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MagyarReview Acer Liquid E2 Duo Smartphone
For the original German review, see here.
Acer's range of currently three different Liquid models is quite a big variety of dual-SIM capable smartphones in a market segment that only has a few players. Besides the enormous phablets of the Liquid S series and the entry-level Series Liquid Z, the gigantic manufacturer from Taipei additionally holds the Liquid E series in its portfolio. After the previously tested Acer Liquid E1 Duo, the Liquid E2 Duo made its way into our test center. For a list price of 249 Euros (~$332) the equipment is a good buy: In addition to a Mediatek MT 6589 dual-core SoC with a clock speed of 1.2 GHz and a main memory of 1 GB, a PowerVR SGX 544 graphics card, which is integrated into the chip, runs in the matte black test device. The internal flash memory with 4 GB turned out to be quite small (net: 2GB), but the 4.5-incher can be extended via microSD card. The bright IPS display has a sufficiently fine resolution of 540x960 pixels. As operating system the Liquid E2 Duo is treated to the current Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
The smartphone range under 300 Euros (~$400) is already crowded with competitors, some of them also offering dual-SIM functionality. Aside from the very equally equipped serial brother Liquid E1 Duo our test sample Acer Liquid E2 Duo has to come out on top against the Simvalley SPX - 12, the Samsung Galaxy S DUOS, the French Alcatel One Touch Ultra 997D and the Chinese Yarvik Ingenia X1. Our test will clarify in detail if it can do so. Due to its technical similarity to the previously tested Acer Liquid E1 Duo this is done abridged.
Case
Like its little brother, the Acer Liquid E1 Duo, the case of the test device is made of polycarbonate. The Acer Liquid E2 Duo is available in matte black and in white. The chassis is covered with a rubber cover to improve the surface feel and prevent the phone from gliding out of the hands. The beautiful design of the Acer Liquid E1 Duo was only slightly changed and suits the Acer Liquid E2 Duo just as well. Unfortunately the display protector of the IPS panel still gives in under pressure thus causing discoloration on the touchscreen. The torsional rigidity could also be better even though there was only a little creaking during the torsion test. Additionally the back cover of the test sample sits a little bit too tight. All in all, the case has significantly improved in comparison to the Acer Liquid E1 Duo. Even the clearances are now almost consistent. A 7.4 Wh battery, the two SIM card slots and the slot for microSD cards are situated underneath the cover. In comparison to the E1 Duo the dimensions of the Acer Liquid E2 Duo have even minimally shrunken to 68 x 131 mm, but the thickness of 9.9 mm is still the same. With a weight of 140 g the test sample is therefore not a highly compact and light device. Subjectively speaking it still seems quite handy despite the 4.5-inch display.
Connectivity
The dual-core processor with a clock speed of 1.2 GHz and a 4 GB flash memory (about 2 GB net) is common for this device category. The main memory of 1 GB is also common even though the competitors Alcatel One Touch Ultra 997D and Samsung Galaxy S DUOS only offer 512 MB. Additionally the Samsung and the Simvalley SPX-12 have to get by with a smaller flash memory.
The variety of interfaces of the Liquid E2 Duo is also typical for this category. The test sample covers the necessities with a 3.5 mm jack and a Micro-USB 2.0 port. The special extras are hidden underneath the back cover: They enclose two SIM slots for SIM cards of ordinary size as well as a microSD slot that can hold cards up to a size of 32 GB. Like in the Liquid E1 the latter interface points towards the battery. This makes changing it during operation impossible.
Software
The Acer Liquid E2 Duo comes with the operating system Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean, which underwent only minor changes by the manufacturer. For further details about the software see the review of the Acer Liquid E1 Duo.
Communication & GPS
The communication modules of the Acer Liquid E2 Duo work flawlessly. Quad-band GSM as well as WLAN are both provided with a fast operating mode, quad-band GSM with HSPA+ standard and WLAN with n-standard. Near field communication (NFC) is missing.
The WLAN reception was convincing in our test. Even at a distance of 10 meters to the router and several walls in between, the test device was able to establish a steady connection.
The GPS module was not willing to work in our test and had connection issues with the app GPS Test. We suspect that it had to do with our test sample since the Liquid E1 Duo had no such problems.
Telephone Functions
The telephone app is akin to that of the Acer Liquid E1 Duo and corresponds with the Android standard. The comprehensive dual-SIM implementation of the test device is similarly pleasing. For further details see the test of the Acer Liquid E1 Duo.
