Hands On: Acer Liquid E3 and Z4 Smartphones

BARCELONA—In advance of the show floor opening for Mobile World Congress, Acer set up shop just north of the Barcelona Cathedral to show off its newest Android smartphones.

The Liquid E3 and Z4 will join the company's lineup of international mobile devices, and though Acer has yet to make much of a presence in the U.S., company representatives said to expect American versions of its smartphones at some point this year. We had a chance to take the E3 and Z4 for a quick spin.

The E3 represents the higher end of the two, featuring a 4.7-inch 720p IPS display and quad-core MediaTek processor. Weighing in at 4.76 ounces, the E3 felt light in the hand, though the all-plastic construction isn't particularly inspired. The E3 features 13-megapixel rear-facing and 2-megapixel front-facing cameras, but Acer highlighted the new front-facing LED flash for illuminating those selfie shots. Around back, below the camera, is the AcerRAPID key, a hardware button that can launch the camera or any other programmed app. Acer also incorporated gestures like swiping down on the screen when off to wake the device or double tapping the screen to display the time.

The Z4 is more compact with a relatively modest 4-inch display and dual-core processor.

Both the E3 and Z4 run Android 4.2.2 with Acer's Liquid UI overlay. New to Liquid UI is Quick Mode, which replaces the traditional Android homescreen with a tile-based launcher. It looks like a rudimentary Windows Phone interface, giving quick access to the dialer, messages, and other oft-used apps. Acer promised an update to Android 4.4 KitKat sometime this year.

Neither phone supports LTE so they likely won't be making it to the U.S., but company reps did hint at new LTE-equipped MediaTek chipsets that could facilitate a U.S. release later this year. The E3 will retail for €199 while the Z4 starts at €99.