Acer’s Switch 12 has an easel mode with a detachable keyboardAcer had plenty to show and was noticeably more busy than last year and a lot busier than two years ago. That reflects more presence of the brand in the mobile space, especially in emerging markets. We have been reporting on Acer’s cloud-based “Bring your own cloud” concept for a while and it remains important for the firm.
Looking at products, the Liquid Z220 is an entry level phone running Android Lollipop and with just 5mp/2mp cameras. It is expected to sell at €89. Moving up the range, the Z520 has a 5″ display and features much stronger media performance including DTS audio. Pricing is €179.
We had a quick look at the M220 phone, which runs Windows and we noted that the viewing angle on the display is poor.
The Leap Plus is a well priced (€79) wearable that has interchangeable wristbands in its latest version, to allow users to customise the look. Unusually, the watch works with Windows, Android and iOS devices.
At the top end is the Liquid Jade Z phone which was released a few weeks ago and is sold in different ways around Europe. For example, in the UK (where most people get their phones through a contract) it is sold through the Acer website as Acer does not have deals with big carriers. In the parts of Europe, such as Germany or France, where the majority pay cash for their phones, they are sold through retail channels. The 4G phone has a 13 megapixel F1.8 camera (faster than the new Galaxy S6) and DTS-HD audio.
The Aspire Switch is available in 10″, 11″ and 12″ versions. There’s an 8.1″ system that has a kind of “easel mode” which can be used to support the display when the keyboard is detached. The 12″ version uses a “Zero Air Gap” bonded system with Gorilla Glass 3 and the Iconia Tab 8 and 10 have the same feature. The Tab 8W is a full featured Windows tablet that includes a 3G radio for data and sells for just €130 – a very good deal, it seems.
