Although our Canadian friends up to the north will soon be getting one nice piece of Android powered hardware in the form of the Acer Liquid e smartphone, US consumers may soon get a portion of that love from Acer as well. Despite lacking any serious power under the hood when compared to the Acer Liquid e, it’s still pleasant to see that the Acer beTouch E110 is attempting to get its name out there in the US market. There’s no denying that Acer has a strong presence in the PC market already, but they’ll need to do some extra work before winning over the hearts and minds of US consumers. The FCC just approved today the Acer beTouch E110 which surprisingly has support for AT&T’s 3G network and is considered one of the company’s latest Android smartphones. It’s an entry-level smartphone featuring  a 2.8” QVGA touchscreen, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 3.2-megapixel camera, 256MB ROM, 256MB RAM, ST Ericsson PNX6715 416MHz processor, and Android 1.5. Our European friends will be getting a taste of this handset first when it’s expected to be available some time in March with an attractive low price. Still, there’s no confirmation when this handset will actually make an appearance in stores for consumers to purchase over here.
source: FCC via Unwired View

One of the most under appreciated Android handsets on the market is making its way towards our friends to the north – with a slight makeover and new name. Rogers has inked up a deal to land itself the exclusivity of Acer’s “Liquid e” Android smartphone that’ll go on sale this spring. The Acer “Liquid e” will supplement Rogers’ future Android offerings, like the Sony XPERIA X10, and beautify their existing lineup of handsets. It was officially shown during MWC and will feature Android 2.1, 768MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 3.5” WVGA capacitive touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and a 3.5mm headset jack. “Rogers is very excited to be partnering with a highly respected global brand like Acer to bring the Acer Liquid e to Canadians consumers. By exclusively launching, the first Acer smartphone in Canada, we are once again demonstrating our industry-leading ability to be first to bring to market the latest and greatest mobile devices Canadians are asking for, and adding to our already impressive line-up of Android-enabled devices”, said John Boynton, Executive Vice-President of Marketing for Rogers. Although Rogers customers can expect the new handset in time for spring, there has been no official word on the exact launch date – we’d gather that customers are more than willing for the slight wait at this point.
source: Acer via MobileSyrup

For those who have to have the trendiest new gadgets, or for those who are “techno-geeks”, the upcoming Acer Ferrari smartphone was built with you in mind. And while talk of an Acer produced Ferrari handset has been bandied about before, we now actually have a time frame for the device. This March, Acer will release the Ferrari smartphone which will have Android 2.1 under the hood. For Acer, having the Ferrari name on one of its smartphones means a lot. “A Ferrari is not just about speed. It is an expression of beauty, power, excitement, pleasure and natural excellence,” gushed Acer Vice President, Marketing and Brand, Gianpiero Morbello. The executive added, “From the original concept to the finished product the new smartphone was conceived down to the finest details with the idea of giving a stronger sense of belonging to all Ferrari fans.” Acer’s release calls the smartphone an “elegant device” offering “sensational performance”. Outside of the OS, no specs were revealed, but for most Ferrari fans, just knowing that the brand will be on the handset is enough to have them off to the races to buy one.
source: TechRadar

Similarly to what happened last year, Acer is putting up quite a strong performance at MWC 2010. The company has showcased four new cell phones, including two brand new beTouch family members – the Е110 and E400, based on Android versions 1.5 and 2.1 respectively. The Acer beTouch E110 is being introduced as an affordable smartphone that comes with 2.8-inch QVGA display, 3.2-megapixel camera and 3G support, but without Wi-Fi. Finally, it appears to integrate a weakling processor, the ST Ericsson PNX6715 running at 416MHz. The beTouch E400 is more of a mainstream device that packs 3.2-inch HVGA display, 3.2-megapixel camera, 600MHz processor and Wi-Fi. Both cell phones will bring rich software functionality via a number of additional applications, similarly to the Acer Liquid A1. The Acer beTouch E110 is due this March, while the beTouch E400 is expected in April.

The Acer beTouch E110 and E400

The other two handsets run Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and belong to the neoTouch series – meet the P300 and P400. They are models that do not shine with any spectacular extra features – the Acer neoTouch P300 integrates 3.2-inch screen with WQVGA resolution, 3.2-megapixel camera and hardware QWERTY keyboard, while the neoTouch P400 is equipped with 3.2-inch display as well (but with HVGA resolution), 3.2-megapixel camera and lacks QWERTY. Both devices will come with the standard pack of features typical of cell phones in the same price category, including 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The market launch of the Acer neoTouch P300 is scheduled for March, but the neoTouch P400 will get delayed until May.

There is still no information on the retail prices that Acer´s new models will be released at.

The Acer neoTouch P300 and P400

By the way, what the manufactured has showed at MWC as well is a new iteration of the Acer Liquid A1, called the Liquid e. The only difference to the original device is the newcomer runs Android version 2.1 and therefore, offers all corresponding software extras of the latest OS edition like 5 home screen pages, Live wallpapers, improved browser etc. Unfortunately, it´s still anyone´s guess when and what kind of price tag the “new version” is to appear on the market.

