The Android five: Acer plays Australian hand

Jenna Pitcher
Wednesday, 01 September 2010 19:00

Your IT - Mobility

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It’s the first day of Spring — a fresh start — and a new line up of Android-based mobile phones has been announced for the Australian market. Acer revealed today that an army of five new Android handsets — the Liquid E, Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition, Stream and the beTouch E120 and E130 — is headed our way this month.

The flagship handset is the Android 2.1 Éclair operated Liquid E, which features a 3.5″ high-definition capacitive touch screen and Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The recommended retail price for the handset is listed as $699.

“We are thrilled to bring the Android-powered Liquid E to our customers in Australia,” said Nigel Gore, general manager for Acer Australia’s Product Group. “The Liquid E is a brilliant mix of innovative design, entertainment features and practical technology for boosting the user experience. Liquid E is sure to please the most discerning shoppers with its easy-to-use interface, long battery life, high-definition touch screen and host of other advantages.”

The handset is available as a special edition — the Liquid E Ferrai — which Acer touts as “the most exclusive smartphone in the world”. Available at a recommended retail price of $999, the handset features glossy red casing with chrome trim and a Scuderia Ferrari shield on the back. And if that didn’t make your skin prickle, the microphone is designed to look like a air intake.

The 11.2mm thin Acer Stream features will go for a RRP of $799, and comes with 2GB of internal memory, HDMI output and support for HD video recording at up to 720p.

The two entry level phones are the beTouch E120 and the beTouch E130, at a RRP of $399 and $499 respectively. The E130 features a physical QWERTY keyboard and both handsets are available in black or white. “The new range offers funky-stylish models for the young-and-restless to competent chic-savvy models for the business market that look as good as they perform,” the Acer statement read.

An Acer spokesperson was not available for comment in regards to providers the handsets will be available with at launch.

Image credit: Acer