LAS VEGAS—Acer's Liquid Jade Primo was actually the first high-end Windows 10 phone, announced in September at IFA. But it's taken its sweet time to materialize, finally becoming real here at CES. And the key question is: how is it different than Microsoft's own Lumia 950?
The Liquid Jade Primo is more rounded than the Lumia 950, with a larger 1080p screen—5.5 inches as opposed to 5.2 inches on Microsoft's phone. While the main cameras are similar (20 megapixels for Microsoft, 21 megapixels for Acer), Acer's 8-megapixel front camera may outpace the 950's 5-megapixel camera. Both phones have a USB-C port on the bottom, and both run Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processors.
Acer's phone has a distinctly different Continuum Dock, which holds the phone upright rather than laying it down. That's great for looking at what's on the screen, although it will be less convenient when the phone is in "trackpad mode." It's also tidier than Microsoft's dock, which is tethered to the phone with a cable. The dock has two USB-A ports, a third marked USB high-speed, and an HDMI out. That maps pretty closely to keyboard, mouse, storage, and monitor.
The phone feels slim and light, with a nice cool-feeling matte back and a noticeable camera ridge. The AMOLED screen is very rich, and the 5.5-inch screen gives a slightly roomier alternative to the Lumia 950. The camera was slow to focus, but Acer said it's working on that. The back-ported speakerphone was of decent volume, but like most back-ported speakerphones, it's a bit muffled when it's laid down on a table.
Acer is trying to bring the phone to the U.S., and discussed the possibility of AT&T, T-Mobile, or even Verizon-compatible models, if Verizon allows LTE-only devices as it has promised to do by the end of this year. As a high-end Windows phone, the company is looking at the Primo as a corporate device, which means it's more likely to appear with AT&T than with T-Mobile (AT&T has more corporate customers.) There are no concrete plans for a U.S. release yet, though.
The U.S. version of the Liquid Jade Primo will cost less than Microsoft's alternative, Acer said. That means under $549 without the dock, and under $649 with it.
I'm encouraged to see several non-Microsoft Windows Mobile 10 vendors at this show, with both the high-end Acer phone and the inexpensive Alcatel Fierce XL on T-Mobile. Windows still has too few new phones in too few U.S. carriers (Verizon and Sprint don't have any fresh units), but the trend is looking up. Hopefully we'll see more at Mobile World Congress in February.
Acer's Iconia One 8
I love watching the sub-$100 tablet market heat up. Acer's Iconia One 8 will hit the U.S. next month at the very pleasant price of $99, becoming a neat upgrade from the 7-inch, $50 Amazon Fire.
The advantage here is that rather than Amazon's highly Amazon-focused OS, the Iconia One 8 runs the more generically open Android 5.1. Other specs are enough to get basic jobs done: a quad-core Mediatek processor, 5-megapixel and 2-megapixel cameras, and 16GB of storage plus a MicroSD card slot. The tablet comes with a parental control app, although, this being Android, you can also just download your favorite.
The Iconia One 8 looks like an alternative for people who want customization options, as well as a solid brand name and customer support better than the no-name tablets you may find fishing around on Amazon.
