Acer Liquid E2 Pro Reviews

Ugly design, sluggish performance and a high price cost this otherwise-competent smartphone an award

An impressive screen, but an otherwise unexciting budget smartphone

We opened by saying that budget handsets require reviewers to dial down their expectations, taking the low price into consideration and seeing if it softens what might otherwise be serious objections. In that regard, we run the risk of either damning the device with faint praise or, equally, giving a free pass to some of its more egregious flaws. When it comes to Acer's Liquid E2, we feel that it's utterly unspectacular in every way, but given the target market, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you're looking for top-notch performance, a better camera or a productivity powerhouse, then this handset won't be for you. If, however, all you need is an affordable phone that can check the news, tweet and take the odd unimportant snap, then this is a perfectly acceptable option with decent battery life, to boot. Just remember to ensure your expectations are suitably lowered before taking the plunge. For everyone else? Walk toward the Nexus 4 and don't look back.

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 it was already the case for its sister model, the outstanding feature, nevertheless, is the intuitive Dual-SIM integration. The stereo sound and the processing is 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. Well done, Acer!

The Acer Liquid E2 Duo is a controversial device. On one hand is the snappy processor, brilliant camera and the nice and up-to-date nearly stock Android 4.2. On the other is the utter lack of attention to detail and a design that is not pretty. That is the exact problem many white box manufacturers from China face right now. Android has gotten to the point where even cheaper devices can deliver enough of an oomph to drive a smooth daily performance, but consistently fail in design. Let’s face it, though. For an off contract price of around $300 the Acer Liquid E2 Duo delivers more than comparable smartphones from better established smartphone brands. If you can overlook the uninspiring design, this handset will not disappoint.