Acer are starting to make a name for themselves as a supplier of quality, smartphone devices, and the Acer Stream looks to continue the good start made by this relative newcomer to the handset market. As with many other Acer handsets, the Stream runs on the Android Operating System, and comes pre-loaded with Android OS 2.1, codenamed Éclair. Recently the next incarnation of Android OS, codenamed Froyo was announced, and the Stream will be upgradeable when Froyo becomes readily available.

The Acer Stream is a powerhouse of a smartphone, in terms of performance and looks. Weighing in at 140g, and measuring 120 x 63 x 11 mm, the Stream has an amazing 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 16 million colours. AMOLED displays tend to represent colours much better than TFT displays do, and are also more energy efficient, which should help with the demands such a large screen will put on the battery unit. The display has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, with an accelerometer for auto rotation and a proximity sensor which disables the screen when on call. Underneath the main display are four touch sensitive keys, for Home, Search, Back and Menu. On the body of the phone underneath the display are some dedicated music keys, which admittedly look a bit odd and out of place, but offer a convenient and simple way of dealing with media playback.

The quad band GSM device comes with Tri Band HSDPA connectivity, in two variants, either 850, 1900 and 2100 or 900, 1900 and 2100. Class 10 GPRS and EDGE is included to support data transfer in areas where there is no 3G coverage. Otherwise the device supports HSDPA speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, and HSUPA speeds of 2.0 Mbps. WiFi 802.11 b/g/n is onboard, and the Stream is compatible with both UPnP and DLNA technology, making it simple to integrate the device into a WLAN, and share data across the network. For local connection options, the Stream offers Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, and has a built in Micro USB port for connecting the handset to a PC.

Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1GHz Processor, the Acer Stream is fast, and can handle even the most demanding of tasks. The handset comes with apps pre-installed for accessing services like Flickr and Facebook, whilst there is a wide range of apps available through the Android Market for accessing other social networks on the move. The handset incorporates a quality 5.0 Megapixel camera, with autofocus, with a geotagging option and features such as face and smile detection included as standard. The camera is capable of recording HD video clips, at up to 24 fps. There is a full media player included, which delivers support for multiple codecs, including XviD videos. There is also a stereo FM radio with RDS included, and there is a 3.5mm audio jack allowing you to use a standard set of headphones to listen to your music on the move.

With Android to be found on some of the most desired handsets these days, it's not enough just to be 'another' Android device, not if you want to attract the attention of the mobile consumer. For manufacturers like Acer, who are new to the mobile industry, it can be even harder to get devotees of established companies to switch allegiances, but if they continue to deliver products as attractive and feature packed as the Acer Stream, then there is every chance that Acer can have a significant impact and become a real contender within the mobile industry.

You don't need to be an experienced mobile industry analyst to see that there is a huge shift in the power base happening right now. The traditional leading handset manufacturers are being challenged by new names within mobile manufacturing, names that are new to some, and names that are established within the general electronics industry, such as Huawei, Dell, Acer and Asus. And central to this is the Android Operating System. The emergence of Android has allowed new names to enter the mobile industry, and deliver high powered smartphone devices for a relatively low cost. With the Android OS ready and proven, all that is needed is development of hardware, plus a bit of marketing and distribution.

Acer, a name more commonly associated with manufacture of Laptops, have produced a couple of handsets running Android, and another in their fast expanding line up is the Acer Liquid e. The Liquid e is a traditionally styled modern touchscreen mobile phone, sporting a large, 3.5 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 256,000 colours and with a pixel resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. The Liquid e uses the proprietary Acer UI, version 3.0, and is equipped with an accelerometer for auto display rotation, along with a proximity sensor which automatically disables the touch display when the phone is held close to the face. The Acer Liquid e is a standard monoblock shape, reminiscent of many PDA style devices, with long straight edges down the side, and a slightly curved top and bottom. The device weighs in at an acceptable 135g, and measures all round 115 x 63 x 13 mm, which puts the Liquid e firmly in the mid range of handsets in terms of size. Underneath the main display are four touch sensitive buttons, which are used for selecting Home, Back, Search and Menu.

