Acer’s take on mobile: go big or go home. Today, the PC maker announced its new Iconia Smart handset at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The phone touts a 4.8-inch screen with a very high resolution of 1024 x 480 pixels. Acer calls this widescreen ideal for movies due to its 21:9 aspect ratio.
Under the hood, the Iconia Smart runs on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor–a bit slow compared to the dual-core processors powering many upcoming devices. Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and an 8MP rear camera with LED flash also come standard.
Acer claims the device is built for browsing and gaming (6-axis gyro & accelerometer), merging the tablet and smartphone form factors. The question is, will it be large enough to function as a tablet and small enough to really fit in your pocket or your hand? A reporter at MobileBurn has already had difficulty reaching the top and bottom of the screen without shuffling his hand up and down the device. We’ve embedded video of his efforts below.
This won’t be Acer’s only entry into the market. In November, the company announced plans to produce a line of Android and Windows tablets to compete with the Apple iPad. Acer executives believe that tablets will replace netbooks, a market that Acer has a large stake in. 7- and 10-inch tablets are in development.
