Acer announces the Liquid E1 and Liquid Z2 ahead of MWC

Not waiting for MWC to grab some attention, Acer formally introduced its first two new Android smartphones for the year. Acer announced the Liquid E1 in January, but included it with its announcement of the Liquid Z2. Both handsets will be available in Europe sometime after MWC.

The Liquid E1 is a mid-range device, featuring a 4.5-inch qHD (960x540) screen, Android 4.1 running through a dual-core 1GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, 5MP camera and a 1,760mAh battery. It is a 3G HSPA device, no LTE support on board, but there will be a model to accommodate dual SIM cards.

The Liquid Z2 is an entry level cousin with a 3.5-inch HVGA (480x320) display with a 1GHz CPU running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The Z2 will be available with either a 3MP or 5MP camera, has 512MB of RAM and a 1,300mAh battery. The camera will feature a continuous shooting mode, up to 99 shots. The Z2 will also have the option to handle a dual SIM arrangement.

Both the Liquid E1 and Z2 also feature the standard fare, GPS, microSD card support, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi and also have an FM radio on board.

These devices will be positioned to compete against the Alcatel devices that were announced at CES last month and will be hitting the European market this year.  Release dates have not been confirmed, nor has pricing, but it is thought that the Liquid E1 will be €199-229 and the Liquid Z2 will start around €99-129. Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Ukraine get it first. Italy, Russia and the UK will get it later.