Acer Liquid E2 review

There are a few Acer apps preinstalled on the Liquid E2, such as Acer’s Cloud storage service. Also present is the bizarre Moodagent, which takes your music collection and creates various playlists based on how you’re feeling. Moods range from “sensual” to “tender” to “angry”, and such an emotional app feels strangely out of place on an otherwise very plain device.

By far the best piece of software included as standard is Swype, the keyboard app which allows users to type simply by sliding their digits across the on-screen keyboard. It works really well, and predicts with uncanny accuracy. Swype also has a classic typing mode which offers fast and fairly accurate predictions for those not wanting to use its swiping input method. With that said, you can download Swype onto almost any Android device for about £2.50, so this shouldn’t really influence your buying decision. The phone only has 4GB storage, so you’ll most likely need to use the microSD card slot to upgrade if you really want to go wild on installing apps.

We don’t usually worry about smartphone speakers, as most people accept they’re going to be rubbish. Acer, however, has fully committed to the illusion that its device can produce good sound, thanks to the bulging, plastic grilles on the rear of the device and installed DTS audio balancing software. The sound is no better or worse than any other cheap smartphone, though; it’s tinny, rattly, and you should ensure you have a decent pair of headphones or speakers to hand if you plan on listening to music on the Liquid E2.

The 8-megapixel camera looks good on paper, but we didn’t really rate its image quality. Pictures lack detail and colour balance is off both indoors and outside. Budget smartphone cameras don’t tend to blow us away, but the Liquid E2’s sensor is off the pace compared to the Motorola Moto G and Alcatel Idol S‘s cameras.

The Acer Liquid E2 is competing in a crowded market, and unfortunately doesn’t have any outstanding features to differentiate it from its rivals, while also falling short in terms of design and camera performance. While its processor and screen would probably serve you well enough, there are much better phones available which cost significantly less, such as the Motorola Moto G and Alcatel Idol S.