Acer Liquid Jade Primo Windows 10 Smartphone Launching Without Promised Peripherals
Acer officially announced its Windows 10-powered Liquid Jade Primo smartphone, which has USB-C and offers support for Continuum. It’s designed to serve the same role as Microsoft’s own Lumia 950 and 950 XL, which is to say, a high-end handset that can be combined with certain technologies to double as a lightweight productivity machine.
We reported weeks back that ST Liew, President of Acer's Smartphone Business Group, was effusive in saying that the Liquid Jade Primo would ship with a spate of peripherals -- a keyboard, mouse, docking station and maybe, just maybe, even a monitor. In other words, a full productivity package based on the smartphone and enabled by USB-C and Microsoft technology.
It would seem with this announcement that Acer has backed off on that pledge significantly. The phone is shipping by itself, apparently, and reading between the lines of the press materials Acer provided, Microsoft’s Display Dock will serve in place of any kind of Acer-made dock.
Under The Hood
In any case, the handset has some handsome specs all on its own.
| Acer Liquid Jade Primo | |
|---|---|
| Display | -5.5-inch AMOLED-1080p HD-100 % NTSC color gamut-10000:1 contrast-176-degree wide viewing angles-2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (hexacore) |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Camera | -Rear: 21MP autofocus f/2.2, dual LED flash, up to 4k (3840 x 2160) video recording-Front: 8MP f/2.2, 84-degree wide angle, up to 1080p HD recording |
| Connectivity | -LTE Cat. 6 -802.11ac MIMO -USB Type-C (with PD) |
| Battery | 3000 mAh |
| Misc. | -Chassis: direct structuring(LDS) technology-On-cell touch technology-BitLocker technology -Support for Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA DM) v1.2, Microsoft Intune |
| Availability | February (EMEA only), coming to U.S. in March |
| Price | €569, NA prcing TBA |
It’s unfortunate that the Liquid Jade Primo will not be shipping with branded peripherals, although perhaps it’s for the best (a $99 Display Dock and the mouse and keyboard you already have will do fine), or maybe the peripherals are still coming.
The Liquid Jade Primo is, in any case, a well-appointed Windows 10-powered device, and there are precious few of those on the market at present.
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The smartphone will come first to the EMEA, in February, but it should be available in the U.S. in March. EMEA pricing is €569; there's no word yet on U.S. pricing.
Seth Colaner is the News Director for Tom's Hardware. Follow him on Twitter @SethColaner. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.
Seth Colaner previously served as News Director at Tom's Hardware. He covered technology news, focusing on keyboards, virtual reality, and wearables.
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jlwitt Why would you even need the Microsoft dock? If you plugged this phone into the USB C port on the Acer monitor and then plugged the keyboard and mouse into the USB 3 ports, that should be it. That would explain why Acer dropped the accessories as they expect their monitors to be the accessories. It would be a win win for them.Reply -
RedJaron You would need the dock if you want to use the phone with your existing monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Most people don't have a display that can take a video signal directly over USB at this point.Reply -
fixxxer113 ReplyYou would need the dock if you want to use the phone with your existing monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Most people don't have a display that can take a video signal directly over USB at this point.
The dock is needed in order to take advantage of Continuum. You don't just get the phone's image on a screen, you get a proper desktop. Apps like Office also change their UI when run through Continuum. I think the only alternative to the Microsoft dock right now is Miracast.