Acer Liquid E2

“Acer is better known for laptops than smartphones in the UK, and the Liquid E2 is unlikely to change this situation. It has a good screen and reasonable performance, but is let down by poor design and the fact it's just outclassed by the very strong mid-range competition. The Acer Liquid E2 is competing in a crowded market, and unfortunately doesn’t have any outstanding features to differentiate it from its rivals, while also falling short in terms of design and camera performance. While its processor and screen would probably serve you well enough, there are much better phones available which cost significantly less.”

“There's plenty here to get your teeth stuck into, however. Its IPS display measures 4.5in and has a resolution of 540 x 960. It's certainly impressive, although it can't match the 720p displays of the Alcatel Onetouch Idol S or the Motorola Moto G.The 4GB of storage is frugal, but this can be added to via the phone's microSD slot. There's also an 8-megapixel camera with flash, a quad-core processor and a large 2,000mAh battery. There's no 4G, dual-band Wi-Fi or NFC, though.Performance is mostly good. The IPS display isn't the brightest, but a good level of contrast means images are punchy. Likewise, the quad-core processor delivers a solid set of benchmark results. Battery life is up with the best Android handsets, with an average drain of 15% per hour across our 3G audio, video and gaming tests, it beats even the Moto G. The camera produces balanced, in-focus and crisp images most of the time, too.The Acer Liquid E2 is a mixed bag. In most respects, it's a competent Android smartphone with good battery life and a decent camera. However, its ugly design and sluggish gaming performance are difficult to forgive, especially since it's more expensive than both the Moto G and Alcatel Onetouch Idol S.”