First impression: Acer Liquid Z5

New Delhi: Acer has unveiled the Liquid Z5 Duo, an entry-level Android 4.2.2 smartphone with a 5" screen and a £150 price tag (approx Rs 15,337). The phone will be available in France, Benelux, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Ukraine and the UK from mid-January.The Acer Liquid Z5 has a plastic body which is light but unimpressive. The rear casing is moulded as a single block into which the screen fits snugly. The Z5 is a slim phone – 8.8mm – although the camera lens housing does stick out a bit. The phone comes with a new "Acer Rapid" button adjacent to the rear-facing camera. The button can be programmed by the user. For instance, it can be used to open your favourite app directly from the homescreen. A long press on the "Acer Rapid" button starts up the camera, then a second press takes a photo. The Acer Liquid Z5 measures 145.5 x 73.5 x 8.8mm and weighs in at 147 grams.The Liquid Z5 comes with a big display, but it is fairly pixel-poor. It has a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels, which means text and images won't look sharp and clear like in full-HD phones. The phone's color reproduction and viewing angles are also not too good. The Liquid Z5 runs on a 1.3 GHz dual-core MTK 6572 processor made by Taiwanese manufacturer MediaTek, whose SoC systems can be found in a whole host of entry-level smartphones. The handset comes with 8 GB of onboard storage, which can be further expanded using a microSD memory card slot. The Liquid Z5 runs a dated version of Android – 4.2 Jelly Bean – the latest being Android 4.4. Acer has customised Android with its own skin, which brings a few of its own features. These include floating widgets, such as a calculator which you can use while reading your emails. Overall, the phone's processor performs basic functions well, but the device is not striking as it is a dual-core MTK chip, similar to those used in previous Acer Android phones. It struggles against the top-end phones. The device offers a 5-megapixel sensor and a f/2.4 aperture designed to let in more light for less noisy low-light images. An IR filter and HDR option is also part of the feature-set. The front-facing camera is a more basic VGA affair (0.3 Megapixels).The Z5 will be available in White or Grey. Other features include Wi-Fi, GPS and DTS Sound technology for the front speaker. The Liquid Z5 is a dual-SIM handset. Both the SIM card slots and the microSD card slot are protected by proper covers.The phone is powered by a 2000 mAh battery.Although the Acer Liquid Z5 Duo is limited by its screen and RAM, the budget handset does a decent overall job. It has a nice design which is likely to serve as a basis for at least some of the brand's future mobiles.