Despite its rather bold name, the Acer Liquid Gallant Duo is gunning for the middle of the mobile market, and mixes together some unusual features (such as dual-SIM capability) with a single-core CPU and a small amount of internal storage. It’s certainly not aimed at those considering an upgrade to the shiny new iPhone 5, but will it find success lower down the food chain? Let’s find out.
Hardware
The Liquid Gallant Duo is one of those phones that looks like it’s partly made of metal when viewed from a distance, but upon closer inspection is in fact constructed almost entirely from plastic.
The thin silver band which extends around the edges of the device lends it a sense of style, and the matte-touch plastic avoids giving off the low-cost impression that glossy external casing can sometimes exude.
The first thing you’ll do when you pick up the phone is search for the power button, which is bizarrely positioned on the back of the device, next to the camera. Acer’s reasoning seems to be that your finger naturally rests on the rear of the phone when your remove it from your pocket, and we have to admit that once we’d committed the location to memory, tapping the button was almost second nature. While it’s unlikely to catch on with other manufacturers, it’s nice to see a Acer at least considering alternative design options for its products.
The ability to use two different SIMs in the phone is another unique element; under the battery cover you’ll find two standard-sized SIM slots, as well as a micro SD slot. It makes you wonder why Apple has spent so much cash on the Nano SIM concept when the Liquid Gallant Duo is proof that you can easily fit two normal-sized SIM cards into a thin mobile phone.
The micro USB slot and the 3.5mm are at the top
The volume rocker is at the left.
There is a speaker grill at the bottom.
Software
Before we wade into this section with too much gusto, it’s worth noting that the version of the Liquid Gallant Duo we tested was a pre-release version that did not feature the final software build. It’s running Android 4.0.3, while we believe the product that hits store shelves will be blessed with 4.0.4. There may be other changes made to Acer’s custom UI as well. It’s a minor point, but one worth noting.
Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich, as it is possibly better known – remains a solid iteration of Google’s mobile OS. It’s not the latest variant – that title falls to 4.1 (Jelly Bean) which shipped with the Nexus 7 tablet earlier this year – but it offers much the same functionality.
Acer has actually done quite a bit of customization on the way the UI looks, adding in its own unique icons, lock screen and widgets. Beyond that, much remains the same. There are six home screens to play with, and the app drawer scrolls from left to right, just as it does in the stock version of Ice Cream Sandwich. With Android 2.3, manufacturers often made sweeping changes to how the UI looked, but Acer has been quite restrained here. Another thing worth noting is that Acer has followed Google’s lead by using on-screen Android buttons, which appear at the bottom of the display and vanish when the screen is switched off. These three commands cover Back, Home and Multitasking, and look very much the same as they did on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus – the first phone to feature Ice Cream Sandwich.
It also has Equalizer with SRS media audio and DLNA sharing.
The SIM cards are detected automatically once you insert them. You can also change them from the SIM managements settings.
You can manage the SIM cards from the settings. The connectivity features include, 3G (HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA: 5.6Mbps), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0+EDR and GPS.
Storage
Being a mid-range device, it’s unrealistic to expect the Liquid Gallant Duo to pack 16GB of storage. Instead, it comes with just 4GB, although the aforementioned MicroSD card slot allows you to boost this figure in a cheap and hassle-free manner.
Although 4GB is the amount, you only get to play with around 2.6GB of that figure. 1GB is reserved for application data, while the remaining 1.6GB covers data files, photos, music, video and so on. The rest of the space isn’t accessible to the user.
With cloud services such as Google Music and Picasa removing the need to store data directly onto your phone, the low storage space isn’t that much of an issue – assuming of course that you have a truly unlimited data deal on your mobile contract.
Camera
Although some other top-tier Android phones are boasting 8 megapixel snappers (or better, in the case of the 13 megapixel-packing Sony Xperia T), Acer has equipped this device with a more modest 5 megapixel variant. Performance in broad daylight is actually better than expected, with bold colours standing out nicely. However, compression is quite harsh, and you don’t have to zoom in very much before you notice extreme pixelation. Low-light shooting is also troublesome, as the LED flash can wash-out images with too much light.
Here are some camera samples
720p video recording is an unexpected surprise, but the skittish auto-focus and fuzzy definition mean that you’re unlikely to do much filming, outside of short clips to upload to YouTube or Facebook.
Here is the 720p video sample
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayspj33IdiY
Performance
We’re so used to dual-core and quad-core phones these days that it’s almost too easy to forget that single-core phones can still offer competitive performance. The Liquid Gallant Duo provides a pretty smooth ride, although there are predictably moments where slowdown and jerkiness occur – usually when there’s a lot of underlying activity taking place. The 1GB of RAM which supports the CPU helps to mask its shortcomings to a certain extent.
However, when put through the usual benchmarks, the Liquid Gallant Duo’s lack of power is made glaringly obvious. Compared to the best Android has to offer, it’s very much a minnow in terms of processing power.
If you’re stepping down from a dual-core (or better) phone then you’re more likely to find serious fault with the overall performance of the Liquid Gallant Duo; it will feel slow and sluggish. Those upgrading from other single-core phones – the target market, you could argue – are less likely to grumble about the relative lack of processing power.
Benchmarks
Here are some benchmarks that tests the performance of the 1GHz MTK 6575 processor POWERVR SGX Series5 GPU.
The Liquid Gallant Duo top the Quadrant benchmark when compared to the other devices running on 1GHz processor.
The AnTuTu benchmark scores are low, hence it hold the 3rd spot.
The Liquid Gallant Duo tops the Browsermark.
It scores 1203 points in the Smartbench 2012 productivity.
The POWERVR SGX GPU scores 1602 points hence could not outperform Tipo’s Adreno 200 (enchanced) GPU and the Sol’s Adreno 205 GPU.
Battery Life
Don’t expect prolonged stamina with the Liquid Gallant Duo – its 1500 mAh battery is behind the curve when it comes to mobile power cells.
The single-core processor is less greedy than its dual and quad-core rivals, but after a day of average usage, we still found that the phone was gasping for the wall socket. You’ll need to charge the Gallant Duo at least once a day if you’re planning on using it for stuff like surfing the web, listening to music and watching videos on YouTube.
Conclusion
When you consider the price point, and the presence of unique features such as the ability to use two different SIM cards and therefore two different contracts, the Liquid Gallant Duo becomes quite an attractive proposition. It also helps that it looks appealing, with a design that is comparable to the more expensive phones on the market.
Of course, to attain the more responsible price point you’ve got to accept a few drawbacks. The 1GHz single-core CPU is left in the dust by some of the more modern mobiles, and 4GB of internal storage might not be enough if you possess a healthy appetite for digital downloads.
However, those shopping on a budget should find a lot to like here; Acer’s phone is also likely to prove a hit with people who use two mobile contracts (one for work and one for personal usage) and are sick of carrying around two different phones. The Liquid Gallant Duo overcomes this issue neatly.
Pros
- Dual-SIM slots
- Appealing design
- Large, bright screen
Cons
- Low internal storage
- Camera could be better
- Battery life is unimpressive