All Android phones are well connected, making it easier to handle the integration between the handset and web services, and the Liquid e follows this philosophy, delivering a strong suite of data connectivity options. The Liquid e offers tri band HSDPA connectivity on the 900, 1900 and 2100 frequencies, with HSDPA speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps available, with HSUPA speeds of up to 2.0 Mbps supported. The Liquid e brings WiFi 802.11 b/g support, and for areas where hotspots or mobile broadband are not available, the handset offers Class 10 GPRS and EDGE. The quad band GSM handset completes its connectivity options with Bluetooth 2.0, supporting A2DP for stereo audio connectivity, and has a Micro USB connector for connecting the handset to a PC via a cable.

The Liquid e has a strong line up of media features, starting with a 5.0 Megapixel camera, with autofocus. The camera is capable of recording VGA resolution video clips at up to 20 fps, and is equipped with geotagging, allowing you to record the location of where images were captured, information which can be shared with friends when you upload the photos to the web. The handset also includes a full media player, supporting popular digital formats for both audio and video, including MP3, WMA, MP4 and WMV. There is plenty of memory available on the phone, too, with 256 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM, and there is a memory expansion slot which supports Micro SD Memory cards, up to 32 GB in size.

The Acer Liquid e will ship with Android 2.1, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8250 768 MHz processor, giving the handset a snappy feel and hardly any lag, even when multitasking with many applications running at the same time. The device integrates well with many online services, such as Flickr and Facebook, and there are many apps available from the Android Market that will add further functionality to the phone, with apps available for Twitter, Maps, and a vast range of games.

Expected to be released soon, the Acer Liquid e will be available in three colour options, either Black, White or Red. In comparison to other handsets in the smartphone range, the Liquid e holds its own well, and seems perfectly suited for the job at hand. It remains to be seen whether the relatively unknown quantities of Acer as a manufacturer of mobile handsets will effect the sales of the Liquid e or not, but it is clear that anyone who is prepared to give it a go is going to be getting their hands on a very good device.

The first of the two Android devices is the Acer beTouch E400. Running on Android 2.1, the beTouch E400 has a large, 3.2 inch resistive touchscreen, and the Android operating system has been tweaked with the Acer UI. The E400 has a built in GPS receiver with aGPS support and includes a digital compass. The beTouch is a well connected handset, offering standard HSDPA at 3.6 Mbps and HSUPA at 384 kbps, and there is also WiFi and Bluetooth onboard.

A capable media device, the handset has a stereo FM radio and full featured music player, and there is a 3.5mm audio output jack. Messaging is covered with support for multiple email accounts, and the Pocket Office application for editing and viewing attachments comes pre-installed. Imaging seems a bit weak on the phone, in comparison with other recently announced phones, with a 3.2 Megapixel camera on board, it remains to be seen whether it provides acceptable pictures. The beTouch E400 should be available to market during April.

The second Android device has a slightly lower specification than the E400. The Acer beTouch E110 is smaller and lighter, and includes a 2.8 inch TFT resistive touchscreen display. It also runs on an older version of Android, version 1.5, it is not yet clear if the device can be upgraded after purchase to a more recent version. There is still the same 3.2 Megapixel camera, but whilst the E110 supports 3G+ Mobile Broadband like the E400, the E110 does not offer WiFi. Other features on the E110 seem to match its big brother, so we find support for social networking, multiple email accounts, and the Pocket Office application for viewing and editing email attachments. The Acer beTouch E110 should be available to buy from March.

Moving over to Windows Mobile now, Acer has two devices running on Windows Mobile 6.5.3, the first we are going to look at is the Acer neoTouch P400. The device appears to be a Windows Mobile version of the beTouch E400, so the spec list is pretty similar. The same HVGA 3.2 inch touch display is included, and the P400 also runs on the same processor. Support for GPS with aGPS is included, as is a digital compass, and there is even the same 3.2 Megapixel camera. Connection options on the P400 include Bluetooth, HSPA for high speed uploads and downloads, and the P400 includes WiFi 802.11 b/g in its arsenal. The device can handle multiple email accounts as well as push email, and the built in document viewer also allows you to edit email attachments. The neoTouch P400 is expected to be available from May.

