Acer Liquid E Communicator Overview

       A stylish case, a good touch screen, a productive filling, a promising operating system ... and I’ll share my impressions of using all this disgrace from Acer.

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       Perhaps it’s worth starting with ... Acer Liquid Ethis, in fact, is the same communicator as Acer Liquid, only a little more expensive. What are we paying for this time? I’ll tell you honestly and frankly - just for double the amount of RAM, from 256MB to 512. Still in the “new product” they hold the “new” Android 2.1 operating system for a trump card, but you yourself understand that these are trifles that can be made and yourself) So, in fact, the manufacturer made a remake of a fairly popular model ... but it does not position it as new and something unique. In fact, these are two identical devices, slightly differing in the filling ... therefore, most of the statements about Acer Liquid will be true for his "big brother". Well, they have the same flaws, respectively.

    I'll start with the characteristics:

    Specifications


    Processor : Qualcomm 8250, 768 MHz
    Video accelerator : ATI Imageon Z430
    Memory RAM / ROM : 512/512 MB
    Communication : GSM / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS / HSDPA 900/1800/2100 MHz
    OS : Android 2.1 Éclair
    Camera : 5 MP with autofocus
    Screen : LCD (TFT), 3.5 ”, 480x800 (WVGA), capacitive with multi-touch
    Interfaces : WiFi 802.11 b / g, Bluetooth Class 2.0, GPS, miniUSB, Micro-SD card slot, 3.5mm audio jack
    Built-in services : Gmail, Android Email, Gtalk, Google Search, RollTech nemoPlayer, YouTube, Spinlets, urFooz, Facebook, Twitter
    Optional : G-Sensor, light sensor, proximity sensor, digital compass
    Battery : Li-Ion 1350 mAh
    Operating time : talk time up to 5 hours / standby time up to 400 hours
    Dimensions : 115x64x12.75mm,
    Weight : 135 g

    In a box with Acer Liquid E were:

    - Battery
    - Memory card
    - Charger
    - Disk with a manual
    - Screen film
    - Navitel maps
    - USB-wire
    - Headphones
    - Case

    Appearance


       Like most Android devices, Acer Liquid E is a candy bar. Absolutely from all sides, the black case is glossy, but ... due to the lack of protruding elements, getting rid of prints is quite simple - I spent it on my sleeve and it was done. With the plastic on the back side, the situation is simpler - although it is easily soiled, you do not pay any attention to the prints, because they are always out of sight.

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       The communicator is really flat - the entire front part is occupied by wear-resistant glass, which, as in the case with HD2, will not be scratched (which can not be said about the back of the device). The only relief element is the speaker cut-out - there is no frame on the screen, it is almost not visible under the glass either.

       All four buttons are touch-sensitive - they are familiar in appearance, with the exception of the first (Home) - it has an unobvious icon in the form of a rectangle.

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       Below is a microphone and a miniUSB connector - it's nice that at least someone did not follow the stupid standards and did not use a dead microUSB. On top there is only a headphone jack (3.5mm).

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       On the sides there are several buttons that do not stand out from the case at all, at first they are very inconvenient to use, but then you get used to it; on the left is the power button (it also turns the display on / off), and on the right is the volume rocker and camera button.

       On the reverse side everything is standard - the peephole of the 5-megapixel camera and the “gills” of the speaker. It’s unfortunate that there is no flash - you don’t have photos at the party, not even a “flashlight”.

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       It took me some time to figure out how to remove the battery cover - this is the only removable part of the device. I’m up and down, and to the sides ... but, it turns out, you just had to poke a fingernail on the upper end. But after all these deformations there were good impressions - nothing creaks. Of course, there is no such solidity as in the flagship HTC, but in general for a plastic case this is a very worthy result!

       Under the cover is a 1350mAh battery (3.7V, 4.995Wh) - if you wish, on Ebay for $ 20 you can buy non-original, but more capacious options of the same size. There is absolutely nothing behind the battery - the memory card and SIM card slot are slightly higher, although you still have to remove the battery to work with them.

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       In addition to the black and white colors of the case, there is also a bright red model of the communicator, traditionally branded for Ferrari - there is a slightly higher price, but in addition to a small overpayment for the brand, additional accessories are included.

