Acer shows-off 'Windows Mango' device

Just a week after software giant Microsoft announced its first major update to Windows Phone operating system code named Mango, comes Acer Windows Mango device.

The company showcased the device called Acer W4 at the ongoing Computex show in Taipei . The device is powered by Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon processor at 1 GHz and boasts of a 3.5-inch WVGA capacitive screen with 480 x 800 resolution and a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus. Connectivity options include WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 and quadband GSM support.

According to reports, the handset will come with 8 GB of internal storage. Recently, Microsoft Corp launched an update of its Windows phone software, hoping a host of new features will help it close the gap on smartphone leaders Google Inc and Apple Inc.

Microsoft said the update involved 500 new features, including Internet Explorer 9 as the mobile browser, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds integrated into contact cards, automated Facebook check-ins, and access to more than 17,000 downloadable applications.

Microsoft is banking on the new version of its phone software to get its recent alliance with Nokia off to a strong start. The first phones made by Nokia using Windows software are expected late this year or early in 2012.

Acer Aspire TimelineX AS1830T-68U118 11.6-Inch ... - Best Gaming Pc

I bought the first one when it came out last August in Europe. It is the same specs as the US sold one. I also purchased this again from Amazon for a gift and have in the household the Acer AS1830T-3721 (i5 model), and the AS1830T-3505 (i3 model), both purchased here on Amazon.

BATTERY RUN TIME:

The AS1830T-series includes a 5800mAh 6-cell Lithium Ion battery that sits nearly flush. Acer accomplishes this by moving the keyboard forward and cutting the battery casing into the top of the laptop frame. This gives it a nearly flush (top to bottom and out the back) fitment. Acer states an 8 hour run dead time. My experience is about 5.5 hours using WiFi and Bluetooth without letting it sleep and about 6 and up to 7 hours with Bluetooth off with rest periods in-between.

SCREEN:

Very impressive. Mercury and lead free LED backlighting (Light Emitting Diode) LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) at 11.6 inches diagonal measure 1366 x 768 pixels (720P 16×9). It has a 200-nit high brightness. The backlighting is extremely even (many reports with graphs showing this–just search the net), and consistent color at varying angles. It does lend on the blue side of the hue (cool temperature), which can’t be dialed out with white balance. But again, you would never notice unless you have this side by side with a high end monitor or comparing pantone standards. It is still best in class.

GRAPHICS:

The Acer AS1830T-Series (except for the AMD ones which use ATI), use Intel HD with shared video ram of 128MB. While this is better than the older Intel GMA 4500 of the last generation, it is not a substitute for dedicated graphics or integrated graphic chips. It is enough power to help render HD video off the web and use the HDMI on the laptop to play video content on your big screen monitor, it will not play games with any kind of authority. It will render 3D imagines in software like Chief Architecture, Adobe CS5 and such but not like one would be use to on a desktop. Again, this is an ultra portable and I don’t think many people will be trying to use it for these things on the couch/bed/airport lobby.

KEYBOARD/TOUCH PAD:

This is Acers short coming. The keyboard has been slightly improved over the last gen (1810), but only with layout. It still has some flex and even though the keys are large enough not to miss key often, they are chiclit style and don’t have enough tactile feedback to use efficiently. Even still, there are worse designs out there and in this price range I say Acer rates mid-level. One complaint I read a lot about is that Acer moved the keyboard forward to accommodate a flush battery. This limits palm rest area and reduced the touch pad size. My personal preference is I like it better. I would rather have a flush battery and actually don’t like to rest my palms on the leading edge of the laptop. The touch pad is an Alps version. Small, and not well designed. Acer has gone the multi touch/swipe way which is not well executed. When scrolling the touch pad often locks with an `action’ function making if painfully difficult to simply scroll down/up or across the screen with the pointer without it locking. Also the left and right buttons have a loud stiff click. Unfortunately there is no `off’ button to this multi jester function and one must adapt to it. My answer is a portable mouse when I can. And again, it is not the worst in the business, but improvement is in order for Acer.

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