Exploring Acer beTouch E140 Specs Prices Pros & Cons Unveiled

Overview

The Acer beTouch E140, launched in December 2010, was an entry-level smartphone designed to provide essential features at an affordable price. As a product that emerged at the beginning of the Android smartphone revolution, it catered to users looking for basic functionality paired with the Android operating system. Over the years, though discontinued, it remains a reference point for the evolution of smartphone technology.

Design and Build

The E140 boasts a compact design with dimensions of 104.5 x 55.8 x 12.8 mm, making it easily portable and comfortable to hold. Weighing only 95 grams, it's a lightweight device that can easily fit in your pocket. The phone features a Mini-SIM slot and comes in a classic black color. Its plastic build, while not premium by today's standards, was quite common and practical for smartphones of its time, offering durability and a firm grip.

Display

The E140 is equipped with a 2.8-inch resistive TFT touchscreen that supports 256K colors. While the screen size might seem small compared to modern devices, it was adequate for basic tasks and simple navigation. The display offers a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels with a 4:3 ratio, resulting in approximately 143 ppi density. This resolution was typical for entry-level devices in 2010, adequate for reading texts and viewing basic graphics, though not meant for HD media consumption.

Performance

Under the hood, the E140 is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7227 Snapdragon S1 chipset paired with a 600 MHz ARM 11 CPU and an Adreno 200 GPU. This configuration offered satisfactory performance for the everyday tasks of its time, such as calling, texting, and light web browsing. The device was not designed for intensive gaming or heavy multitasking due to its hardware limitations. The 256MB of RAM and 512MB of internal storage, expandable via a dedicated microSDHC slot, provided users with flexibility to store essential apps and media files.

Software

The phone runs on Android 2.2 Froyo, which was a significant version of Android when it was released, introducing features like improved performance, USB tethering, and Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities. Froyo was also known for its ability to install apps on external storage and enhanced support for Microsoft Exchange. Despite its limitations today, Android 2.2 was instrumental in shaping the Android ecosystem by introducing foundational features that have evolved over time.

Camera

The E140 features a 3.15 MP rear camera that supports video recording. Although the camera quality is modest by current standards, it was adequate for capturing basic photos and videos. The absence of a selfie camera was typical for budget smartphones during that period. The camera suffices for users who primarily needed to capture important moments or scan documents rather than engage in high-quality photography.

Battery Life

The device is equipped with a removable Li-Ion 1300 mAh battery. This capacity was quite typical for smartphones a decade ago, with the phone capable of achieving up to 400 hours of standby time on 2G networks and up to 500 hours on 3G. Talk time was rated at up to 6 hours on 2G and 5 hours on 3G. These figures provided enough battery life for a full day of moderate usage, which was sufficient for users at the time.

Connectivity

The E140 supports GSM/HSPA technology with 2G bands (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) and 3G bands (HSDPA 900/2100). The device supports download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps on HSPA networks, which facilitated adequate browsing and downloading capabilities for its users. Additional communication features included Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and EDR, GPS with A-GPS support, a stereo FM radio, and a microUSB 2.0 port for charging and data transfer.

Audio

The phone comes equipped with a loudspeaker for hands-free use and a 3.5mm headphone jack, providing flexibility for private listening. The integration of basic audio components ensured that users could enjoy FM radio and their music library with reasonable sound quality.

Features and Sensors

The E140 includes an accelerometer and a compass, which were standard features providing basic motion detection and orientation functionalities. Despite the device's affordable price point, these sensors added value by enabling apps and functions requiring motion-based inputs, enhancing the overall user experience.

Conclusion

The Acer beTouch E140 remains a marker in the evolution of smartphones, illustrating how technology has advanced over the years. Although it has long been discontinued, its introduction provided consumers with an accessible entry into the world of smartphones. Its compact design, reasonable performance for the era, and essential connectivity features made it a suitable choice for users needing a basic yet functional device away from the top-tier market segments.