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       By the way, I bet that you, too, did not notice in the photographs what, for me, was a surprise in due time. In general, when the phone is charging, there is an incoming SMS or missed call, information about this is displayed ... on the top end of the device! Neat white icons pulsate on black and black glossy plastic, additionally planting a battery) This is stated in the manual, but who reads them now. I accidentally noticed this with lateral vision when I was working at a computer ... at first I decided that it "seemed", but after a couple of seconds I thought - "mmm ... maybe this is not the most useful function, but it’s unusual and is done very carefully." In general, a trifle, but nice!

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       ... do you expect from me a couple of paragraphs about any differences between this device and the usual Acer Liquid? ) I will not be happy because they really are no more ... but I will not disappoint, because the price has remained almost the same.

    Inclusion and work. Software


       The communicator comes with Android 2.1 operating system (kernel version 2.6.29, build number Acer LiquidE 1.100.39 EMEA GEN1) - I will share my impressions of this firmware, and that's why. Firstly, it is this firmware that will be available to everyone who buys this device - it will be the impression that will be made by those who will not bother with updating the firmware. And secondly, the choice of alternative firmware depends entirely on the specific user, so each issue will be decided for itself. I will only add that on the network on the same w3bsit3-dns.com there are several unofficial assemblies at once (including those from 2.2, which have already been written about in Habré ), with individual pluses and minuses.

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    The screen is very bright, automatic brightness control is turned on by default:

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       On the factory firmware, the full device is turned on in 25 seconds. At the first start, the communicator asks you to specify the basic settings - language, date, time zone ... everything is standard. If you are tempted to enter data from the GMail account, then after initialization, all the people you know (as planned) will be in the address book. Similarly, you can import contacts from the Facebook network.

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       5 screens, on the main of which (average) is the Google search bar and 8 applications. The clock and Facebook are still on two screens - it’s good that all of this is configurable and turns off in a couple of clicks :)
       In general, everything is fairly standard - never HTC Sense, although Acer tried to make a small contribution to the development of a standard interface. And to be more precise, it’s more correct to talk about a small add-on. On the first (leftmost) screen, by default, there is a multimedia widget - the type of content (music, photo or video) is indicated at the top, and below this content is presented as a "carousel" - the animation is smooth, although the same music initially takes some time to cache album covers.

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       On the last screen there is a similar carousel, only this time there are "unnecessary" online services - Facebook (since it is already a widget on one of the screens), Picasa, Acer Sync (for synchronization with Outlook), Acer Registration and Acer Mobile. The language does not turn to call the add-in bad - it works, just someone will not need it) But this statement is true for any upgrader-decorator.

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    * UPD * Shell from Acer in version 2.2 - click

       The demo version of the Documents To Go editor, the omnivorous nemoPlayer player, the rather functional Gmail client and the primitive Gtalk ... Twidroid is also preinstalled; Spinlets program for free access to streaming music and video (there, by the way, there are a lot of things to listen to!), urFooz service for creating your avatar and using it on many services (functional, but stupid thing), barcode scanner ... a lot of things , but here again, it's a matter of choice - a huge number of applications are available in the Market, including free ones. I agree that there are not so many good applications there, but this is a matter of time.

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       In a separate item (Acer Settings), some of the most common options are taken out for quick access - Wi-Fi, Bluetoth, GPS, phone ringtone, screen brightness and setting the display timeout.

    On the disk are a couple of primitive applications - Acer EasyLink for sharing the Internet, and Acer Sync for data synchronization.

       All movements between the screens occur very smoothly - nowhere is there the slightest hint of brakes, despite the fact that there is not even a gigahertz inside. Although the standard 768 MHz can be overclocked to 900+, but why spend the battery even faster if even with the default settings you can watch unconverted video (up to 720p) without problems and solve almost any other user tasks that may be required at all. When installing an alternative firmware (for example, Liquid Community Rom), everything becomes even faster, while the battery life will only increase. In general, there is complete freedom for the flight of fantasies - it makes no sense to describe in detail what can be turned off or reconfigured in a couple of clicks. But if it’s really interesting, here’s a useful linkto a detailed description of the communicator’s software part - to be honest, I planned to write something similar, but I saw this article and realized that it makes no sense to repeat myself.

       It's great that a separate hardware key is provided for the camera - on some devices it is often not enough. In sunny weather (and just in good light), the 5-megapixel camera takes excellent pictures, but in a dark room it will not be so easy to make a good shot - at least autofocus will be dull. It is possible to shoot videos in VGA-resolution. Examples of photographs:    The sound of the speaker is weak - firstly, quiet, and secondly, not very high quality; But according to the Internet, both of these shortcomings are eliminated by flashing. But the sound that is output to the headphones through the mini-jack is very!

