Acer Liquid (S100) Features
- Network: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA / HSDPA (850/1900/2100 MHz),
- OS: Android 1.6 (Donut) + services Google (Market)
- Processor: Qualcomm QSD8250, 768 MHz
- Display: 3,5 "touch screen, capacitive resolution of 800x480 pixels, 262K colors
- Camera: 5 megapixel with autofocus, flash, VGA-video
- Memory: 512 MB ROM, 256 MB RAM, a slot for microSD memory cards
- Navigation: GPS, Google Maps and Cartography Navitel
- Communications: Wi-Fi 802.11b / g (DLNA), Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (A2DP), mini-USB
- Battery: Li-Ion, 1350 mAh
- Hours: talk mode up to 5 hours, standby up to 400 hours
- Dimensions: 115 x 62.5 x 12.5 mm
- Weight: 135 g
- Home sales in Russia: January 2010
Design
Acer S100 Liquid is made in the form factor of the classical candy bar, it is the most popular manner. There is no sliding QWERTY-keyboard, through which the device got a thin, comfortable. Thickness for a powerful communicator with a top-end filling is remarkable - only 12.5 mm, it is the slimmest Android today. Corners slightly oblique, that is visually leaner machine. Color solutions will be available three, classic black and white and red. We visited last option, the color of solutions differs only bezel and rear surface, while the front panel is always black.
Communicator looks very good, it is stylish, original, life looks much better than in photographs. Case is similar to the Acer neoTouch S200, but in reality the differences are many. First, the quality of plastic - a material Liqid better, more expensive and more practical. Plastic silver light, it is not noticeable fingerprints, build quality is also better. Secondly, the front panel is a continuous sheet of solid glass, scratch-resistant. No joints, the keys under the screen - touch (capacitive technology).
The rear panel is now not completely removed, and the mount is more reliable, as a result there are no squeaks. On the back of the camera lens is located (5 megapixel, it is the same as in the S200, only without the flash), the speaker. The memory card slot is located under the lid, which is not too convenient.
Controls are made controversial, this touch pad below the screen, which looks very stylish, but takes some getting used to using. Set traditional: Menu, Home, Search, and Return. Pressing the touch keys are confirmed by vibration, so that the management is quite intuitive. Naturally, the keys have a backlight, it is bright and uniform. In addition to these buttons are present and the mechanical power button on the left, volume control and camera.
As it should be, there is a 3.5 mm audio connector (top) and mini-USB plug at the bottom. The latter supports Mass Storage, so Acer S100 can be connected to a computer without drivers. With regard to 3.5 mm, the sound model is quite good, at HTC Hero and some other communicators, and thus, like the majority of users. Naturally, you need to understand that specialized multimedia devices (eg, Nokia N97) sound better, but the difference is not huge.
Incidentally, the top end displays different icons: new message, charging is one of the chip device. Looks all very nice and original.
Screen
The main part of the front surface is the screen, screen size 3.5 inches, it has the physical size and aspect ratio just like the Apple iPhone, but much better in resolution, quality, level of brightness. Interestingly, the Acer S200 neoTouch screen has a size of 3.8 inches with the same dimensions of the apparatus, but the display in S100 Liquid does not seem small at the expense of highly detailed design, design of the front panel. The screen is not recessed into the body, means finger control, screen technology - capacitive, ie, the stylus is not provided. The screen is protected by a scratch-resistant glass fiber (scratch-resistant surface), it is not a thin film, as in resistive screens.
Sensitivity is good, excellent screen responds to finger. What is bad - no multitouch, and is unlikely to appear, although I would like. I liked very much the quality of the screen, the brightness level. Through this resolution the image looks smooth, no complaints. Very well traced icons and other elements, fonts, interface looks neat and handsome. Above the screen is a light sensor, front camera for videophone and proximity sensor.
Communications
Acer Liquid based on the platform Qualcomm QSD8250. Processor Codename Scorpion, it is similar in performance Cortex-A8, which is used in the much-talked smartphone Nokia N900 in Maemo 5. Chipset includes wireless modules, as well as graphics accelerator with a capacity of 22 million polygons per second. Last will in future receive the schedule of a fundamentally new level, although today the combination with a powerful processor provides a good gain in the "heavy" applications, such as in the emulator Playstation.
In the future, optimization under Snapdragon will provide a significant increment not only in complex games, but in the video. For example, Acer liquid and Acer neoTouch S200, we see that Snapdragon may have other, different from the 1 GHz frequency. Thus, in Liquid frequency is 768 MHz, while all other parameters remained the same chipset. Compare performance of Android and Windows Mobile makes no sense, except to say that Liquid works shustro, no complaints. The only pity is that there is no pre DivX Codec for video, watch unconverted video does not work, but for Android so far is a third-party applications. Video, "understands" the apparatus, of course, revolves without problems.
The device is designed to work in networks GSM 850/900/1800/1900, support GPRS / EDGE, plus 3G. The latter, however, has no relevance to all regions of Russia. Wireless communication module represented Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), as well as Wi-Fi. They work quite well, no complaints. In Acer Liquid Wi-Fi is certified DLNA, there is the possibility of wireless access to content (Video, Photo, Music), the exchange with the media servers and other functions of the standard.
