Acer CloudMobile is a sort of ambitious
Android phone that appeared a little too late.
It's been a while since we reviewed a
smartphone from Acer. However, the current model - CloudMobile S500 – might not
completely unfamiliar for its debut at MWC in spring. This time Acer shows us a
thinner, more beautiful, more design-conscious phone, one that is not only
about the nice look.
This
time Acer shows us a thinner, more beautiful, more design-conscious phone, one
that is not only about the nice look.
With a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus
processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera and a 720p display, all are priced
at $434 with SIM-free; it competes with the phones that have the specs similar
to HTC One S. In short, it is another option for those who are looking for a
full-featured smartphone, except it does not have the pocket-draining price.
However, more importantly for Acer is the chance to attract the people’s
attention to the smartphones. So, this time when CloudMobile has gently arrived
at our shores, whether it makes us look up the clouds, or just indifferently
put on our raincoats? Please read on to learn more.
Hardware
The
phone, which won the iF Product Design Award, has the unforgettable style and
feel, with Acer selecting a combination of the sharp corners, curved sides and
a dimpled translucent back in contrast to the flat, glossy front face.
The CloudMobile has already had a rare hug
from Engadget: we were so attracted by it in Barcelona that we felt that we had
to consider it again. The phone, which won the iF Product Design Award, has the
unforgettable style and feel, with Acer selecting a combination of the sharp
corners, curved sides and a dimpled translucent back in contrast to the flat,
glossy front face. In terms of materials, it is made of plastic but still feels
solid – the kind of build quality that we get used to seeing in the Samsung’s
phones. In fact, as the author put it in his pocket along with the Galaxy Nexus,
the similar structure of the two phones made both phones hard to distinguish by
feel. The rippled battery shell not only provides some needed personality, but
also makes it easier to grip. The metallic accents around the mic and top
speaker grid also enhance visual appealing. Regardless of whether you think
this device was worth getting the iF product design award or not; this is
clearly a nice cell phone – one that will not be mistaken identity.
The screen size is 4.3 inches, which makes
the CloudMobile easy to grip for most people. In a world where the phone
screens are becoming bigger and bigger, it seems that Acer has chosen to make
its products fit in as many hands (and pockets) as possible. It is lightweight
and comfortable to hold, but we never felt we were making concessions on the
screen size. In theory, it might be suitable to use with one hand, but the
button power / standby layout on the upper left side requires a bit tricky for
those who are right handed. However, there was only your index finger that you
might need to train to reach there, because the volume rocker is located more
comfortably on the right-hand side, with the rest of the data input occurring
on the screen. That creates the USB ports, mic and headphone jack to be the
only other openings along the edges. (Note: there is no dedicated camera
button, but the volume rocker will perform this role in camera mode). These
edges also create a small edge around the screen, which makes a bit more
scratch-resistant it when you put it face-down.
The
screen size is 4.3 inches, which makes the CloudMobile easy to grip for most
people.
The overall design is quite eye-catching,
but the screen is what will attract your attention. Acer describes it as an
HD720 IPS LCD screen, which of course means that it has got 1,280x720 pixels.
On the other hand, we will describe it as a bit of a corker. Actually, it is
very bright, clear and great to look at. The colors are vivid and the whole
image is striking. This is not surprising based on its display density of
342ppi defeated the redoubtable opponents such as the iPhone 5 and the Nexus 4.
Some of the "highlights" are related to manufacturing techniques
used: Acer pressed to the glass up against the digitizer, removing all air. The
screen can be viewed from many angles, even in direct sunlight. Images are
faithfully reproduced with the dark black colors and have no signs of
saturation.
Getting past the outer shell, you will find
a number of significant internal parts. It may not be the quad-core monster that
you are hoping for, but the 1.5GHz dual-core chip continues to run without
causing any obvious problems – that means we have never complained about the
its performance. In short, it will fit for most people, but we'll talk more
about that after we take the phone to check. About the 1GB of RAM and 8GB of
internal storage, these are rather modest specifications now, but the option to
increase the storage capacity by using a microSD card should be considered as a
support for many people. To come to the SD slot, you will need to pry the back
cover, where you'll also find a micro-SIM slot and 1460mAh battery. The rest of
the hardware is made out of a front "HD" (0.9-megapixel) camera and
that rear 8MP camera, along with Dolby Mobile 3 sound enhancement and DLNA. Our
test unit supports quad-band GSM / GPRS /EDGE and UMTS / HSPA+, as well as
802.11b/g/n, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth 4.0.
