IT Pro Verdict
The Acer beTouch E130 takes Android and puts it in a smartphone with a BlackBerry-like miniature QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard is well made, and those who spend a lot of time typing text might find it tempting enough to try Android. However, the small, cramped resistive touchscreen is ill-suited for activities such as web browsing, making the Acer beTouch E130 frustrating to use for many people.
Acer's smartphones can be a bit hit and miss. For example, the high end Android-equipped Acer Stream suffered from a quirky user interface and short battery life.
Acer has done something unexpected with the new beTouch E130. It's a touchscreen Android phone, but its miniature QWERTY keyboard makes it look like a BlackBerry.
It isn't a bad idea. While it's possible to type fairly quickly on phones with large capacitive screens, these screens also tend to increase the phone's cost. Taking the tack it has done with the beTouch E130, Acer has been able to keep screen size small and this helps keep the device cost down. At 147 ex VAT SIM free, the beTouch E130 may well appeal to BlackBerry fans who hanker for a large apps library or just want to take a look at the Android operating system.
Both black and white versions of the Acer beTouch E130 are available, each with a black screen bezel and silver frame to the front fascia. Build is robust for the most part, though the backplate is thin and a little flimsy. There is a 3.5mm headset slot on the top edge of the chassis. The microUSB power connector and volume rocker are on the right edge, and the bottom and left edges are free of buttons and connectors. The handset is perhaps a little thick at 11.5mm, but it should slip nicely into most pockets. It is light too thanks to that plastic chassis, weighing just 109g.
