Acer Convertible Chromebook, Smartphones Debut At IFA
Acer rolled out a slew of products at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin on Wednesday, including PCs and notebooks aimed at gamers, six smartphones, a convertible Chromebook, and two Windows 10-powered desktops.
On Sept. 2, Acer announced six Liquid smartphones, four of them running Android 5.1 and two running the upcoming Windows 10 Mobile platform from Microsoft.
The handsets feature a curved chassis with upgraded front-facing cameras, wide-angle lenses, and enhanced audio and are all aimed at the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market.
The flagship Z630 boats a 5.5-inch display and a 64-bit, quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6735 processor. It's also equipped with AcerEXTEND, which connects wirelessly to a compatible laptop or PC and lets users view the phone's home screen in a phone-shaped emulator box on the computer.
Acer's two convertible notebooks include the Aspire R 13 and the R 11, the company's first convertible Chromebook.
The R 13, powered by 6th Generation Intel Core processors, makes use of the company's Ezel Aero Hinge that supports six modes and features a U-frame structure made of die-cast magnesium-alloys.
Available in North America in October for $899, the R 13 also features a built-in Precision Touchpad (PTP) designed to improve the accuracy and performance of touchpad navigation.
The Chromebook R 11 transitions between four usage modes -- laptop, pad, display, and tent -- and sports an HD touch screen held steady by dual-torque hinges.
The Acer Chromebook R 11.
(Image: Acer)
The Chromebook, which will be available in North America in October with prices starting at $299, is powered by Intel Celeron processors. It features an 11.6-inch HD display with integrated 10-point touch and fast 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac wireless connectivity.
Acer also announced refreshes to its Aspire V Nitro Series notebooks and Aspire V 13 notebook, all of which incorporate 6th Generation Intel Core processors. They will ship with Windows 10.
All notebooks now support the latest USB 3.1 Type-C port and Qualcomm's 2x2 802.11ac WiFi with MU-MIMO technology for improved wireless connectivity. Refreshes for both the 17-inch (VN7-792G) and 15-inch (VN7-572 series) Aspire V Nitro models include a neat-cut corner design.
The Aspire V 17 Nitro will be available in North America in October starting at $1,099, while the 15-inch model starts at $999. The Aspire V 13 starts at $599 and will also be available in October.
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Acer is also targeting notebook gamers with the release of the Predator 15 and 17 models, which feature the 6th Gen Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX980 graphics, up to 32GB of DDR4 memory and 512GB2 NVMe PCIe solid state drives.
Shipping with Windows 10, the notebooks will be available in North America in November and start at $1,499.99 for the Predator 15 and $1,599.99 for the Predator 17.
The company unveiled its first gaming tablet, the Predator 8, which features an 8-inch full high definition (FHD) display, an Intel Atom x7 processor. It runs Android 5.1.
The tablet, which features 64GB of onboard storage and expansion capabilities via a microSD card of up to 128GB, will be available for $299.99, exclusively at Newegg for two weeks beginning on Nov. 6, and at other retailers following that period.
Other products targeted at gamers include the Predator G6 and G3 desktops and the Predator Z35 monitor, which boasts a huge 35-inch UltraWide FHD panel.