At its Next@Acer press conference last week (see Norbert Hildebrand’s Display Daily), Acer Inc. introduced a new series of products targeting the gaming community. Acer believes it is already a leading supplier of displays optimized for gamers and these new products should help solidify its position in the industry.
Acer announced four products in this “Predator” product line, the XR341CKA monitor, a notebook computer, a tablet and a desktop computer.
Acer 34”, 21:9 curved monitor targeting the gaming community
The star of the Predator line, at least as far as displays are concerned, was the XR341CKA monitor. This is a 34” 21:9 curved monitor with a pixel count of 3440 x 1440, called UltraWide QHD by Acer. The panel uses IPS LCD technology, for a 178° viewing angle range. Acer says this is the first curved monitor with NVidia G-SYNC technology, which is designed to minimize stutter and screen tear when there is a lot of action on a screen. The unit also includes DTS sound and a pair of 7W speakers. It supports 100% of the sRGB color gamut and has six axis color adjustment, a feature of the NVidia G-Sync technology.
The XR341CKA supports DisplayPort and HDMI inputs, and has a built-in USB 3.0 hub which supports high-speed charging of smartphones and other devices.
The Acer XR341CKA monitor will be available in EMEA in August with prices starting at €1,399, in North America in September with prices starting at $1,299, and in China in September with prices starting at ¥8,999. Exact specifications, prices and availability will vary by region. During the press conference, Jason Chen, Acer CEO, called the Predator monitor the “Z35”, said it had a 35” screen and said it had 9 x 9W speakers. Acer didn’t make it clear if this is the same monitor as the XR341CKA or if a second gaming monitor is coming later this year. (I suspect a second because there are new 35″ panels coming – Man. Ed.)
Acer Predator Gaming notebook and tablet were on display at Next@Acer>
Also on display from the Predator line were a tablet and laptop computer, both optimized for gaming. No details were available on either the tablet or the notebook computer. Chen said the tablet will be available in Q3 and the notebook in Q4. While it was not on display, Chen said the Predator line will also include a desktop computer to be available in Q3. –Matthew Brennesholtz
Analyst Comment
In general, I’m not a fan of curved monitors, but a wide-screen gaming monitor is one place where it makes sense. Curved displays make the most sense if there is only a single viewer and he sits at or near the center of curvature. This is almost a prescription of computer gaming.
