Acer Liquid A1 review
The Acer Liquid A1 is Acer’s first foray into the Android arena, but does it fare better than the manufacturer’s Windows-based devices? We review it to find out.
There’s nothing terrible about the Acer Liquid A1, unless you use your phone to gain street cred or want to save energy. The screen can be a little unreliable at times – especially when typing on the range of keyboards – but it’s something you can get over when you realise what is packed into this powerful little machine.
Exchange support is included with the bundled DataViz Roadsync pre-installed (although only a 14-day trial) that is compatible with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and 2007. In addition, Documents to Go is included for access to your Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files.
In terms of connectivity, nothing is left off the list. HSPA is present, there's a 3.5mm headphone jack for multimedia fans and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g allows you to surf the net at high speeds. Shame about the n standard omission.
However, the device does lack deliciously capacious storage. That problem can be alleviated with a microSD card, though you'll have to remove the back plate to access the slot.
Acer has never been big with multimedia, but the Liquid A1 seems determined to break this spell. Sure, there's not a huge amount of native space for music and video storage, but there are the tools to play media. NemoPlayer allows you to play almost every kind of media from music, to video, to YouTube content and image slide shows.
In terms of imaging, the Acer Liquid A1 packs a respectable five megapixel camera. While photos aren't top priority, you'll find results suitably clear, although we found them to be slightly grainy when in darker lighting.
So, onto the worst part. The Acer Liquid's battery life is atrocious. We're used to charging a smartphone once a day, but when you see yourself reaching for that charger after eight hours of average usage, you can't help but get that sinking feeling. For a device that has a larger battery capacity than the Nokia N900, it's nothing short of disappointing.
The Acer Liquid A1 may not be the best device if you're desperately seeking a smartphone with all the bells and whistles of a BlackBerry or Windows Mobile device. But that doesn't mean it's a bad device though. Far from it.
If you're looking to test the water with Android, the Liquid A1 is a solid device, despite its keyboard and design shortfalls even if you do have to charge it twice a day.
Click here for our roundup of the top 10 best Android business apps.
Verdict
There’s nothing terrible about the Acer Liquid A1, unless you use your phone to gain street cred or want to save energy. The screen can be a little unreliable at times – especially when typing on the range of keyboards – but it’s something you can get over when you realise what is packed into this powerful little machine.
Connectivity: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 HSDPA Display: 480 x 800 pixels, 3.5 in OS: Android 1.6 Camera: 5 megapixels GPS: A-GPS Bluetooth: v2.1 with A2DP Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g Dimensions: 62.5x12.5x115mm (WDH) Weight: 135g Battery: Li-Ion 1350 mAh
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