Next @ Acer: The Most Powerful Air-Cooled Gaming Laptop, Cyclocomputer, Chromebook for Work, and Other New Items

Every year, in April, Acer holds a large press conference in New York. Announcements for the press happen regularly during CES, MWC, Computex and IFA exhibitions, but the New York event differs in the number of new products (there are usually a lot of them) and in the emergence of new classes of devices - transformers notebooks and 2-in-1 tablet PCs.

This year, absolutely all manufacturers of equipment do not demonstrate the desire to surprise anyone. Everyone is trying to produce verified products that neatly fall on the real needs of people, and therefore, most likely, they will be bought. For bold experiments - this, please, to startups. Big companies want to sell, sell and sell. And Acer, which this year marks forty years, is no exception. Therefore, all the news at the next @ acer event in New York was very ... pragmatic. But behind this pragmatism was felt a lot of work.
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However, at the very beginning of the press conference, Acer President Jason Chen surprised journalists somewhat by showing the first bicycle computer developed by the company. It is called Xplova X5 and is a useful hybrid of a bicycle computer and a DVR.

A computer records a traditional set of indicators - speed, distance traveled, pedal speed, position in space, etc., and if you don’t be too lazy to put a sensor on yourself, then your pulse. Through the application, the computer interacts with the smartphone, and can transfer your coordinates to friends (for example, if you want to call them for help or just play catch-up on rough terrain), download the most scenic routes and arrange virtual competitions with those who have already ridden the same routes.

As for the DVR, it is, unfortunately, almost necessary thing for any cyclist, riding in crowded places of people and cars. It has a sobering effect and provides arguments in the case of proceedings. Entries can be quickly sent to the smartphone - as a whole, and the best moments, for publication in social networks.

It is strange that no one had crossed these two entities before. Evaluate how they will get along, it will be closer to the fall. Then, apparently, they will tell about the price, as long as it is a terrible secret.

In passing, they showed an inexpensive Liquid Zest Plus phablet. This is another 5.5-inch unit with an HD-display and costs around $ 200. Against the background of his fellows, he stands out with a battery of 5000 mAh (with a fast charge function) and a decent (for its price) 13 megapixel camera with laser autofocus. Acer smartphones are not very popular among journalists, because almost all of them belong to the lower and middle price segments (I’m talking about smartphones, of course), and there’s nothing surprising about it. But this does not prevent smartphones from selling normally, because a) decent and b) inexpensive.

2-in-1 devices (with a detachable keyboard) and transformers are selling better and better year after year. At Acer is one of the most successful areas, Switch and Aspire R with various diagonals and processors are in demand around the world. One of the competitive advantages is the affordable price. For example, Acer Aspire R14 - a real hit in the US network Best Buy. Yes, this model is not the best screen among analogs, but for $ 699 you can buy a computer with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB on an SSD that weighs 1.6 kg and runs on battery for about eight hours. Judging by the reviews, users of such savings by heart.

But all of the fairly powerful tablet computers, until recently, had a slightly annoying feature - an inappropriate cooler. In principle, the new Core M is quite productive, but still many people want to have on hand the Core i5, and preferably the Core i7 right away. And not to rustle. In New York, they showed the first 2-in-1 on top Intel mobile processors, working without a propeller. For cooling, it is responsible for the patented LiquidLoop system, which is a ring of heat pipe, inside which fluid circulates. Similar solutions used to be encountered in Sony and Samsung smartphones, and now the time has come for larger forms.

The first device where LiquidLoop will be used is the Acer Switch Alpha 12. This is a lightweight (1.2 kg with a keyboard) system with a 12-inch QHD screen, up to 8 GB of RAM and an SSD of up to 512 GB. And, of course, the sixth generation Core i3 / i5 / i7 to choose from. The keyboard comes off, turning the Switch Alpha 12 into a very real tablet. Compactness did not prevent to place on the case not only a new-fashioned USB-C, but also a full-sized USB 3.0. And if someone is not enough - via USB-C, you can connect the docking station with a zoo of different ports. The sophisticated Acer ProDock, in addition to the above, will add support for the new 802.11ad wireless standard (by default Switch Alpha 12 can only 802.11ac 2x2 MU-MIMO. Well, the promised 8 hours of battery life is also quite good, given the size.

Of course, all these innovations need to be tested in practice. For example, whether the liquid cooling system will not contribute to the appearance of Acer logo's thermal tattoos on the knees after a long session of the game into something three-dimensional. In Russia, Switch Alpha 12 will appear in July with a starting price of 69,990 rubles.

Several interesting technical solutions were found in the new gaming laptop Acer Predator 17 X. This is a real monster. I would not venture to say that a laptop is more powerful in this galaxy does not exist, but for some reason it does not come up with analogs in the head. Judge for yourself.

