Close-up with the cheap and cheerful Acer Liquid Z4 (photos)

This basic smartphone only runs Jelly Bean, but Acer says the camera is good.

Steven Musil

Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. He's been hooked on tech since learning BASIC in the late '70s. When not cleaning up after his daughter and son, Steven can be found pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining CNET in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.

See full bio

Steven Musil

Feb. 23, 2014 5:07 a.m. PT

1 of 14 Sarah Tew/CNET

Acer is offering an up-close look at its new Android-powered Liquid Z4 during the Mobile World Congress, being held this week in Barcelona, Spain.

2 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

Acer's Liquid Z4 features a rear-mounted a 5-megapixel camera.

3 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

Acer's Liquid Z4 comes in at a at a light 4.6 ounces and features a 4-inch screen. Running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system, the Acer Liquid Z4 doesn't exactly boast Google's latest and greatest.

4 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

The Liquid Z4's 5-megapixel camera sports a lens with f2.4 optics to serve up superior photos.

5 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

Acer's Liquid Z4's edges measure 9.7mm (0.38 inch) thick.

6 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

The back of Acer's Liquid Z4's surfaces repel fingerprints and grease.

7 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

Under the Liquid Z4's subcompact hood is a dual-core 1.3GHz processor linked to 4GB of internal storage.

8 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

To enhance music and movies, the Z4 relies on DTS Sound technology.

9 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

CNET's Reviews team was disappointed too by the screen's washed out colors and lack of lumens.

10 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

Also, the Liquid Z4's display's image quality drops dramatically when tilted off-angle, especially vertically.

11 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

The Acer Liquid Z4's camera in action.

12 of 14 Sarah Tew/ CNET

The Acer Liquid Z4 allows for customized user modes. An AirFloat feature will keep multiple app windows open at once so users can flip quickly between them.