A2DP is implemented perfectly - the sound of a loud, high-quality, communication is not interrupted. The only pity is that when the connection channel sound does not stop, automatically activates the built-in speaker. In addition it supports the following profiles Bluetooth:
- File Transfer - Generic Access
- Generic Object Exchange
- Handsfree
- Headset
- HID
- Object Push
- Personal Area Networking
- Serial Port
- A2DP
- Audio / Video Remote Control
- SAP (SIM card access profile)
No FM-tuner, this is that the restriction for the Android-smartphone. Memory functions in the unit standard for Android, in the presence of 256 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM,
The implementation of GPS at a good level, one bright afternoon apparatus "saw" six or seven satellites. Cartography noteworthy, Acer S100 will be completed with navigation Navitel in addition to Google Maps. That's good, above all, a full turn-by-turn navigation and detailed maps, which are stored in the memory of the device, they do not have to constantly download from the network and spend money for GPRS-traffic. But until that issue is not solved exactly, before the apparatus is the order of time.
Camera
Camera in Acer S100 standard for the platform, 5 megapixel, autofocus, no flash. In the future, only the flagship of Sony Ericsson will be quality camera with a maximum capacity, while others are deprived of the Android. So, using CMOS-sensor, maximum resolution of the image is 2592x1944 pixels, aperture ratio of 1:2.8, focal length 5.2. Application starts shooting fast enough, it takes less than a second.
Interface traditionally Landscape and very simple, on-screen in the viewfinder displays the selected items (permit shooting, ISO, white balance) and the band zooming. Miscellaneous settings a bit, including:
- choice of resolution (5 megapixel, 3 megapixel, 2 megapixel, Full HD 1920x1080, 1,3 Mp, WVGA 800x480)
- selection effect (mono, negative, sepia, overexposure, Posterize, water)
- adjust the brightness and contrast (from 0 to 10)
- White Balance (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent)
- Configuring ISO (100, 200, 400, 800, automatic)
- JPEG quality setting
Acer Liquid S100 administered version of the OS Android 1.6, although not so long ago was presented to Android 2.0 (Eclair). Asked whether the update is available, the company replied in the affirmative, so that probably Liquid goes on sale in January from the second version of the OS. When this happens, we will tell about the Android 2.0, changes from previous versions. Interface Liquid - is a basic Android with minimal customization. Against the background completely reworked menu HTC Hero or LG GW620 it looks a little disadvantage, still design quite ascetic.
In particular, a set of icons, elements of the system, the virtual keyboard, and so coincide with other smartphones, they do not always look good or comfortable. Plus the fact that you can adjust the vibration when you press the keys, the sound (in the rest of the menu screen there is no vibration). In the setting of the keyboard there is a dictionary, word completion and options. In the vertical orientation of the keyboard is not very easy to use, if an error occurs in the horizontal due to the size of buttons, everything is fine.
Desk traditional for Android, you can change the background color, plus make a lot of links, shortcuts, and widgets. Menu button calls the virtual screen, the same way rolled back. At the top of the screen is a list of notifications, and a list of open applications displayed when hovering the menu keys. A separate key is the search string in Google and keyboard key is completely useless, but ideologically necessary for Android-devices.
Be that as it may, the company still have a additions. Working Tables three, and the other two widgets are multimedia and browser. They are from a carousel of thumbnails that scroll your finger vertically: the picture in the gallery, videos, music albums on one desktop and the saved web page to another. Not too functional additions, but it looks good, comfortable in its essence. Click on the picture, you can immediately switch to its view in the gallery, respectively, and can do with your MP3 player. In addition to the stuff on each screen, as usual, you can make a standard for Android labels, folders and other widgets.
Another useful addition the firm - widget management of wireless connections, which helps to quickly enable or disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Auto sync and so on. Are also pleased that in the presence of a complete set of services Google, including catalog applications Market.
Browser - one of the strengths of Android. He is comfortable and functional, the other platform envy. There is everything necessary, including flash and the so-called gears. You can block pop-ups, there AutoFit formatting perfectly handled Java, there are no problems with encodings.
Gallery also does not disappoint. Sort by folders, accessible basic editing options, there is a slide show. Unfortunately, as in the browser, it's not supported by the multi-touch. But is not actually gone in motion sensor, which changes the screen orientation, depending on the position of the shell.
In the device pre-installed office suite: Documents ToGo, designed for viewing and editing (in the case of buying the full version of the program) documents Word, Excel, presentations and so on. Options standard required set available.
MP3 Player
In Acer Liquid present two player (both video and MP3, plus an alternative gallery). Traditional for Android 1.6 player is simple, there is sorting by artist, songs, albums, plus play-lists. Album Cover larger than her on-screen controls are displayed, the band play - all standard. Equalizers and any sound settings in the device is not, this restriction Android.
Own player Acer (it's called nemoPlayer) much more beautiful, more comfortable, and I advise them to use. In fact, this application provides access to MP3, video, and photos simultaneously, at the top are three large icons to switch between these categories. In the case of playing MP3 album art is displayed almost the entire screen, it looks great.
Conclusion
The only problem, which is the case with the Acer Liquid - this time out. The device will be available only in January, when it will be the main competitor in the market for several months, and the price of it will fall even more. This is HTC Hero, the most balanced Android-smartphone now and one of the best in the coming year. Acer Liquid (S100) is far ahead of Hero of the specifications, in particular, then the first processor for Android Qualcomm Snapdragon, great display 800x480 pixels, and all that is offered at minimum price. very functional and interesting models of notebooks at attractive prices made the company name and brought to market leadership, and the same method the manufacturer uses and for communicators. I am sure it will work. Even later time-Acer Liquid remain the most accessible Android-smartphone with such functionality
