Acer Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition Review

Acer’s recent Android efforts, most notably the HTC Desire-esque Stream, have struggled to outperform their closest rivals.

But zooming up in the rearview mirror, emblazoned in red and looking to leave the iPhone coughing on its exhaust fumes is its latest effort, the Acer Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition.

Speedy performer
Fire up this Liquid E Special Edition and it’s pretty clear that Acer has fixed any niggles that persisted with the original Liquid.

While the build remains the same, there’s been an extensive refit inside, with Android 2.1 leading the line and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor ensuring the startup and general speed are as slick as an Alonso overtaking manoeuvre.

While Android 2.1 may no longer be the bleeding edge of Google’s OS, it does make a marked improvement on previous Acer cells packing Android. There’s now Google Goggles, as well as multiple mail account support and a keyboard that’s finally up to snuff with its competitors.

Whether Ferrari demanded these changes in order for the device to feel every bit as nippy as its cars do on the track is unclear, but the performance boost is more than welcome.

Review continues after the break...

Average optics
There are some technical glitches here, though, which mean the Acer Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition doesn’t quite match up to its growing army of Android rivals.

The camera might have 5 megapixels, but the lack of flash or the requisite number of shooting modes make it a poor proposition. The camcorder, stretching to only 480p, is left trailing by a slew of HD-Ready recorders inside the very best Google-backed blowers.

And while Ferrari is generally regarded as one of the classiest brands ever, we can’t say that the Acer Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition is anything more than a rather ugly cash-in. The build is the same plasticky disaster as the original Liquid and the garish red that looks so slick while lapping Monza at 200mph looks ugly here.

Likewise, the Prancing Horse Bluetooth headset will do nothing for your street cred. The phone itself is undoubtedly decent, although not in the top bracket of Android smartphones. But if you want all that, you can buy a normal Liquid E and do without the average looks. One for Ferrari-heads only.