Cameras & Multimedia
Once again not much has changed in comparison to its sister model Acer Liquid E1 Duo. The main camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels, an LED photo light and an autofocus. It takes acceptable pictures when the scene is well illuminated. However, image noise rises in proportion to the light reduction. Especially dark scenes turn out to be quite tricky. Apart from that it is identical with the Liquid E1 Duo.
In comparison to the Google Nexus 4, the Apple iPhone 5 and our reference camera Sony Alpha 57, a loss in sharpness and less contrast accompanied by slightly distorted colors due to overexposure can be detected.
Accessories
Apart from the smartphone itself and the 2,000 mAh battery, the Liquid E2 Duo is shipped with various quick guides, a standard stereo headset and a compact 5V/1A power supply with a 75 cm USB cable. So far, no optionally available accessories have been listed on the manufacturer's product website.
Warranty
Acer grants a warranty period of 2 years for the smartphone itself and only 1 year for accessories and the battery. Software support is offered by the manufacturer for 180 days from date of sale. Optional extensions and expansions are not available yet.
Input Devices & Handling
The virtual keyboard of the Acer Liquid E2 Duo complies with the common Android standard. Other keyboards are available in the Google Play Store. Due to the 4.5-inch screen the keys are pleasantly sized and intuitive to use. Light touch is detected quickly and countered by the multi-touch IPS screen with the according input acknowledgement.
Those who prefer Samsung's "Swype", which is a writing style where the user does not tip the letters but simply swipes over them, will be just as happy. The voice recognition also works adequately.
Display
The IPS display of the Acer Liquid E2 Duo is resolution- and size-wise identical with that of the Acer Liquid E1 Duo. It has a resolution of 540x960 pixels and a size of 4.5-inches. Therefore it has the same features as its sister model.
The measured values of the panels, however, are different: The test sample offers an average brightness of just 347.7 cd/m². The Acer Liquid E1 Duo had a terrific 450 cd/m² at its disposal. Compared to its competitors the test device still performs very well. The Simvalley SPX-12 with 296.2 cd/m² and the Samsung Galaxy S DUOS with 326.7 cd/m² come off worse. The Alcatel One Touch Ultra 997D with 355.9 cd/m² and the Yarvik Ingenia X1 with 352.2 cd/m² are in very close range. The illumination of the IPS panel is with 88% on a par with the Acer Liquid E1 Duo. The luminance particularly decreases towards the edges. A look at our white-image shows that this circumstance is barely striking in everyday life though.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 371 cd/m²
Contrast: 589:1 (Black: 0.63 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.7 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.2
ΔE Greyscale 7.99 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
Gamma: 2.53
A black value of 0.63 cd/m² and a contrast of 589:1 sound only average on paper, but subjectively speaking the display convinces with a high image sharpness and vivid colors. In the class comparison the Acer Liquid E2 Duo is the equal of the competition. Only the Alcatel One Touch Ultra 997D with values of 0.35 cd/m² and 1060:1 is able to pull away clearly.
We analyze further measurements of the display with the software CalMAN and the X-Rite i1pro 2 colorimeter.
The color accuracy and color saturation show distinct, anomalous color deviations that are not practice-oriented though. The color fidelity is also not phenomenal. The grayscale could be clearer. Once again discolorations become apparent.
Due to the maximum 371 cd/m² the Acer Liquid E2 Duo manages outdoor usage well. Under direct sunlight, however, the strong reflections on the glossy display are annoying.
The viewing angles of the IPS display of the Liquid E2 Duo are for technological reasons nearly perfect. A noticeable loss in brightness only appears at angles that are not customary in practice. Discolorations do not appear.
Performance
The Acer Liquid E2 Duo is equipped with a Mediatek MT6589 quad-core SoC (system-on-chip) with a clock speed of 1.2 GHz. 1 GB of main memory is available. Graphic tasks are assigned to the integrated PowerVR SGX 544 graphics card. This causes the performance values to be in the upper range of the smartphones. The less powerful competition has no chance and scores up to 80% less in the benchmarks. Only the identically equipped Amoi N828 is on an equal footing. The smartphone especially disgraces its competition in the synthetic benchmark AnTuTu Benchmark v3 with twice as much performance. This makes the Acer Liquid E2 Duo the leader of the dual-SIM smartphones.
