Acer launches Spin 3 Convertible Laptop

Taiwanese technology company, Acer has launched its Spin 3 (SP315-51) laptops in India. Priced at Rs 42,999, the laptop can be used in different modes as it has a 360-degree rotational screen hinge.

Acer Spin 3 laptop runs Windows 10 out of the box and features a 15.6-inch HD resolution display along with Acer Color Intelligence technology. The technology adjusts the gamma and saturation on the display in real-time, making the viewing experience better. The technology also cuts Blue Light from the screen reducing the level of eye strain.

The Acer Spin 3 also comes with backlit keyboard with a 1.6 mm keystroke. It is powered by the 6th-generation Intel 'Sky Lake' clubbed with 4GB DDR4 RAM. There's also 500GB inbuilt storage. Acer claims its new Spin 3 laptop can run for 9 hours on a single charge.

The Acer Spin 3 features dual USB 3.1 Type-C ports alongside Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, MIMO and usual set of other ports and wireless networks.

The laptop's audio output is powered by Dolby Audio Premium and Acer True Harmony. For video chatting, the company has included an HD webcam with HDR imaging support.

Acer had unveiled its new 'Spin' series laptops at pre-IFA event in August last year. The lineup includes the Spin 7, Spin 3, Spin 5 and the Spin 1 range of laptops. Of these, Spin 7 has already been launched in India last December.

Acer launches Liquid Jade Z and Liquid Z410

Acer has launched two affordable Smartphones in the US - Liquid Jade Z and Liquid Z410. 

Priced at $229, the Acer Liquid Jade Z features a 5-inch (720x1280p) display and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. 

Powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6732 processor and 1GB RAM, the phone comes with 8GB internal storage. However, there is another version of the phone (priced at $249) with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. 

The Smartphone can also support microSD cards for more storage space. It also sports a 13MP primary camera and a 5MP secondary camera and packs a 2300mAh battery. 

The other Smartphone, Acer Liquid Z410, is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6732M processor and 1GB RAM with 8GB of internal memory. Like the Acer Liquid Jade Z, it is also available in another version with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. 

The 1GB RAM version is priced at $129, while the 2GB RAM version is priced at $149. The Smartphone sports 5MP primary camera and 2MP secondary camera and packs a 2000mAh battery. Like Acer Liquid Jade Z, it also runs on Android 4.4 KitKat.

Acer launches Liquid Jade & Liquid E700 Smartphones

Making a comeback in the Indian market, Acer's mobile devices unit has launched two new smartphones, Liquid Jade and Liquid E700 at Rs 16,999 and Rs 11,999, respectively. The two Android smartphones will be available exclusively through e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal. The phones were first unveiled during Computex 2014 in June.

The Acer Liquid E700 sports a 5-inch HD (720x1280p) IPS display. Powered by a 1.2GHz MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor and 2GB RAM, the phone runs Android 4.4 KitKat with Acer's custom UI skin on top.

Liquid E700 features an 8MP rear camera (with flash) and a 2MP front-facing camera also accompanied by a flash. The triple-sim smartphone supports 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity options and comes with a 3500mAh battery.

Acer Liquid Jade also comes with a 5-inch 720p display but has an OGS panel and Gorilla Glass protection. It is powered by a 1.2GHz MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor and 2GB RAM. The phone runs Android 4.4 KitKat with Acer's custom UI skin on top.

The phone features a 13MP rear camera (with flash) and a 2MP front-facing camera. The dual-sim smartphone supports 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity options and comes with a 2100mAh battery.

Acer unveils world's thinnest laptop Aspire S5

Acer has unveiled the world's thinnest laptop computer as an array of "ultrabook" rivals prepared to debut this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The Taiwan-based computer titan will begin shipping Acer Aspire 5 models in the second quarter of this year, with prices to be disclosed in coming weeks.

According to analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies, "That S5 is quite significant. It looks like the thinnest and lightest, and it sets the bar for the rest of the ultrabook vendors".

The Aspire S5 has a 34-cm (13.3-inch) screen and is 15 mm at its thickest point. The ultrabook weighs slightly less than 1.35 kg (three pounds).

"We are committed to evolving this technology," said Acer chief executive J.T. Wang. "By the second quarter of this year we will have four models of ultrabook and more to come."

Ultrabooks powered by Windows 8 will be released by Acer after Microsoft releases the new version of its computer operating system later this year.

Mr. Wang estimated that ultrabooks would make up at least 35 percent of the Acer product line by the end of this year.

Since Aspire S5 is Windows based it is not likely to be a direct challenge to MacBook Air laptops, which have been winning converts to the sleek machines powered by Apple software.

"The real battle is not with Apple, it is with all the other vendors coming out with Windows ultrabooks," Bajarin said.

"Apple will still do great with MacBook Air, but in the Windows world it is great news that five years after Apple set the tone the industry is finally getting something equal," he continued.

