Acer beTouch E110 Mobile Phone Review

Introduction and package contents

Unveiled in March this year, the Acer E110 beTouch is offered at an entry-level mobile from the Android. Boarding version 1.5 "Cupcake" of the OS developed by Google, the smartphone developed by Acer offers fairly basic functionality, all for a price more attractive. That is, the Acer beTouch E110 works with Android 1.5, an earlier version of the Google OS that properly reflects its positioning on the entry level. But it has a slab resistive, less reactive than the capacitive and multitouch screens which is not supported. However, the screen is relatively reactive.

Ideal for users with a limited budget it still comes with the functionality of a smartphone from Android. This new Acer beTouch E110 smartphone will be sold in black and dark blue.

Its very aggressive price is 159 Euros TTC without subscription.

 

The Touch Screen mobile phone offered by Acer is delivered in a box, in which one finds no gross deficiency in terms of accessories.

We thus find :

– AC charger
– USB cable
– A stereo headset
– a CD with an installation manual
– A leaflet
– microSD Memory Card 2GB
– A microSD / SD card

We therefore note with pleasure the presence of a microSD memory card of 2 GB, which can is expandable for the storage capacity of the device (up to 32GB). For the rest, all the accessories seem well made and trimmed for a long-term use. The supplied headphones yet seem to have a questionable sound quality, a flaw that we discuss in more detail throughout this review.

 

Design and handling

Acer beTouch E110 does not carry a very good looking figure. The manufacturer did not opt for a very eccentric aesthetics and proposes a smartphone and looks somewhat austere.

The 2.8-inch touch screen does not seem very strong and it looks too "plastic" and does not allow finding a real strength. On the screen, you will find the four dedicated tactile controls for navigation. From right to left, button are located for "home", which gives you access to the home screen of your mobile phone, a touch of "search" to perform a quick search on the internet, a touch of "previous" and a menu key is also placed.

Below these four buttons are, drop out and hang up orders are also located. Apart from the directional button, which satisfied the users somewhat is reluctant to touch and everything. On the top of the phone is the 3.5mm jack. On the slices, you find the volume control button, the mini USB and microSD slot. On the back of the phone 3-megapixel sensor is located. There are no covers on this sensors, which makes it very vulnerable to dust.

   

The screen size is somewhat limited, the keys remain fairly close. Writing text messages can then be likened to a veritable obstacle course for people with finger nails without imposing. Therefore, we may regret the absence of a stylus, which would certainly ease the task to a number of users.

The weight of the smartphone is quite reasonable (105 grams) and is in line with its size (10.35 cm, 5.40 cm wide, 1.34 cm thick). It will fit therefore in any pocket, even closer ones.

   

While Using

First things first, namely the start of the phone, since it is particularly arduous. Count more than a minute and watch in hand, switching between the phone and the screen appears allowing you to enter your PIN. A highly debilitating slowness which is also felt in the overall use of the phone. For even if the navigation is generally quite pleasant and responsive, slowdowns are not spurious negatively. These have been observed particularly when using the MP3 player, since music playback slowed down considerably throughout the system.

The interface of the beTouch E110 is built around the 1.5 version of Android Cupcake. However, certain services normally offered by the Google OS are absent in the smartphone developed by Acer. Widgets like Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, or Android Market are missing. In an attempt to forget these shortcomings, Acer has tried to integrate "houses" applications as the music player Nemo, the streaming service and also Spinlets UrFooz, which lets you create an avatar as its calling card. It is a Pity that these additions should have been included withour prior absenteeism.

The home screen is fully customizable through its five pages. You might therefore have priority for applications to access them more quickly. Navigating these five pages is very simple, since you have to scroll through the screen.

The Acer beTouch E110 also features an integrated GPS. Easy to configure and quite responsive, it tells you your position, whatever your mode of travel is (car, bike or walk) and also tells you the distance traveled and speed movement. Note that it is possible to create and store certain points of interest to facilitate access to navigation.

Multimedia and Camera

Let us now come to the multimedia features of beTouch E110, through the evaluation of photographic and musical performances.

The Acer’s smartphone is equipped with a 3-megapixel sensor, which allows you to take pictures correctly. But do not expect a close to perfection with this device as soon as it shows its limits, particularly in adverse lighting conditions. The lack of flash is so highly prejudicial and thus makes the camera very uncomfortable in the dark. The movie mode lets you capture sequences in CIF format (352 x 288). Again, do not expect any miracles, as the recordings offered by the camera are quite whatsoever. Nevertheless, the observed results seem consistent with the proposed equipment, but it still lacks from photography to its extent.

 

In line with the camera, MP3 player offered by beTouch E110 is also quite poor. The sound quality delivered by the device is indeed very questionable, since it sorely lacks in bass. Performance is largely hampered by quality earbuds, because they restore a poor sound quality. The radius of deficiencies can be also observed due to the absence of a sound equalizer. The MP3 player lacks as a whole, of extreme settings and functions proposed are much too simplistic. They are also low in volume.

As for satisfaction, we note with pleasure the presence of an FM tuner to the radio wherever you are, the handsfree acting as an antenna.

The camera’s internal memory is somewhat limited (70 MB). Fortunately, Acer had the good idea to give its text a microSD slot, which lets you expand the storage capacity of memory up to 32GB. You’ll get plenty of space to store your photos, MP3s or other videos, thanks to the 2 GB microSD card provided by with the smartphone.

Internet connectivity

Although it is not compatible with wireless networks, the smartphone offers indeed a compatible 3G + (HSDPA) and loads and a browser based on WebKit, the hallmark of Android phones. The navigation is very fluid and then the browser seems well thought out. Social networks are also in the spotlight as you find a Facebook and Twitter application (Twidroid Pro). A manager of emails is also available to you and allows you to quickly configure your e- mail, as we note the existence of presets for major mail clients (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo).

The smartphone offers a course of Bluetooth 2.0 to connect to the surrounding mobile or exchanging files with your friends.

Finally, the supplied USB cable allows you to connect your phone to any computer. The E110 beTouch can then be used as a storage medium or as a mass media synchronization.

Conclusion

After this review, the record is more mixed than for Acer beTouch E110. If we knew what to expect with this phone, since the latter part definitely at an offer at entry-level, we are a few little disappointed in its overall performance and its lack of fluency in multimedia.

In addition, the version of Android Cupcake board on this phone seems to be largely outdated and does not qualify for Google services.

 

Note also the battery, which like most smartphones tends to quickly pass out during heavy usage.

Still an advantage, the price, since the Acer smartphone is currently one of the few terminals based on Android phone to be offered at less than 159 euros.