Nevertheless: Like its sister model Acer Liquid E1 Duo, the test sample refuses to execute the demanding benchmarks 3DMark and GFX Bench 2.7.0.
| GLBenchmark 2.5 - 1920x1080 Egypt HD Offscreen Fixed Time (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Yarvik Ingenia X1 | |
| Smartbench 2012 - Productivity Index (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S DUOS GT-S7562 | |
| Yarvik Ingenia X1 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Linpack Android / IOS - Multi Thread (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S DUOS GT-S7562 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| AnTuTu v3 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Alcatel OneTouch Ultra 997D | |
| Yarvik Ingenia X1 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| NenaMark2 - --- (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S DUOS GT-S7562 | |
| Alcatel OneTouch Ultra 997D | |
| Yarvik Ingenia X1 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Geekbench 2 - 32 Bit - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S DUOS GT-S7562 | |
| Alcatel OneTouch Ultra 997D | |
| Yarvik Ingenia X1 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
Browser-based benchmarks are also no problem for the Acer Liquid E2 Duo. The Liquid E2 Duo only has to admit defeat in the Sunspider 0.9.1 and the Google V8 Ver.7 benchmarks.
| Sunspider | |
| 0.9.1 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Alcatel OneTouch Ultra 997D | |
| Yarvik Ingenia X1 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Browsermark - --- (sort by value) | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Alcatel OneTouch Ultra 997D | |
| Yarvik Ingenia X1 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Google V8 Ver. 7 - Google V8 Ver. 7 Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S DUOS GT-S7562 | |
| Alcatel OneTouch Ultra 997D | |
| Yarvik Ingenia X1 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Peacekeeper - --- (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Alcatel OneTouch Ultra 997D | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
* ... smaller is better
The Acer Liquid also does very well with the graphic benchmarks from Epic Citadel.
| Epic Citadel | |
| High Quality (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| High Performance (sort by value) | |
| Acer Liquid E2 v370 | |
| Simvalley SPX-12 | |
| Alcatel OneTouch Ultra 997D | |
| Yarvik Ingenia X1 | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
| Acer Liquid E1 Duo | |
Games
The same applies for the Liquid E2 Duo as for the sister model Acer Liquid E1 Duo. No current game is able to trouble the test sample.
Speech Quality & Speakers
We refer to the review of the Acer Liquid E1 Duo for these two sections.
Emissions
Temperature
With average temperatures of 31.1 to 31.9 °C during idle and 34.2 to 35.8 °C under load, the surface temperatures are acceptable in everyday use even though the competitors stay cooler. Despite the more powerful hardware, the test device performs better than its sister model Acer Liquid E1 Duo.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38.9 °C / 102 F, compared to the average of 34.9 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 52.9 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 38.2 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 31.9 °C / 89 F, compared to the device average of 32.6 °C / 91 F.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Despite the stronger SoC the Acer Liquid E2 Duo also consumes less power than the Acer Liquid E1 Duo. The power consumption of the rest of the competition is also higher. A maximum consumption of 2.8 watts is quite impressive for a quad-core SoC.
| Off / Standby |   0 / 0.1 Watt |
| Idle |  0.5 / 1 / 1.1 Watt |
| Load |
2.5 / 2.8 Watt |
    
| |
Battery Runtime
Owing to the low power consumption and a 7.4 Wh battery with 2,000 mAh the Acer Liquid E2 Duo achieves appealing battery runtimes.
During the idle test, which is run with the minimum display brightness setting and activated WLAN script, the test device lasts for a full 16 hours. The competition cannot keep up with that. Only the Yarvik Ingenia X1 and the Simvalley SPX-12 excel over the test sample with runtimes of more than 19 hours due to their 10 Wh batteries.
The practically oriented surf test is conducted with an activated WLAN module that periodically calls up various websites and adjusted brightness settings. In this test the Acer Liquid E2 Duo lasts for a laudable 12 hours and 34 minutes. This places it on a par with the Yarvik Ingenia X1. The rest of the competitors attain shorter runtimes.
Under load, brightness at its maximum and running App Stability test, the smartphone needs to be recharged after respectable 3 h 26 min. This time the more powerful SoC and the bright display have a significant influence. The competition is not too far behind.
Under normal circumstances it should be possible to use the smartphone for one workday without needing a socket.
Verdict
At the beginning of the review we asked the question what Acer's mixture is good for. This question can be answered with two simple words: A lot! On the plus side, the Acer Liquid E2 Duo offers a bright, high-contrast IPS display with a great color display. In addition to that it has a pleasing application performance and good battery runtimes. As was already the case for its sister model, the outstanding feature is the intuitive dual-SIM integration. The stereo sound and the processing are also adequate.
But where there is light there is shadow. The camera modules are nothing special and the temperatures are slightly too high under load.
Altogether we recommend this smartphone to those who value the use of two SIM cards combined with a high performance and a good display. The Acer Liquid E2 Duo is definitely worth the current street price of 230 Euros (~$306). Well done, Acer!
