14 DAY TRIAL // Acer has just announced a new Android smartphone in the Liquid family, the Acer Liquid Express. The smartphone is now available in the UK via Orange and T-Mobile.
Android fans who are interested in a budget-friendly device can now grab this one for free with both a £15.32 (24 USD or 18 EUR) per month T-Mobile UK 24-month contract and a £20.50 (32 USD or 24 EUR) per month Orange UK 24-month contract.
The Liquid Express is among the affordable smartphones to offer NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, which allows users to read tags or make payments with a single touch of the phone.
In this regard, Acer confirmed that the Liquid Express received NFC Forum 2 and Cityzi certifications for tight security standards.
“As a technology of the future, NFC is a priority for Acer as it can be used for multiple purposes: payment, transport, tickets, loyalty cards, cultural information; and that’s without having explored the thousands more applications that will follow,” said Allen Burnes, vice-president of Acer’s THBG division.
Besides NFC functionality, the Acer Liquid Express is equipped with an 800 MHz Qualcomm 7227 processor and packs microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB, 2GB memory card included).
On the back, the Liquid Express sports a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, as well as video recording capabilities.
The device comes with a large 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display, which supports 262k colors and 320 x 480 pixel resolution.
Software-wise, the smartphone is powered by Google’s Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform with Acer user interface on top.
“Even if contactless technology has only just started spreading across the UK, it is important for the customer to take into account future need when choosing a new model. In a few months’ time quite a number of smartphone users, whose new smartphones don’t include NFC functionality, will have to change their mobile in order to benefit from this new technology,” concluded Burnes.