ATI graphics and an Acer Suite 2.0 UI, which, apparently, is similar to HTC’s TouchFlo 3D interface.

(this above is an Acer F1 prototype)

The retail price of Acer F1 is said to be of €560 (about $758). Kind of expensive, isn’t it?

Similar Posts:

Acer wants its own app store

Ilinca Nita — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:35:11 +0000

Following the path that Apple opened, more and more handset manufacturers want their own app store. We have Nokia’s Ovi Store, RIM’s BlackBerry App World and so on.

Now Acer, which has recently ventured into the smartphone biz, also ponders at setting up a software marketplace for its handsets.

According to Mobile Entertainment, Acer’s senior corporate vice president, Mr. Aymar de Lencquesaing, said at a press event held in London that the company “is examining the viability of an app store”, although he can’t yet confirm they will actually launch it.

The first batch of Acer smartphones, comprised of the WM 6.1-based Acer M900, F900, X960 and DX900, should be on sale starting this spring.

In the second half of 2009, Acer will also launch four Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets: F1, L1, C1 and E1 (the last two are said to come for less than €49).

So, if the Taiwanese company indeed launches its own app store, this would be competing with Microsoft’s Windows Mobile catalog.

Could Acer offer more than what Microsoft is already offering? Let’s wait and see.

Similar Posts:

Acer to sell Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones for less than €49

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:27:46 +0000

Acer, one of the latest major companies to enter the smartphone business, will apparently offer Windows Mobile 6.5 devices for no more than €49.

That’s about $62 and, well, I don’t think there are many WM handsets out there to have such a low price.

The news comes shortly after some reports that were saying the Taiwanese company plans to offer free smartphones in the US, for those who buy them via mobile operators, on contract agreements.

According to The Register, two of the cheap WM 6.5 smartphones will be Acer C1 and Acer E1, which are obviously entry-level devices (although their specs are not known for the moment).

(this is Acer E1)

Most probably, the C1 and E1 will come for under €49 only together with a contract agreement, so it’s possible for them to be among the free smartphones promised for the US.

The C1 and E1 should be available in several color versions, sometime in the third quarter of 2009.

Via WMPoweruser

Similar Posts:

Acer to offer free smartphones (on contract) in the US

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:07:11 +0000

Being a newcomer in the smartphone market is not easy, and Acer, which has just joined the game, is certainly aware of this.

Mainly known for its desktop and laptop computers, the Taiwan-based company is not only trying to debut well in the smartphone industry, but it also wants to “be in the top five within five years”.

For this to happen, it needs more than just nice-looking and good-featured devices. It needs attractive prices.

According to PC Mag, Acer plans to conquer the US market with Windows Mobile smartphones that are offered for free when bought with contract agreements.

Aymar de Lencquesaing, President of Acer’s Smartphone Unit, believes that AT&T and T-Mobile will want to carry Acer smartphones, due to the fact that his company also sells netbooks – and netbooks are what mobile operators are highly interested in (AT&T is already offering the Acer Aspire One).

(this is the WM 6.1 Acer M900)

It looks like the US might be getting the promised Acer handsets in the fourth quarter of 2009, or the beginning of 2010.

Sadly, there’s no word yet on what handsets exactly Acer will try to launch. We could be talking about models like Acer M900, Acer F900, Acer X960 and Acer DX900; or Acer C1, Acer F1, Acer E1 and Acer L1, which are said to come with Windows Mobile 6.5 on-board.

As confirmed at MWC 2009, Acer is also working on Android-powered smartphones, but for the moment there are no details about their release in the US.

Similar Posts:

#MWC09 Confirmed: Acer is working on Android device in Q4

Staska — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:28:45 +0000

I just got back from the interview and new device check-up with Acer.

As far as the new first generation devices (M900, F900, X960 and DX900) go, I’m underwhelmed.They are all pretty well specc’ed out, have nice design and tons of features. And Acer made its own interface for the for touch navigation.

But they all run on WM 6.1, and, contrary to other vendors launching new WM products, Acer does not have any plans to provide free WM6.5 upgrades to first gen handsets.

The touchscreen and UI responsiveness on four new handsets leaves a lot to be desired too, and is not much different from two year old, pre-touch craze WM devices, which is not what I expect from touchscreen phone these days.

Acer is working on the next generation of its touch interface for a number of new WM6.5 handsets (including 4 previewed at MWC). From hardware and design standpoint they look really cool. Let’s hope the software side will catch up soon.

