Acer CloudMobile S500 review

Will this cloud-connected phone do enough to win us over?

Acer CloudMobile S500
Cloud and proud

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Acer CloudMobile S500 review

In addition to 3G and Wi-Fi b/g/n, the Acer CloudMobile S500 can be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

It's impressively fast too, loading mobile optimised pages in around three seconds and desktop sites in around six seconds over Wi-Fi.

It takes roughly a couple of seconds longer in each case to load over 3G.

It uses the stock Android browser, which will be familiar to a lot of people, but experiencing it on the Acer CloudMobile S500 still manages to impress.

Sites are readable even when zoomed out, thanks to the incredibly sharp screen.

You can pinch or double-tap the screen to zoom and pages don't lose any of their crispness when zoomed in.

It makes browsing on the handset very pleasant and minimises the chance of eye strain.

Acer CloudMobile S500 review

The Acer CloudMobile S500's screen is a decent size for browsing too, and the accurate keyboard ensures that it's a breeze to enter web addresses and post to social networks.

The browser also supports text reflow, so wherever possible pages will be resized to fit the screen.

When in the browser you'll find an address bar at the top, and to the right of that is a button that takes you to a display of all your open windows, enabling you to switch between them, close unwanted ones or open new ones.

At the far right there's a drop-down menu with options to access your bookmarks, bookmark the current page, save the page for offline reading, share the page or access the settings screen.

There's also an option from here to wirelessly print pages with Acer Print if you have a compatible printer.

Acer CloudMobile S500 review

The Acer CloudMobile S500's settings screen contains a wealth of options, from remembering form data, to clearing cookies, to changing your home page and enabling plug-ins.

The bookmarks screen displays thumbnails of all your bookmarks, along with your browsing history and any saved pages.

Bookmarks can also be synced to your Google account, making them accessible on other devices.

All in all, the browser is accessible and intuitive.

If you don't get on with it, there are always other options available on Google Play. But whatever browser you go with, the Acer CloudMobile S500 handles web browsing well.

Pages load quickly, text and images are pin sharp and the screen is a good size for viewing them on.

TOPICS

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

Latest in Acer Phones
Acer Liquid Mini
Acer Liquid Mini review
Acer Iconia Smart
Hands on: Acer Iconia Smart review
Acer Liquid Metal
Acer Liquid Metal review
Acer - looking to 3D
Acer planning 3D tablets and mobile phones
Acer's unnamed new tablet/phone/streamer
Acer unveils enormous new smartphone
Acer unveils the new Liquid Metal
Acer Liquid Metal: faster with Froyo
Latest in Reviews
Alienware 27 AW2725Q monitor on desk displaying a scene from Cyberpunk 2077
I played games with Alienware's new 27-inch 4K OLED monitor and now I don't want to see another LCD panel
MacBook Air 15-inch with M4 chip on a creative's desk with screen open
I've reviewed the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) - and it remains the best 15-inch laptop I'd recommend for most people
Samsung Music Frame on a table beside some books and a vase
I spent six weeks listening to the Samsung Music Frame and it kept missing the beat
GlocalMe KeyTracker
When I tested this global tracker, it trounced the Apple AirTag in so many ways
Groov-e Boston DAB radio on a wooden table
I tested this affordable DAB radio and, sadly, its tinny output made me think of every car garage I've ever been to
An AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D on its retail packaging
I've reviewed three generations of 3D V-cache processors, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the best there is