Acer also announced plans to launch a free service that will let users of its computers store video, photos, music, and documents in the Internet "cloud" and access files from any Windows 8 or Android software powered gadgets.

"We believe Microsoft will take care of Windows devices; Google will take care of Android devices, and Acer will take care of in between," Wang said.

"We will make Windows work very well with Android and other platforms too."

Bajarin described Aspire S5 as the first viable Windows equivalent of popular MacBook Air laptops built by California-based Apple.

Acer Iconia Tab A200 debuts at $329

Computer maker Acer is upping its Android tablet game, announcing its new Acer Iconia A200 Android tablet. The Iconia A200 builds on the 7-inch Iconia A100, jumping out to a 10.1-inch 1280 by 800-pixel touchscreen display and keeping the 1 GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra processor and 1 GB of memory. While the Iconia A200 will launch this month with Android 3.2 Honeycomb, Acer says it’ll be upgradable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich next month.

“The Acer Iconia Tab family of tablets is an excellent example of Acer’s ability to deliver high-performance, full-function mobile devices at unbeatable values,” said Acer America senior product manager Eric Ackerson. “Acer brings the Iconia Tab A200 to consumers at an affordable price, without making sacrifices on key tablet features such as expansion, connectivity to other devices, HD displays and cameras.”

The Iconia A200 comes with either 8 or 16 GB of onboard flash storage and a microSD slot that can handle up to 32 GB more. The table features a 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi for connecting to the Internet or media servers around the house via Acer’a DLNA-compliant clear.fi technology, and Acer says the tablet sports both a full-size and microUSB port for connecting with other devices. Although Acer is keep to position the A200 as a gaming and entertainment tablet- supporting 1080p HD video, HD gaming, and of course Adobe Flash-based games that doesn’t mean it fizzles out after a bit of use. Acer says the A200 can run for up to eight hours on a single battery charge.

Acer has also bundled its own software into the A200, including the Acer Ring interface (enabling quick access to items using a double circle located on the system bar), along with Acer’s SocialJogger that combines Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking services into a single portal. Acer’s also pre-loaded Amazon’s Kindle app for ereading fans.

The Acer Iconia Tab will be available in 8 GB and 16 GB configurations starting January 15, with the 8 GB edition starting at $329.00 and the 16 GB version carrying a $349.99 suggested price. Acer says Android 4.0 Cream Sandwich will be available for the tablet in mid-February.

Acer introduces Windows desktops, 23-inch touchscreen display

Notebooks, netbooks, and tablets might be the must-have items in today’s computing market, but there are still plenty of places a desktop computer system makes the most sense -particularly if you’re after screen real estate. To that end, Acer is introducing new M- and X-series desktops designed to easily work in a home, office, dorm room, or other location, while the new 23-inch T231H touchscreen monitor brings Windows 7′s touchscreen interface to anyone who wants it without breaking the bank.

“Our newest desktop models and touch screen display provide our customers with leading technology in very practical form factors that can serve as an entertainment center for the entire household,” said Irene Chan, Acer America senior business manager for consumer desktops.

First up, the Acer M-series offer expansion capabilities in a more-or-less traditional desktop mini-tower. The systems are built around Intel Core i3 or AMD Athlon II X4 quad-core processors, support up to 6 TGB of RAM, super multi DVD drives, and tome with 1 TB hard drives for media storage. Some models are available with discrete graphics, but they all sport two open PCI-E ×1 slots and a PCI-E ×16 slot for a video card: perfect for folks who need RAIDs, add-on audio hardware, or advanced graphics. There’s an open 3.5-inch hard drive slow, and a total of 12 USB ports for peripherals.

The Acer X-series desktops are about one-third the size of a traditional PC tower, and are powered by Intel Dual Core or AMD Athlon II X4 processors and 4 GB of RAM. The systems ship with one open PCI-E ×1 and ×16 slot and either 512 or 1 TB hard drives; there are also six USB 2.0 ports for hooking up peripherals.

The Acer M-series desktops start at $499.99, while the X-series starts at $398. Both are available now.

The New Acer T231H Ergonomic touchscreen display integrates Microsoft’s Touch Pack is designed to bring Windows 7′s touch-based interface to desktop PCs: with it, users can tap into capabilities of touch-enabled applications to turn pages, rotate images, pinch-to-zoom, play games. and even draw and write on the screen with gestures. The monitor sports a native 1,920 by 1,080-pixel resolution perfect for HD entertainment and games, a 2ms response time, and a 50,000:1 contrast ratio. One downside might be that it offers a DVI (with HDCP) input rather than DisplayPort or HDMI, but it does feature an ergonomic base that can be tilted backward and adjusted from 5 to 60 degrees - and the stand can be folded out of sight for wall-mounting and other applications. The T231H is available now for a suggested price of $329.99.