Acer Liquid E3 review

When it comes to the sales pitch, there are four areas that Acer is keen to push. The first of these is the curved design, thanks to a slightly curved back plate and bezel.

This certainly helps to make the Acer Liquid E3 more comfortable to hold but I struggle to see how this is a talking point of any handset.

Don't get me wrong the Liquid E3 is certainly very comfortable to hold, although I have to say that the set back speakers are very noticeable when holding the E3 in landscape. That said, the Moto G was also very comfortable to hold as is the ageing Galaxy S3.

Acer also wants to highlight how good the Liquid E3 is for watching and listening to your favourite movies and tracks, thanks to the HD screen and front facing stereo speakers.

First off is the screen, and I can say that I certainly never had a problem. Doubtless those that want a truly marvellous portable multimedia experience will opt for a tablet, or a larger full HD flagship handset like the HTC One M8 or LG G3 but there is little that the Liquid E3 can do wrong at this price tag.

At only 4.7-inches the lack of full HD isn't really noticeable (there will be some critics that press their noses against the screen, determined to pick out every individual pixel), and the Liquid E3 still manages to pack a rather impressive 312ppi.

My only real concern with the screen is that the colours didn't seem as bright as I would have expected, certainly an area that Samsung seems to have nailed with its Super AMOLED screen technology.

The stereo speakers certainly help with offering a decent all round multimedia performance. One of my biggest gripes with the Sony Xperia M2 was that it had just the one base mounted speaker that made it difficult to listen to any media whilst holding the handset in landscape.

Sound came out loud and clear, without any of the usual problems that beset cheaper handsets when blasting out at full volume. Even the DTS sound enhancements seem to make a difference; turning it off and listening to the same movie clip again did not give the same experience.

As a multimedia handset then, the Liquid E3 certainly has the play back credentials, but can the same be said for its creation of media?

In short? Just about. The 13MP camera is certainly one that Acer would want to shout about, given that the standard is around 5MP. After all, just look at the Moto G.

There is no doubt that the Acer Liquid E3 can take some decent photos, but these have to be done in pretty good lighting conditions. Outdoor photography can leave lighter areas seeming a little washed out, but macro photography does highlight the level of detail that 13 million pixels can collect.

Acer is also keen to highlight the forward facing flash on the Liquid E3, but throughout my extensive time testing the handset I was unable to work out how to engage it. For starters, there doesn't seem to be a manual button and it doesn't automatically engage in darker areas. In all, I was a little disappointed.