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Acer targets gamers with new Predator 6 smartphone, Predator Projector

The Android phone will be available early next year -- but in a limited number of markets. And the gaming projector will hit in mid- to late-2016, an Acer executive tells CNET.

Shara Tibken Former managing editor
Shara Tibken was a managing editor at CNET News, overseeing a team covering tech policy, EU tech, mobile and the digital divide. She previously covered mobile as a senior reporter at CNET and also wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Shara is a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda."
Shara Tibken
2 min read

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Acer CEO Jason Chen (right) and another exec reveal the Predator 6 gaming smartphone during a press conference at IFA in Berlin.

Shara Tibken/CNET

BERLIN -- Acer's going after gamers with a new smartphone, a projector and other devices revealed here at the IFA electronics show.

Jason Chen, the Taiwanese company's CEO, showed off a new Predator 6 smartphone and Predator Projector, which will let gamers do more with their devices. The smartphone contains a 10-core processor from MediaTek, as well as 4GB of RAM memory and a 21-megapixel camera.

"This will dominate any games you throw at it," an Acer executive said on stage at the company's press conference.

The Predator 6 runs Google's Android software and will be available early next year, though only in select markets, ST Liew, Acer president of the smart products business group, told CNET after the company's press conference. Acer likely will introduce the phone first in Asia and then determine other markets, he said. Liew declined to reveal pricing for the phone.

And Acer's Predator Projector -- a gaming laser projector -- will let gamers display images on a wall to better face off against each other or see the action in the game.

"With just 50 cm of space from a wall, you can project a 120-inch screen," an Acer executive said during the press conference.

The projector will be available in mid- to late-2016, Liew told CNET. He declined to provide pricing.

Acer isn't the first company to target the lucrative gamer market. While many consumers are content holding onto their devices for years -- Intel noted a billion PCs in the market are three years or older and half a billion are four to five years old -- gamers tend to upgrade their devices frequently. That has helped Nvidia post strong financial results despite a weak PC market, and the chip company also has released its own tablet and other devices that target gamers.

For the best of IFA 2015, see CNET's complete coverage.