MWC 2013 Hands-On: Acer Liquid C1 and Liquid E1

At MWC 2013, Acer had showcased a number of products at their booth. The main highlight for smartphones is the latest Acer Liquid C1 which is their Intel based smartphone and the Liquid E1, a mid-range dual-core and dual-SIM device. While the rest are focused primarily on their flagship models, Acer is focused on the mid-range segment particularly the Liquid C1 which is expected to be priced just below RM1,000.

Acer Liquid C1

Let’s do a quick recap on the Acer Liquid C1 specification. It comes with a 1.2GHz Intel Atom Z2420 processor, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage that’s expandable with microSD. Over at the front, the 4.3″ display pushes a decent qHD resolution of 960×540. For camera, it has a 8MP shooter at the rear and a front facing VGA camera. Powering the device is a 2,000mAh battery and it runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that’s upgradable to Jelly Bean.

In the hands, the Acer Liquid C1 feels pretty decent. Although it is made of plastic, it feels rather solid in the hands and the soft rubberised textured plastic back gives it a upmarket feel. According to the product person we talked to, the Intel Atom based processor offers competitive battery life and with its 2,000mAh battery, average users can expect a full day of use without the need of charging. For now, it really does look promising as a mid-range device. We can’t wait to give a test on its battery life once it is officially available here. Availability wise, the Liquid C1 is expected to go on sale in Malaysia by mid March.

Acer Liquid E1

Next is the Acer Liquid E1 which is targeted as a mid-range device which offers dual-SIM connectivity. The Liquid E1 comes with a larger 4.5″ qHD display (960×540) but in the hands, it feels smaller like a 4.0″ display due to its rounded edge design. Powering the device is a dual-core 1GHz with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of on-board storage. It also comes with a removable microSD slot and has a 1,765mAh battery. Despite being a mid-range device, Acer is pushing this as a multimedia device with dual stereo speakers at the rear with dts audio. The dual-SIM slots accept the normal mini-SIM cards. There’s a 5MP camera at the rear and a front facing VGA camera.

Out of the box, it runs on a newer Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and it comes lightly skinned with Acer’s own look and feel. New on the Liquid E1 is what they call float caller. If a call comes in, the call will be displayed as a widget which allows you to focus on your active app while the call is in progress. Since this is a dual-sim device, the UI makes switching between lines rather seamless from the notification bar whenever a SIM based application (such as Dialer/SMS) is being used. No word on availability in Malaysia but it is expected to be price about 199 Euros (RM830).