First, four drives are inserted at once — as many as 3 SSDs plus one slot for a 2.5-inch SSD or HDD. Of course, there is the possibility of creating RAID-arrays.

Secondly, the Predator 17 X configuration is available with a real, desktop version of the GeForce GTX 980, which, as we know, differs significantly in performance from the mobile one. The GeForce GTX 980 without any problems pulls any screen resolution (Predator 17 X comes with Full HD and 4K matrixes).

Third, it was possible to place such a powerful graphics chip in a laptop without the use of strange distortions, like a mobile “dropsy.” Air cooling, but it had to be radically reworked. For the first time in my life I see not a plastic, but a metal turbine, which is made by hand by specially trained people.

Also, the air intake is located not from below, where the air is usually not the coolest, and not from the sides, from where it has to travel quite a long way to the chips, but directly in front. This is bad news for owners of shoulder-length hair and those who like to eat chips during the game, but for everyone else, the new cooling scheme makes it possible to use an absolutely complete graphics system in a compact package.

Well, a few more pleasant things, like the maximum memory capacity of 64 GB, support for 802.11ad, the ability to overclock the processor and GPU (good cooling allows), support for the GeForce GTX VR Ready and change the color of the keyboard backlight in the RGB palette.

The laptop weighs 4.5 kg, but with such dimensions and stuffing it is not necessary to expect another. The price may seem unremarkable to many - when the Predator 17 X gets closer to autumn, it will cost from 299,000 rubles for the base configuration. The price for the top will most likely be comparable to the Renault Logan in a not very simple configuration.

Here, of course, you can be indignant - they say that they allow themselves, how can a laptop cost so much? But mobile gaming systems (real ones, and not just laptops with some discrete graphics) are worth it. Even more expensive. And buy them, those who a) know why and b) can afford. Components of the road by themselves, and placing them in a mobile form factor is even more expensive. "Casual" gamers, like me, are unlikely to master such a monster. But there are people he can afford. No wonder gaming systems are perhaps the only growing segment of the overall dormant PC market.

For those who adhere to more traditional views on the appearance of the gaming computer, Acer showed the Predator G1 - a powerful system that fits in the case with an internal volume of 16 liters (114x348x418 mm). He was taken to the stage in a small suitcase, as if hinting that you can safely take the computer with you on the road, if you really want to play in the country or in a hotel.

The computer can really carry in one hand, especially male and more or less strong. Inside are Intel Core 6th generation processors, GeForce video cards up to GTX Titan X, slots for drives of three different form factors, sound card Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB5. There is a full set of ports, up to second-generation USB 3.1 Type C. In several countries, G1 will be supplied with a suitcase, but, unfortunately, our country is not included in the list of lucky women. Nice suitcase, I would have bought one without a computer.

As for the G1 itself, it will also reach Russia by the autumn at a price of 169 thousand 990 rubles. And yes, I agree that you can build yourself the cooler and cheaper, but a lot of wealthy guys prefer ready-made solutions. And two thousand euros for them (or their parents) is only a minor barrier to the beautiful.

In general, the Predator line is growing before our eyes - here are laptops, gaming computers, and monitors, and tablets, and projectors. And in September, it seems, the gaming smartphone will be completed.

For some reason, the Chromebook 14 for Work caught me most of all in the New York presentation. That is exactly what it is called - a chromebook for work. I have been looking at this type of computer for a long time, but the overwhelming majority of them are cheap in the first place, and the rest of the characteristics already follow the residual principle. Flimsy materials, horrible screens - all this is about Chromebooks. Google's Chromebook Pixel is certainly not bad, but a thousand dollars ... Ahem.

Chromebook 14 for Work - a kind of golden mean. That is, this is a real Chromebook, but with RAM up to 8 GB, a productive processor up to the Core i5, a quality screen with a resolution up to Full HD and a good set of ports. The battery life is also happy, from 10 to 12 hours. But most importantly - it is made of durable materials and looks fine. The top cover, like the top ultrabooks, made of glass with a coating of Gorilla Glass 3. Convenient keyboard with large keys. The price has not yet been announced, but something tells - it will be around $ 500. Chromebooks in Russia are not yet very popular, it is very unusual for us to rely entirely on clouds. But everything goes to that trust. Exercise must begin now. I'll try.

Slightly slowing down the technical revolution more and more often presents us with good-quality balanced and, most importantly, convenient devices instead of jerky wonders. The presentation of Acer in New York confirms this thesis: all is for the good of man, but please buy, and not just crowd at the counter with open-mouthed mouths.

And, of course, I really want to believe that by the autumn new equipment will become more accessible, and not vice versa.

PS And a few more new products - very short.

New fitness tracker Liquid Leap Fit

Acer is reinventing the commercial device market. The TravelMate family is replenished with top devices (TravelMate P6 line) and relatively simple laptops for educational needs (TravelMate P1).