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       The reviews are teeming with lines about a warming battery ... well, it really is prone to heat when charging - it's not that it burns directly, it's just warm ... but it gets warm. Moreover, the screen for this business even has a specially designated icon, which makes it unclear what appeared first - either the icon was added to the found artifact, or the battery compartment was designed so that the icon would not disappear in vain. In general, this is a flaw in the designers, the situation is not critical, but we can only come to terms with it.

       In standby mode, the phone works for about three days - this is when it just lies somewhere on the table with a vegetable and patiently waits for a call. In less greenhouse conditions, the phone lasts a maximum of a day, and someone will be missed even for this time. As far as I know, this is an unpleasant feature of all google phones, but it was not a surprise for me - I didn’t get into awkward situations) Regardless of the charge level, the communicator often fell into the clutches of a cheap Chinese car mount, where it was periodically powered by a cigarette lighter. In this regard, by the way, miniUSB is very useful :)

       In order not to offend anyone, I will not compare Acer Liquid E with other devices - including because I almost never had to use many of them. But if you compare with HTC HD2, which I use now ... then, probably, I would choose Acer - at the time of the start of sales it costs exactly half the price than HD2. On the other hand, I do not regret buying HD2 at all - I’ll soon be busy installing the android on it and then we'll see! ) Although here is a couple of photos for you to compare:

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       As a concluding paragraph, once again I express my gratitude to w3bsit3-dns.com and its many users - this is perhaps the best there is on the network about mobile devices. I highly recommend bookmarking this site if you haven’t done so already.

    image Pros and cons


         +Design. The phone is beautiful, from which side do not look.
         +The front side is absolutely flat, because of which all prints are removed with a slight movement of the sleeve. Wear resistance is also not superfluous.
         +High performance, “smooth” operation of any software, large amount of memory. I
         +liked the icons on the top end as a separate item.
         +Large and bright screen with wear-resistant coating
         +miniUSB connector - it’s more practical and universal than microUSB A
         +good camera;
         +Price

       Well, of course, the Android platform itself is a key advantage. This gives the device a huge potential, which is not the first day that many enthusiasts have been using it.

         -Glossy body. Although I am an opponent of gloss, but in this case it looks very successful, almost without sacrificing practicality.
         -The buttons on the sides are pressed not "explicitly" - it takes some getting used
         -The camera has no flash in low light autofocus tupit
         -Average statistical battery life - day
         -battery heating with charging
         -Weak speaker

       Some of these shortcomings can be corrected installing alternative firmware, but then again, I wrote by what was "out of the box."

       I did not attribute build quality to either pluses or minuses - nothing creaked from me and the parts were perfectly fitted to each other. At the same time, there are directly opposite reviews on the network, so, apparently, this is already a matter of chance - when buying at this point, you need to pay special attention.

       I still can’t come to terms with the fact that on Android-communicators most often there are no hardware “green” and “red” handsets. Accordingly, if at a meeting you hear a call in your pocket, you can turn off the sound only by taking the phone out of your pocket. What guides the designers is incomprehensible.

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       The cost of a regular Acer Liquid is 13,500 rubles, while the price tag for the updated version starts at 16,000. I believe that the communicator is well worth the money, which once again confirms the large number of positive reviews on the network.

       The Ferrari version of the device mentioned in the article costs a couple of thousand more, but additional accessories such as a headset with an appropriate design are included in the price.

    conclusions


       A good communicator for those who want to join the gathering Android-hangout. For a relatively adequate amount, the manufacturer offers a very decent testing ground - here you have a large screen, nimble filling and endless open spaces for fussing with software. The key difference between the E-version and the usual Acer Liquid, perhaps, is only one (after all, the necessary firmware is easy to install yourself) - this is an increased amount of memory. So if a regular communicator is equally suitable for almost everyone, then Liquid E will appeal to very active users and all kinds of enthusiasts.

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       Any device has both advantages and disadvantages - speaking of Acer Liquid E, the wars of light won by a good margin and it will certainly pour into a fierce competition) At least for its price, the device offers far from empty space. There have really been plenty of competitors lately, but if you consider devices of the same price range, you still need to look for worthy ones! In my opinion, it’s better to overpay, but take a communicator, the memory capacity of which will allow you to safely experiment for a long time. If I were to make such a purchase, I would take the device in a white case - practice shows that in this color the devices are the least easily soiled.

    Good luck!

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