Lastly we have the Acer neoTouch P300, a smart looking Windows Mobile device, with a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The QWERTY keys are illuminated to help with typing in poor light conditions, and there is a strong emphasis on productivity and messaging. The Pocket Office application allows you to work on the road, and the device can handle multiple email accounts and also offers push email. Social networking is tightly focussed on the phone, and connectivity is well covered, with support for WiFi, HSDPA, and Bluetooth. As we know, all work and no play is no fun at all; to cover this, the neoTouch P300 includes a full media player, and there is a 3.2mm audio jack, plus support for Bluetooth connectivity. The camera, as with the previous handsets, is a 3.2 Megapixel imaging device, the handset also includes GPS with aGPS support for accessing location based services. The neoTouch P300 is expected to be available in March.

This is a strong set of handsets from Acer, and although the name may not be big in mobile phones, with handsets like these that may be set to change.

Acer should not be an unknown name to many purchasers of mobile electronics; they have been producing laptops for quite a while now. In fact, they are the leading laptop manufacturer in the world, and second only to HP in computer manufacture. Acer is a fairly new name in the world of mobile phone manufacture though, and really their path in this industry has started to come about since their acquisition of E-Ten products. E-Ten had started promoting its own brand, Glofiish, but since the acquisition all products will be branded with the Acer name.

We’ve already taken a look at another new Acer handset recently, the Acer Liquid. Running on the Android Operating System, the Liquid is set to be a real contender when it releases. However Android is not the only OS Acer are prepared to work with, they are also working with Windows Mobile, which is the main OS used by E-Ten previously. And it is Windows mobile that runs the impressive Neo Touch F1.

The powerful Acer Neo Touch F1 comes running on the Windows mobile 6.5 professional OS, which sits nicely under the proprietary Acer UI 3.0. Weighing in at 130g, which is becoming the norm for a modern smartphone, the Neo Touch measures in at 119 x 63 x 12mm, and includes a large 3.8 inch TFT Touchscreen display. The display resolution is set at 480 x 800 pixels, and supports up to 65,000 colours. This colour resolution is rather disappointing, and is legacy of the old Windows Mobile operating system, that was deliberately capped at 65,000 colours to not impair performance. With the advances mobile technology has made over the last few years this really needs to be looked at, as compared to other devices, 65,000 colours just isn’t good enough. It appears washed out, and is hard to read in direct sunlight, and doesn’t do justice to the otherwise excellent display.

It is fast becoming standard in the smartphone market to declare the internal processor used in a device – as with a PC, the better a processor in a handset the superior the performance and the better the user experience. The Acer Neo Touch F1 does well in this regard, shipping with the impressive Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1GHz processor inside. Connectivity is king for a smartphone, and all the major options are covered with the Neo Touch. This quad band GSM device offers HSDPA at up to 7.2Mbps, along with HSUPA at up to 5.76Mbps. WiFi is included, as well as GPRS and EDGE. The Neo Touch has a mini USB port for connecting the device to a PC via data cable, as well as offering Bluetooth 2.1 for local wireless connections. Bluetooth 2.1 is the latest version available, and makes pairing a much simpler process than experienced in the past.

It is not enough in the cut throat smartphone market, though, to just be a powerful working device. Gone are the days when a phone was developed for business use, or personal, with crossover devices now offering a strong all round line-up. The Acer is no exception, delivering an excellent selection of media features. Firstly there is a 5.0 Megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, which also offers a Geotagging option. Video recording is included, with video clips being recorded at up to VGA resolution, and up to 30 fps. The device offers a TV Out option, so captured media can be viewed on a full size TV Screen, but disappointingly it seems, the TV Out cable is not part of the sales package and will need to be purchased separately. Media playback is well handled on the Neo Touch, with the media player adequately dealing with MP3, AAC, WAV and WMA audio files, as well as MP4, WMV, H.264 and H.263 video files.

Another area that has seen strong growth in mobile handsets over the last year or so is the integrated support for a variety of social networks. The Acer Neo touch comes with built in support for both Flickr and Facebook, with other sites such as Bebo and Twitter available via the built in web browser.

