Acer Liquid Mini Review

Introduction:

Acer might not be your first choice for a smartphone, but the Taiwanese are pushing diversity in their otherwise modest phone lineup. It all started with the Tempo series of communicators, only to reach the Acer Liquid Metal with its distinctive design and affordable price, and now we're looking at even more diversity. The Acer Liquid Mini brings a splash of color in the overall monotonous Android space, but does it hide equally impressive silicon under the hood? With a relatively affordable price placing it right in the middle of the packed Android space, the colorful phone comes with a 3.2-inch screen and a 600MHz Qualcomm processor. But before we jump into more details about the cute handset, let's take a closer look at its polished round shapes and beautiful colors.

Design:

If you're one of the few who have held the Acer Liquid Metal you might say it's deja vu all over: the curvy lines, rounded shapes of the body, chromed strips of plastic on the top and bottom all reminisce the original Liquid Metal. But even those who haven't seen the handset, will appreciate the well-honed design and solid build quality of the Liquid Mini. It seems that Acer is on the right track to achieving if not love, than at least brand recognition from the first sight.

What defines this handset though is color – it comes in all five different variations. We had the royal blue one, but you'll also be able to choose between piano black, jet silver, lime green and most importantly - pink. The only real difference between them seems to be the color of the back cover, which is made of matte plastic. It also keeps it looking clean and untouched with its 3.1 ounces (108g) of weight and 0.51 inches (13mm) of depth.





You can compare the Acer Liquid Mini with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

But as glowing and jazzy as the back is, it is the front side and the screen that matter the most. The display of the Liquid Mini is small for today's smartphone standards – it's a 3.2-inch capacitive TFT touchscreen with a pretty average resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. Sunlight legibility is the main issue here, but if you can make do with this, you'll be glad to notice that the screen is fairly responsive.


The left side of the handset is left conveniently plain for a better grip, while the right holds the volume controls and a dedicated shutter key for the camera. That's always a welcome addition as it aids shooting a great deal and you can easily shoot pictures using just one hand. Pushing it down directly captures the image, so it differs than the usual two-step focus and shoot camera routine. The camera unit resides on the back, but it lacks flash or any kind of protection. Below it is the speakerphone responsible for the relatively loud sound on the handset.

Finally, the chromed strip of plastic on the top holds the lock key and a 3.5mm standard headset jack, while the bottom part houses a microUSB slot for charging/syncing.


In the retail box, you'll also find a very stylish leather pouch along with a 2GB microSD card. In addition, you have a USB wall charger as well as microUSB-to-USB cable. Acer also included a basic headset with a clip-on design.