Acer unveils new PCs, sees a 'clear' future

MANILA, Philippines - Taiwan-based Acer has seen the future — and it’s a clear one. More specifically, it’s clear.fi, a cross between a media player and a data management system designed for smooth and easy sharing and playing of content over multi-platform devices — with a click of a button. clear.fi is expected to change the way we look, enjoy and experience digital content.

At its Source Home 2010 global conference held recently in Beijing, China, Acer gave a sneak preview of a number of its upcoming devices that will feature clear.fi, including notebooks, smartphones, touch-screen PCs, media console, eBook reader, and an as-yet-unnamed tablet PC.

The Acer clear.fi console gathers different types of content and allows users to share or play media through their home networks.

The console can be set up by connecting any DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)-compliant device to a wireless router. Icons automatically appear onscreen when connected and users can easily browse files through the media console.

One of the building blocks of clear.fi is the Revo Family, which includes the Acer Revo multimedia center, RevoView media player, and RevoCenter storage.

The slim Revo all-in-one multimedia center plays back photos, videos, and music stored on its hard drive. It also comes with the RevoPad, a backlit QWERTY keyboard wireless controller that lets users navigate and control media effortlessly.

The RevoView, on the other hand, is a 1080p HD media player that can be connected directly to a TV without complex device settings. It can play content from USB flash drives, storage cards, hard disks, optical disc, or Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) mass storage media.

Rear and side ports allow easy connection to surround sound speakers while the HDMI port enables 1080p video playback to an external HD display. A handy remote control provides easy access, browsing, and playback of users’ media library.

Designed to store, protect, and share digital library, the RevoCenter comes with UPnP support and up to four hot-swappable Serial ATA hard disks. This compact home appliance can be remotely accessed so users can connect to their server anytime, anywhere and upload or download data files directly to the RevoCenter or from portable gadgets.

Acer also unveiled its new Aspire Z5710 all-in-one PC, Aspire 5745P notebook, and Stream smartphone - all offering a seamless tactile experience so that no matter the device, users will be able to find the same familiar look and feel.

The Aspire Z5710 is a stylish space-saving desktop PC that features a 23-inch touch-screen display with Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, Dolby Home Theater v3 with 5.1-channels HD surround sound support, slot-in optical drive, multi-in-one card reader, HDMI port, and an optional TV tuner.

The Aspire 5745P notebook, meanwhile, comes with a 15.6-inch HD LED-backlit touch screen, Intel Core processing power, premium graphics solutions, DDR3 memory, and cinema-style sound via Dolby Home Theater v3. The 5745P also has impressive resource conservation via Energy Star certification and Acer PowerSmart Manager.

Acer’s latest communications jewel, the Acer Stream, is an Android-powered, high-end multimedia smartphone optimized for movies, music, and Web browsing.

This 11.2-mm thin smartphone is equipped with a 3.7-inch WVGA touch-screen display with AMOLED technology. It supports up to 720p video quality, Dolby Mobile quality, and connectivity to an HDTV via its HDMI-out port.

The Acer Stream comes with a five-MP camera, integrated GPS system for geotagging, internal Flash memory, microSD slot, an ultra-fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor (512MB RAM), and Android version 2.1 (Éclair).

During the global conference, Acer president and CEO Gianfranco Lanci demonstrated the Acer LumiRead, an Android-powered eBook reader.

The LumiRead is equipped with a six-inch, non-glare, no-backlit e-Ink display and can carry up to 1,500 titles in its onboard 2GB Flash memory and microSD card. It also comes with a barcode scanner that can read the ISBN codes of actual books so you can search supported online bookstores and libraries.

Acer has already signed agreements with US’ Barnes & Nobles, Germany’s Libri.de, and China’s Founder to provide localized contents in English, German, and Chinese. Agreements with other content providers are also being formalized.

Lanci also teased the media by unveiling a seven-inch touch-screen tablet running Android OS. The device sports a QWERTY keypad, 3G, and a customized UI sitting atop Android’s standard home screen.

In related news, Acer has signed an alliance with the Founder Group in an aggressive attempt to enhance and expand its ITC business in China.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed during the Acer Source Home 2010 conference last May, the two parties intend to work together on planning, development, and design of Founder brand products, including notebooks, netbooks, and e-readers.

Acer says it expects the partnership to catapult it from its current sixth rank in the Chinese market to third or second within two years. The Founder Group is one of China’s most innovative and influential high-tech companies.