Stay tuned for our first impressions of all handsets that Acer has introduced at MWC.

source: Acer via SlashGear, more

If you’ve been in the market to buy an Acer Liquid Android phone, then you’re probably struggling to find outlets where you can readily find the smartphone available. The world’s number two computer vendor was really impressed with its Android phone – causing the manufacturer to say that stronger than expected sales of the phone have led to shortages of the device. Gianfranco Lanci, president of the Taipei-based company, said that “Liquid is doing much better than our expectation. This is why we’re a little bit short of supply.” First unveiled in October, it competes with other Android models available in the market and plans to see smartphone sales total between 2 million to 3 million units this year; this includes Windows Mobile phones as well. By the end of this current quarter alone, Acer plans on shipping out at least 250,000 Liquid handsets compared with the initial expectations of 150,000 to 200,000. Jim Wong, president of Acer’s IT Products division said on January 22 that they plan on making a second Android smartphone this quarter. Although no US carriers have decided to bring along the Acer Liquid to their lineups, Acer could’ve really gotten a leg up if they were able to get into stores.
source: Business Week

We’ve already managed to take a close look at the Android totting Acer Liquid and its cool looking personalized interface. Its polar white coating really makes it stand out from a good distance – so having an alternative color may prove daunting. From one side of the spectrum to the other, the Acer Liquid is now being offered in a new completely black paint job. With a third color option still yet to debut, the price of this one remains unchanged from the original one – going for about £330 at a couple of UK retailers which equates to roughly $537. So if the white one didn’t tickle your fancy, you can always opt for the one with the newer paint job. While our neighbors from across the pond are getting the love with the Acer Liquid, we’re still waiting anxiously here in the US for some carrier to gobble it up.
via Engadgetmobile

The Liquid A1, Acer´s first Android handset rolled out running version 1.6 of the famous operating system, along with a few minor personalizations. According to a French blog, owners of the handset may get a free update to Android 2.0 as soon as March this year. As we have already seen with the Motorola DROID, the new edition brings along several really enjoyable extra features like synchronization to multiple accounts, plus version 2.0 (at least in theory) allows for fully-fledged multitouch within certain applications that come integrated into the OS. However, it´s still unclear whether or not the function will be available on the updated Acer Liquid A1.

As a whole, the possible software update is great news for owners of the powerful smartphone, but we just have to point out it´s quite likely that version 2.1 is released before March 2010 (supposedly, the OS edition the HTC Nexus One runs on), meaning people with the Liquid A1 in their pockets might end up getting an already obsolete piece of software.
source: Mobinaute

We got our hands on Acer´s first Android-based handset, the Acer Liquid A1 literally a few minutes ago. You´ve probably heard of the device already, since it was thought to be the first Android-based cell phone to come with 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Well, it turns out this is not entirely accurate, because the CPU runs at 768MHz. The information made us pucker our brows initially, but now with the Acer Liquid A1 in our hands, we just have to admit the operational speed of the device is proper and it runs exceptionally smoothly (at least for now).

The handset design is quite appealing and as expected, the huge 3.5-inch WVGA display equates to an overall size similar to that of the iPhone. Similarly to most Windows Mobile handsets of the manufacturer, all buttons on the front side are touch-sensitive and the phone body is covered in glossy plastic.

We are pleasantly surprised to see that Acer has pre-installed quite a few applications. For an instance, there is a home screen widget that provides quick access to the multimedia content on the device, plus you´ve got another one to quick open web pages. The device also comes with an application called Spinlets that you can use to listen to music online. The manufacturer has promised easy synchronization of contacts to Facebook and Flickr accounts, but we can´t say we´ve been largely successful this far.

As a whole, the hardware specifications of the Acer Liquid A1 look quite impressive indeed, but we will need some time to test all features of the interface and the pre-installed applications in order to pass our final judgement.

The first Acer handset powered by Android, the Liquid  A1 (S100) was spotted at the FCC. Equipped with AT&T/Rogers/Bell/Telus frequencies at 850/1900MHz, the handset could end up in the U.S. as the Acer smartphone invasion tries to plant some roots. We previously reported on the PC maker’s desire to launch a more balanced line next year by adding some more Android devices. Acer is striving to crack the list of the top 5 smartphone producers within the next 5 years.

As for the Liquid A1, it is expected to feature a Snapdragon processor underclocked to 768MHz, a 3.5 inch WVGA touchscreen display, Wi-Fi, GPS, and a 5MP camera with AF. The device also focuses on the social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr, and carries a 3.5mm audio jack for your listening pleasure. According to BGR, Acer execs have been telling AT&T and T-Mobile folks that it would be a good idea for the carriers to strike a relationship with the Taiwanese based company. If Acer does succeed in getting AT&T’s attention, it might have to compete with another PC maker offering a smartphone as Dell is expected to launch the Mini3iX through the carrier in the first quarter of next year.
source: FCC via unwiredview, BGR

After launching 10 phones last year-9 of them powered by Windows Mobile-computer maker Acer is planning on selling 1 million handsets in 2010 with the majority equipped with the Android OS. The manufacturer wants to use Android on a majority of its releases next year while still saving Windows Mobile for use in other phones.“Next year it will be much more balanced,” Acer’s Aymar de Lencquesaing said in an interview with Reuters. “There is definitely momentum behind Android. The pace is faster than most would have anticipated one year ago.” In the quarter ended in September, Android had 3.5% of the worldwide OS market compared with 0% the prior year. In the same period, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile has seen its market share plunge to 8.8% from 13.6%.

Acer is looking to release 8 to 10 devices next year and is just one of many PC makers jumping into the smartphone arena. Others making the jump include Dell, Toshiba and Austek. At the same time, a handset maufacturer like Nokia is now making netbooks as the line between the two devices gets blurried. As for Acer, the company plans on cracking the list of the top 5 handset makers in the next 3 to 5 years. 10 carriers across the globe carry the line and some more carrier deals are expected to be announced.
source: Softpedia