It takes a lot to power a modern mobile these days, and to help you along the way Acer have decided to include a 1350 mAh lithium polymer battery, which should be powerful enough to give a full days support to even the most demanding of user.

The Acer neo Touch F1, then, is another in a long line of recently announced tablet style PDA mobile handsets. The market the phone is going to sell into is very crowded, and whilst the neo Touch is a feature packed handset, it is hard to see what its USP is. There is a lot to like, but there are some annoying points to keep in mind too, such as the positioning of the Micro SD card slot under the back cover, no native DivX and XviD support, no SatNav software pre-installed, for example. However, if the Neo Touch is the handset you are looking for, you shouldn’t have to wait long to part with your money as the Neo Touch is out now.

Acer may not be the first manufacturer that springs to mind when you think about leading manufacturers of mobile phones, but that hasn’t stopped them coming to market with a handset that currently boasts the best spec on any officially confirmed device running on the Android operating system.

For fear of repeating ourselves, it is worth stating once again, that the Android OS is going to be big news, as 2009 comes to a close and we look forward to 2010. The coming 12 – 18 months are going to be important times for the mobile industry, as traditionally popular manufacturers and established systems are being challenged by a smart, upstart system that brings a new level of power and flexibility to the way we use our mobile phones for communication. We really have reached the point in the evolution of the mobile phone that to continue to call it such really does little service to recognise just how powerful these communication products are. These days telephony is but one basic element on offer, as we are starting to see a range of handsets that offer superb integration with a wide range of web based services, whilst continuing to push the boundaries on entertainment and media.

We’re going to hear a lot in the coming months about integration, content access, socially mobile communication and so on, as manufacturers and networks look to offer an even wider range of products and services to tempt us to part with our hard earned cash. And right at the centre of this we find Android, and the trickle of handsets is threatening to become a flood as week by week, almost day by day, rumours of up coming handsets keep on coming.

The Acer Liquid is one such handset that has been doing the rounds of the rumour mill recently, and now we can confirm the specification of this much anticipated product. Measuring a comfortable 115 x 62.5 x 12.5 mm and weighing in at 135g, the Acer Liquid has a huge, 3.5 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 256,000 colours and with a pixel resolution of 480 x 800, making the Liquid the first Android device to come with a WVGA display. Acer has placed their own proprietary user interface on the Liquid, Acer UI 3.0, which promises to deliver an intuitive end user experience.

Running on Android OS version 1.6, commonly known as Donut, the Acer Liquid comes with a high spec feature list; one of the stand out features is the inclusion of a high quality 5.0 Megapixel camera, with autofocus, LED Flash and a Geotagging option, thanks to the built in GPS receiver. Video recording is also enabled, with clips being captured at up to QVGA resolution.

Media is well represented on the Liquid; we find a 3.5mm audio output jack for music playback, as well as Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP support, allowing for easy connection to a Bluetooth stereo headset. The media player itself is well featured, with support for MP3, AAC, WMA, plus WMV, MP4, H.264 and H.263 included. There is ample room for storing all music, images and videos, with the Liquid supporting MicroSD memory cards, with the possibility of a 32GB memory card being used on the device.

The Liquid offers full integration with all the Google services, plus we find native support for Flickr and Facebook, allowing you to easily maintain your online presence straight from the handset. All of this online connectivity needs strong connection options, and the Liquid delivers big here, offering HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps, plus HSUPA at up to 2.0Mbps. WiFi is also there, and there is also the inclusion of GPRS and EDGE. One of the more impressive features is something that is not usually noted on a mobile device – The Acer Liquid will ship with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8250 768 MHz processor, which should help deliver in even the most demanding of multi tasking situations.

Pretty impressive, I’m sure you will agree. If this is a hint of the devices that are to come, I for one cannot wait to enjoy the fun as manufacturers look to outdo each other in the feature list stakes over the coming months. As yet there is no confirmed release date for the Acer Liquid, although it will be a surprise if it is not in the shops by Christmas, with mid to late November a strong possibility. Time to get that Christmas wish list updated, I think.

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