I’ll post video and live pics of all new Acer devices soon, and there’ll also be an interview with Acer’s Senior Corporate VP Aymar de Lencquesaing on UV shortly.

But the news bit I wanted to report now is that Acer’s reps confirmed that they are working on an Android device to be launched in Q4, along with the introduction of other new WM 6.5 Acer handsets.

When I asked Mr. Lencquesaing about other OS’es in Acer’s devices, e.g. Symbian or Android, he confirmed that there will be a non WM Acer device this year, it’ll be based on one of the OS’s I mentioned, and it will not run on Symbian.

Acer rep in their product display area confirmed as much, saying that there will be Android based Acer device in Q4.

Stay tuned for live pics and videos of new Acer products.

Similar Posts:

Acer M900, F900, X960 and DX900 officially announced

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:08:57 +0000

MWC 2009 is not only about Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson or HTC.

There’s also Acer, for example, the Taiwanese computer maker which has just unveiled four of its new smartphones: Acer M900, Acer F900, Acer X960, and Acer DX900. All of them run on Windows Mobile 6.1 and are part of Acer’s Tempo series of handsets.

The real novelties here are the M900 and F900, since we’ve already seen the X960 and the DX900.

Let’s start off with Acer Tempo M900, which seems to be the company’s flagship model.

Built “for all your communications on the go”, the M900 has a full sliding QWERTY keyboard, a large touchscreen display and several other nice features.

The smartphone’s full list of specs includes:

Quad-band GSM connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Tri-band HSDPA/HSUPA connectivity (850/1900/2100 Mhz)
3.8 inch TFT touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixels
Acer Shell 2.0 UI
G-sensor (i.e. accelerometer)
Fingerprint sensor
GPS
Wi-Fi
5MP autofocus camera with flash
533 MHz Samsung S3C 6410 processor
128 MB SDRAM, 256 MB flash memory
microSD card slot
Talk time: up to 5 hours
Stand by time: up to 160 hours
119 x 62 x 17.1 mm
188 grams

Next on the list is Acer Tempo F900. The F900 doesn’t have a keyboard at all, thus it’s slimmer than the M900 (117.5 x 63.5 x 12.85 mm).

The features of Acer F900 are similar to the ones of M900, save for the fact that it has a 3MP camera instead of a 5MP one.

Acer Tempo X960 (previously spotted in some leaked live images) also comes with quad band GSM and tri-band HSDPA connectivity.

However, its display is only a 2.8 inch VGA (640 x 480) one. Other than that, the handset has a 3.2MP camera, GPS and Wi-Fi.

And finally, Acer Tempo DX900 is that re-branded Glofiish DX900 we saw not long ago.

Its main attraction is the dual-SIM capability: SIM 1 works on quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA frequencies, while SIM 2 is for the 900/1800/1900 MHz GSM bands only. Plus, the handset also has a VGA touchscreen display, GPS, Wi-Fi and a 3.2 MP camera.

Acer didn’t say when its new smartphones will be on sale, but this should probably happen starting the next few months.

Source: Press release

Similar Posts:

Dual-faced Acer DX650 and Acer X960 spotted

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:45:00 +0000

We all know that Acer, currently the world’s third largest computer manufacturer, is getting ready to announce new smartphones at MWC 2009.

Well, it looks like the Taiwanese company wasn’t able to keep the upcoming handsets from leaking onto the Web, as two of them have appeared today on the Vietnamese website Tinh Te.

The first one, Acer DX650, is a dual-faced device that runs on Windows Mobile and comes with two displays. Unfortunately, these are nothing to get excited about: a QVGA touchscreen display and a 128 x 96 pixels monochrome one. The side with the small display also has an alphanumeric keyboard:

The features of Acer DX650 apparently include:

HSDPA connectivity
GPS
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth

Acer X960, the second leaked smartphone, looks better than the DX650 and it also comes with better specs.

The X960 offers the following:

A 2.8 inch VGA (640 x 480 pixels) touchscreen display
Windows Mobile
HSDPA connectivity
GPS
Wi-Fi
A 3MP camera
Bluetooth
MicroSD card support
128MB RAM, 256MB ROM
533MHz Samsung processor

There’s no info yet regarding the availability of Acer DX650 and Acer X960, but we’ll probably find out more about the handsets at MWC 2009.

