(Source: PC Pro)

One of Acer’s best handheld creations, the Acer n300-series Windows Mobile PDA gets reviewed again, but this time by PC Plus.

The review itself talks about both the Acer n311 and its little bro, the n310 - though the review unit itself is a n311, equipped with embedded WiFi support which the n310 doesn’t have, more memory and a faster processor.

While PC Plus found the n300’s lack of GPS features and processing power (compared to a Dell Axim they reviewed earlier) to be minus points, they still concluded with a 4 out of 5 overall rating, and a pretty favourable verdict: “For a mid-range PDA in a wonderfully-designed shell there’s really no need to look elsewhere.”

It shouldn’t be (significant) news to those following Acer’s progress that it will be keeping its notebook sales target unchanged (at 11 million this year) even as it stumbled in the first quarter. Aggressiveness is Acer’s forte, and we consumers should only be happy that PC vendors are fighting (on price and features) to keep their sales up.

What’s more interesting is Acer’s target of getting PDA phones out by the fourth quarter, and racking up US$1 billion of sales for that segment in 2008. There was talk late last year that Acer’s first PDA phone would be out by the 2nd half of this year, so taking that into account, Acer’s pretty much on track.

So far, rumors say that we’ll probably be looking at a 3G-enabled handset powered by Samsung internals and Windows Mobile on the O/S side of things. An interesting proposition, though pretty much unoriginal (deja vu anybody?). We can only hope Acer brings its specialties (low prices, strong features) to the fray this time.

[News via Digitimes]

(Source: TrustedReviews)

No. The picture you’re looking at isn’t a new product, though still the latest in Acer’s GPS product line. It’s the Acer D150 portable GPS device which received a lukewarm response when reviewed early last month.

But it seems Acer isn’t going to give up even though its current stable of portable GPS devices doesn’t seem to be kicking off. In line with an aim to boost its worldwide sales in handheld devices, Acer will be launching two new GPS devices (one handheld and one in-car model), one GPS-enabled PDA and one PDA phone in the 2nd half of this year.

Both of Acer’s planned PDA products will come equipped with Windows Mobile 5.0 and a 2.8-inch display, but the GPS-enabled PDA will be powered by a Samsung processor, while the PDA phone an Intel PXA processor.

Overall, I’m not so sure about Acer launching more GPS products in a market somewhat dominated by the likes of Tom Tom and Garmin, but admittedly, some of Acer’s current PDA products look pretty good.

[News via Digitimes]

(Source: PC Pro)

Now, this is a detailed review of the Acer n311 Pocket PC, and as usual, it’s from TrustedReviews. On the whole, the review is a pretty positive one, though there are a few flaws that stand out.

Among the things said of the Acer n311 is that, “The Acer then is a good choice as a connected, quality PDA that literally won’t burst your pocket. It’s certainly the best PDA we’ve seen from Acer. We would have liked to have seen a faster CPU and a better graphics chip in it but as long as you aren’t planning on watching a lot of video on it, it’s a good choice.”

Overall, TrustedReviews concludes that, “The n311 is an attractively small and light PDA, dominated by a large good quality VGA screen. It’s not the fastest PDA on the block though, and video playback can suffer but for the vast majority of tasks this is a good machine.”

(Source: PC Pro)

Short but sweet is the description I’d give for PC Advisor’s recent review of the Acer n311 Windows Mobile Pocket PC. While it doesn’t seem to be as detailed as the one by PC Pro (it’s about the same really), it does highlight the n311’s single-click landscape mode. Apparently, watching widescreen movies and viewing Excel spreadsheets become much more enjoyable tasks with the feature.

Overall, PC Advisor concludes that, “This is about as good a PDA as you’re likely to see, but is it worth £300? BlackBerry fans will point to the lack of phone capability, and playing movies is ambitious with only 128MB. Nonetheless, the Acer n311 is beautiful to look at, easy to use and full of excellent features. We want one.”

(Source: PC Pro)

PC Pro lavishes a powerful verdict for the Acer n311 Windows Mobile PDA: “Arguably the best PDA to have passed through the PC Pro labs, with some unique features to lift it above the crowd. Only a high price and niggly problems stop it from winning an award.”

The slim and light form factor of the Acer n311 probably heard the most “woos” and “wows”, with its brilliant screen and integrated Bluetooth not too far behind. But given that it didn’t win an award, there are clearly drawbacks to this marvelous device. Laggy video playback, a lousy bundled pouch and a weak software suite are among these drawbacks.

Nevertheless, PC Pro recommends the Acer n311 over its close rival, the HP rx1950, even though the Acer is quite a bit more expensive.

TG Daily reports that Intel has pushed up its schedule for its Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) platform for a 1st Quarter launch, with the very first UMPCs coming from Samsung, Asus and Founder. For those who have forgotten the very existence of UMPCs, have no fear because I almost forgot about it too. After all, only one solitary PC - the OQO computer - represents Intel’s new handtop platform to date.

The news report also states that Acer will rollout its own UMPC models in the second half of 2006, along with Averatec and LGE. These later UMPCs will be pre-installed with Windows Vista, instead of the Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition that I suppose will come with the UMPCs that will be released in the later part of this quarter (Q1). Even on the hardware side, the Q1 UMPCs will most likely be using proven (and thus, older) technology: ULV Pentium M processors, instead of the state-of-the-art 0.5 watt processors that will be equipped with later UMPCs.

For me, I see little reason to purchase a UMPC when it comes out later this quarter - even if it will deliver 1 week of standby time and high speed wireless access (e.g. HSDPA). Why not wait till the next generation, or rather, “proper”, UMPCs roll out in the second half? You’ll be able to enjoy Acer’s aggresive price points by then too.

Yes, I know 2nd half will probably mean near Christmas, but well, you’ll need to get your savings in order first after all.

[News via TG Daily]

PC Authority reviews the Acer n35 Windows Mobile Pocket PC. Given the strengths of the Acer n35, e.g. relatively low price and out-of-the-box GPS software (CoPilot Live 5), the reviewers found the “…small 128MB SD card rather than the 256MB-plus cards seen elsewhere…” disappointing. But personally, I don’t see much of a problem with the 128MB card given the proliferation of cheap 256MB+ SD cards out there. The lower cost of the n35 compared to a comparable Garmin might very well get you a 512MB card, with spare change too.

Overall, they conclude that “…neither the Navman or the Mio are perfect and, especially at this price, we can see the Acer tempting many people.”

Handhelds, Reviews, n-Series | Comments (0)