Acer unveils enormous new smartphone

Acer's unnamed new tablet/phone/streamer
Acer's unnamed new tablet/phone/streamer

Acer has announced a new smartphone with some high-end tech specs - but decided against giving it a name.

The new 'next generation smartphone' has a massive 4.8-inch screen, taking it into Dell Streak territory, where it also runs Android, but with no mention of which version of Google's OS it will come with.

It comes with a 1024 x 480 resolution display as well, making it technically the highest-res smartphone out there, although whether this is a big phone or a small tablet has yet to be decided - and the pixels per inch still won't match the iPhone 4.

Curiously it's got a 21:9 ratio display, something we've not seen since the iconic LG Chocolate BL40 last year.

With dimensions of 141.7 x 64 x 13.3mm and a 170g weight, it might be a little hefty in the pocket, although the width will attract some of the more style-conscious out there.

Snapping and all that

There's an 8MP camera bolted on the back with single LED flash, and a 2MP front camera for video calling. DLNA technology lets you stream media from your PC, and an HDMI connectivity cable.

A 6-axis gyroscope, like that seen on the iPhone 4, will make gaming a lot more fun - although the lack of Android games that support this function are at a premium at the moment, so Acer's claim of 'a perfect games console' is a little optimistic.

So is the claim that 'the LED backlit display uses the same technology as TV showing super bright and vivid images' - which feels a little like saying the metal chassis is made the same way as your car.

We've decided to call this smartphone the Acer River - we've had the Liquid and the Stream, so it's easy to see the water-themed corollary Acer's going for here.

Don't forget - TechRadar named it first.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.