Via SlashGear; some pics via Sohoa

Similar Posts:

Unannounced, weird Acer smartphone pops up

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:38:14 +0000

The fact that Acer has several smartphones to showcase at MWC 2009 is no longer a secret. But the names and features of the handsets to come are still a mistery.

However, thanks to an image that appeared over at BGR, we now have a blurry graphic representation of what one of Acer’s upcoming devices should look like.

Judging by what we can see below, the handset is weird (to say the least).

It seems that it features a swiveling QWERTY keypad, alongside a touchscreen display that could have a high resolution (perhaps a VGA one). Other details are inexistent, and we don’t know if the smartphone will run on Windows Mobile, Android or another platform.

It’s said that, apart from the above-seen smartphone, Acer also has a handset that resembles the iPhone. Well, we’ll see about that when MWC 2009 debuts, on February 16.

Similar Posts:

Acer DX900 – rebranded E-Ten handset

Staska — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:48:34 +0000

Acer is still probably keeping most of it’s newly developed “…exciting range of easy to use devices Smart Handheld devices…” under wraps, in the hope that nothing will leak and ruin the surprise on Feb 16th.

But some things are starting to leak out already, even if it’s only E-Ten Glofiish handsets, only with some color tweaks and under the Acer brand.

Yep, Mobile Tech Addicts found the old good E-Ten Glofiish DX900 rebranded as Acer DX900 smartphone already available for pre-order on UK retailer’s Clove Technology site.

All other things remain unchanged in Acer DX900, including dual SIM capability, 2.8” VGA touchscreen, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3 mpx camera and Windows Mobile 6.1 OS.

This move by Acer, who acquired E-Ten last year, is pretty easy to understand. Contrary to the Acer brand, E-Ten and Glofiish brands are virtually unknown in most parts of the world. So just slapping a new Acer label on it and putting DX900 into Acer’s distribution channels might spur some sales of this pretty well specc’ed out smartphone.

Let’s just hope that this is not the device that Acer is planning to awe us with on Feb. 16th in Barcelona.

Similar Posts:

Acer getting back into smartphone biz on Feb. 16th with MWC 2009 announcement

Staska — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:51:37 +0000

Ever since Acer has acquired Windows Mobile smartphone manufacturer E-Ten, we’ve been waiting to see what it will do with it.

They kept peddling the old E-Ten handsets under Glofiish brand in Asia and Eastern Europe. But also promised to have a new smartphone ready by the end of 2008 or early in 2009.

Well, it looks that Acer will keep its promise and have a major smartphone announcement on Feb. 16th at Barcelona MWC 2009.

So what can we expect from it?

My guess will be a powerful Windows Mobile 6.5 based smartphone with touch interface. Well, invitation actually says “smartphones“, so there will probably be several of them.

And this is confirmed by Acer’s MWC 09 profile:

“Now Acer enters the Smart Handheld market with an exciting range of easy to use devices designed to offer phone capability, simple one hand usability and complete connectivity.”

I guess there will be at least 3 new Acer handhelds on display in Barcelona.

E-ten was making a pretty high specc’ed and interesting WM smartphones, but lacked marketing muscle and design skills to become a major player in a smatphone field. With Acer resources behind it, and after almost a year of quiet development, the announcement coinciding with Windows Mobile 6.5 launch … I think they could be really interesting devices too.

Acer might also announce that it is joining Open Handset Alliance and could have some Android phones later this year. Heck, everybody is doing it, so why not Acer? It’s not that Windows Mobile is THE platform of choice among smartphone makers these days.

Well, we’ll be there, at the announcement, in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

Similar Posts:

Acer re-confirms smartphone shipments planned for Q1 2009

David Gonzales — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:58:40 +0000

Not that we were really egging on them or anything, but Acer has reaffirmed its plans to introduce its own-brand smartphones by the first quarter of 2009. True, there may be a worldwide economic crisis, but Acer is calm and optimistic about its growth for next year.

The company is currently working on its upcoming smartphones with the help of Taiwan’s E-Ten Information Systems, which it acquired earlier this year. And while Acer chairman JT Wang recently spoke about the company’s smartphone launch, saying it might not happen until the second half of next year, this was all apparently part of a big confusion.

Confirming information on our earlier reports, DigiTimes is saying that Acer will indeed launch its first smartphones in 2009. No details were provided regarding which regions the launch will happen in first, but Western Europe and Russia seem most likely.

Via DigiTimes

Similar Posts: