Acer reveals its first Windows Phone Mango device

By Tom Warren, on 31st May 11 1:49 pm with 39 Comments

Acer W4 Windows Phone

Acer has revealed its first Windows Phone Mango device at Computex this week.

The device, expected later this year, will be named the Acer W4. Acer’s Windows Phone includes a 5PM camera, 8GB storage and DLNA support. Chinese blog zol.com.cn published images of the device on Tuesday after discovering it on display at Computex this week. Microsoft previously revealed that Acer was a new hardware parter for Windows Phone Mango devices during a VIP event last week.

Acer’s W4 specifications:

  • 3.6-inch WVGA
  • Screen Resolution: 480×800
  • 5mp Camera with auto-focus
  • HSPA 850/1900 or 900/2100 /GSM quad band 850/900/ 1800/ 1900 MHz Support
  • Qualcomm MSM8255 running at 1GHz
  • Wifi, Bluetooth 2.1
  • DLNA Support (DMC)
  • Windows Phone Mango
  • 8GB Storage

Acer W4 Windows Phone Mango device

Image credits: zol.com.cn

  • Anonymous
    • http://www.winrumors.com Tom W

      Thanks, updated :)

  • http://twitter.com/walktovanish Austin Ritchie

    ..But will it blend?

    • http://twitter.com/mdtauk martin anderson

      Actually all Windows Phones support “Expression Blend” for making apps, so technically it will “Blend” :P

    • http://twitter.com/walktovanish Austin Ritchie

      Awesome!

  • http://parasvalecha.blogspot.com Paras Valecha

    Looks sweet! :) But, isn’t 3.5 inch a bit small? Also, when are WP devices with qHD resolution gonna come out? Should I wait for one or get a WVGA?

    • Anonymous

      I wouldn’t hold your breath for now.

  • http://twitter.com/CivOtaku Civ Otaku

    Don’t we have enough of these 1-ghz-8-gb-480×800-5-mpx-totally generic Windows Phones? They’re all almost exactly the same!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ian-Cavalcanti/100002178260420 Ian Cavalcanti

      That’s good, because you now what you get, in terms of performance using the same specs it means that WP7 it’s optimized for them (sorry my bad english)

    • http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

      Specs are for the most part totally meaningless to WP7 because the minimum spec and OS optimised for the hardware means that you don’t have to worry about stuff running slow, and as such throwing more RAM or CPU at the device doesn’t really affect you as the consumer. That’s an Android mindset.

      Within the WP7 device ecosystem though, there’s arguably plenty of diversity, from 3.6″ devices through to 4.3″, shooters from 5-8mpx, keyboardless, keyboarded (both slideout landscape and portrait qwerty), and fun stuff like the HTC Surround with its slide out speaker.

      Yeah, the internal specs might be the same, but to the consumer, those specs don’t even matter.

    • http://openid.tomservo.eu/ Tom Servo

      Because faster hardware won’t make any difference in third party applications, especially games, right?

    • http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

      Obviously faster hardware is great, but its a one way street with a floor to hardware/performance because of the minimum spec. There is no such thing as a crap Windows Phone specwise because of the minimum spec.

      Of course the spec is relevant to making the device smooth, but ALL devices are smooth because of the minimum spec, optimised OS and walled garden approach, which is why knowing whether the device has twenty or thirty jiggabytes of RAM doesn’t matter to Joe Consumer, they just know they’ll get a good experience.

    • zzz

      Actually by the nature of it being a Window Phone means it is crap, but even more importantly Joe Consumer only know enough to buy via numbers and sales people exploit that.  

  • Anonymous

    It’s a nice looking phone, a little thick in the girth but I think I could deal with that. I would have to play with it a while at the store. However I want one the size of the HD2/7 and at least 16GB storage. But I do like where they are headed with this design.

    I won’t purchase anything until I see what Nokia comes out with though. I’m sure many are thinking the same way. Once they release there initial volley, I think you will see a lot of purchasing going on fairly quickly.  

  • http://www.andrewtechhelp.com/ Andrew Tech Help

    Does it have a Gyro in it?

    • http://www.winrumors.com Tom W

      Doesn’t look like it from the specs list but it may do…

    • Jimwooley

      At MIX, Microsoft announced that the revised minimum specifications for Mango would require a gyro and compass, so I would hope so.

    • FMH

      It was not a requirement to have gyros, but yeah they could put them.

    • FMH

      It was not a requirement to have gyros, but yeah they could put them.

  • Edyg023

    If it doesn’t have front and rear facing cameras and dual core, what is the point?  People aren’t buying because it can’t do things that the other smartphones can.  People say itis the apps … well, you aren’t going to get augmented reality or video chat with one camera.  Dual core is more buzz, than necessary, but again, if you can’ provide at least what the competition offers, you are dead in the water.

  • http://twitter.com/MikeInBA mike g

    No front facing camera?  Booooo!  How am i supposed to video chat on Live Messenger?

    • FMH

      I am surprised. The developers device Microsoft used to show Mango did had one. Maybe in the next Acer device.

    • Guest

      You mean Skype now, don’t you ;-)

    • http://twitter.com/oak_labs nicholas peterson

      It’s a great example of 6-month mentality hardware sales, There is absolutely no reason every smartphone shipping today shouldn’t have a front facing camera, Nokia’s been putting them on for what, 5 years now? It can’t cost that much and obviously the tech is there because almost every platform has them except for blackberry, windows phone, and webOS. It just seems crazy to buy a phone that you’re going to likely keep for 2 years without one. Hopefully we’ll see 4G Nokia handsets on verizon this christmas (I can dream right?)

  • rojo

    It looks like this may be one of the low-end phones MS was talking about releasing this year. My guess (and hope) is that high end phones will have front facing cameras and dual core processors.

  • http://twitter.com/cameron_mck sca2pula

    The IE icon is the same as NoDo (the IE9 icon is a little different) so this just goes to show how early a prototype this device is. It isn’t even running a Mango (well atleast one with the new IE icon…) Maybe there is hope for further specs such as front facing camera, or this might be a low-range smartphone which is what I would expect from Acer.

  • mo

    boring…same as every other device. great…

  • http://ichoiz.blogspot.com/ iChoiz

    Seems no one notices the processor is MSM8255 with GPU Adreno 205?
    That’s not as same as the WP7 devices currently on the market.
    Correct me if it is wrong.

    • zzz

      You are correct. Adreno 205 is said to be about four times faster than the current 200. 

    • zzz

      You are correct. Adreno 205 is said to be about four times faster than the current 200. 

  • http://twitter.com/jimmyfal Jimmy Fallon

    Acer in the form of Gateway used to always bring out stuff that was bang for the buck and inexpensive. This is a PATHETIC offering in the face of the competition, they shoud be embarrassed. These are NOT the times we live in.

  • http://twitter.com/jimmyfal Jimmy Fallon

    Acer in the form of Gateway used to always bring out stuff that was bang for the buck and inexpensive. This is a PATHETIC offering in the face of the competition, they shoud be embarrassed. These are NOT the times we live in.

  • http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

    Looks like a bit of an uninspired low-end device. I guess Acer are going for a lower risk entry into WP7, which is cool I suppose.

  • Anonymous

    There are too many underwhelming, small-screen Windows Phones as it is. I realize there has to be a few but too many are being produced. I have zero interesting in a Windows Phone that is less than 4″. Are the manufactureres not noticing the that the 4.3″ HTD HD7 and the 4″ Focus are the runaway leaders on this platform?

  • Guest

    Boring. Acer obviously isn’t putting much focus into WP7. And I see their CEO is complaining today about MS’s W8 tablet requirements being too strict. 

    Most of these guys seem to be putting more effort into Android. I can understand their frustration with MS’s Windows (Vista) and mobile delays. But you’d think these morons would realize that Google has a lot less interest and motivation in a constant upgrade cycle. They’ll do it now to win. But ultimately they make their money off advertising, not software.

  • Anonymous

    I guess still no flash and no SD card slot…. disappointing… I’m getting tired of having to choose songs to make them fit in my LG Quantum with 16GB of storage.

  • zzz

    My screen name says it all :(

  • http://www.appatic.com Avatar X

    The worst about this WP7 is that it looks like a Optimus 7 clone. The phone from the first WP7 wave that i happen to dislike the most, and of course the only one available officially here in Mexico unfortunately.  :|

  • WP7Needs Prepaid

    Put it Acer as a prepaid phone around the price of those LG Optimus Androids, and I will buy one.