Acer announced today that it has refreshed its server products to support the latest Intel Xeon processors E5 family, as well as expanded its business portfolio and management tools to provide greater flexibility in modern datacenters.

The new product designs feature Intel’s latest line up of Intel Xeon processor E5 family of CPUs, which provide greater expandability and more robust specifications built into every platform. The F2 generation will improve on operating system support to include mainstream and open source platforms, and its management tools are enhanced to improve IT’s ease of use.

The server lineup will offer the same set of standard Acer management tools – Smart Setup, Smart Console, Smart Server Manager and Smart Integration Pack, and will introduce features such as remote BIOS/firmware updates and power monitoring. Acer has also integrated a power management tool kit as an add-on expansion for its own Smart Server Manager. This optional feature enables enterprise and datacenter customers to run power capping commands across Acer servers to ensure each machine is providing the most optimal power-performance needed for mission-critical applications.

Evis Lin, AVP of Enterprise Product Business Unit at Acer Inc., remarked “The new F2 line of server products represents our continuous strive to provide even more robust solutions for the modern business, enterprise and datacenter.” He continued “After revamping Acer’s server commercial-line of enterprise-class products in 2009, we learned a great deal more about datacenter demands. Today we are glad to tell our customers we hear you and we have answered.”

Speaking on behalf of Intel, Boyd Davis, Vice President in the Intel Architecture Group and General Manager of the Datacenter Infrastructure Group of Intel Corporation, also remarked “We have been collaborating with Acer for a number of years. With their new F2 line of server products, Acer is leveraging the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family’s leadership performance, energy efficiency, enhanced security features, and breakthrough I/O innovation to offer solutions that will appeal to a broad spectrum of customers, ranging from small-medium business to larger scale datacenter deployments.”

Press Release:

Acer has unveiled the V3 Series, a range of notebooks optimized for today’s digital needs, available in 14-, 15.6- and 17.3-inch models. With excellent performance, entertainment enhancements, communication tools and a classy design, these notebooks are intended for tech-savvy users who want daily high-definition audio and visual experiences.

The latest generation Intel Core family processors, plus NVIDA GeForce GT Series graphics ensure excellent performance for multitasking with lots of apps, music, Internet video, movies, games and more.

Specialized entertainment enhancements include the Acer CineCrystal HD+ 1600 x 900 LED-backlit display on the 17.3” screen and , Dolby Home Theater v4 and a Blu-ray Disc drive. Users can even enjoy notebook entertainment on an HDTV via the HDMI-out port.

The V3 Series features Acer InviLink Nplify Wi-Fi CERTIFIED wireless connectivity and Gigabit Ethernet to keep users online, and the Acer Crystal Eye HD webcam guarantees high-resolution face-to-face communication.

Acer clear.fi 2.0 automatically connects all digital-home devices. This lets users manage, share and enjoy media from any device in any room at home.

Sharing files among other digital devices is also possible via a multi-in-1 card slot, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 2.0/3.0 ports (with USB power-off charging).

Design-wise, the cover has a glossy finish and its color matches the screen bezel and palm rest. The Acer chiclet keyboard is stylish, ergonomic and complemented by a multi-gesture touchpad for enhanced comfort and productivity. The V3 Series comes in Midnight Black, Dawn Gold, Nightfall Gray and Thunderbolt Silver.

While plenty of denizens will be fighting for iOS, Android and Blackberry, there’s a small but fierce tribe of people who are turning over the Windows Phone. Maybe it’s the slick tiled interface or the love of all things Microsoft, but I have to say that I really do like the Windows Phone operating system. Yes there are a few things in it that take a bit of getting used to, but overall it’s a bold move forward for Microsoft and a far cry from their now defunct Windows Mobile operating system.

There are a number of Windows Phones that you can sink your teeth into, depending on your budget and various things like screen size, form factor, etc. The newest addition to the Windows Phone family is the humble little Acer Allegro, a phone that allows users to embrace the Windows Phone experience without surrendering their wallets.

Build quality & design
As far as the build quality goes, this phone looks sturdy but is really a marriage between matte and glossy plastic from all angles. The back of the phone thankfully doesn’t register any fingerprints (unless you’ve just tucked into a KFC meal) and generally remains dust-free with a simple wipe. The back cover has the simple Acer and Windows Phone logo, as well as a metal grille covering the loudspeaker and of course a rear 5MP camera. Funnily enough Acer didn’t think it was worth including a LED flash, but I’ll come to photography later on. At the top of the device is the power/wake button and the headphone jack, with the volume and camera button along the sides and a micro-USB port at the bottom for charging and data transfer.

Trying to get the rear cover off was initially hilarious, until I found the tiny groove at the bottom of the phone which will let you pry the cover off. The battery pops out fairly easily, exposing the SIM slot located towards the bottom of the phone. Inserting a SIM card was easy, but trying to get it out was absolutely painful. No manner of prying, shaking, tapping or fidgeting would budge the SIM card, so in the end I had to slide it back out with a pair of tweezers. If you use this phone when travelling and need to swap out SIM cards, carry a pair of damn tweezers.

Specifications
As the Acer Allegro is technically a ‘budget’ Windows Phone, its specs aren’t that great. The phone runs Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, powered by a Qualcomm 1 GHz Scorpion processor with 8GB of internal storage and 512MB RAM. The screen measures 3.6” inches with a resolution of 480 x 800 which is quite enough to show off the Metro interface. Weighing in at 126g it’s certainly light enough for you to forget that you’re carrying it, though the light weight is probably due to the phone’s plastic body.

Screen, Apps, and Interface
For anyone who’s never used Windows Phone before, the experience at first can be quite educational. Where’s the notification bar? How can I swap to another app? Where’s Angry Birds? But in time and with practice, the Metro interface becomes familiar enough and you’ll be swiping your way around the phone in no time. Unlike Android, Windows Phones don’t usually come with a manufacturer’s skin or interface – it’s always the same Metro interface on any Windows Phone you pick up. The same applies here – apart from an Acer Registration app, there was nothing else bundled on the phone except the default apps. Still, you can always pop to the Marketplace to download any of the apps there, so it was a bit of a relief to find that the interface wasn’t skinned into oblivion or had annoying widgets everywhere like on so many other smartphones.

The screen was a bit of a challenge after a while – compared to other phones with better resolution the Acer Allegro was able to display bright colors and images fairly well, but did poorly when it came to more subtle and muted colors, opting instead to give them a rather washed-out look. Surfing through Internet Explorer was okay, with the multitouch gestures

Camera
The 5 Megapixel camera on the Allegro is not going to win you any photography awards, but it’s good enough for quick shots when you’re out in well-lit areas. If there’s any shadow around or it’s low light, then the picture tends to be dulled down and colors appear rather muted. Surprisingly though the camera app has a host of settings that you can tinker around with, such as Image Effects, ISO Gain, Contrast, and others. The lack of an LED flash can make it problematic to take photos at night, so bear this in mind if you’re a fan of snapping photos with your phone.

Call quality and Battery Life
Swapping the Allegro as my main phone for a few days was as bad as I had imagined it would be. With Wi-fi always on and frequent calls, Facebook, and the occasional photograph the Allegro was able to last just about 5 and a half hours before giving up and shutting down. Thankfully it features a micro-USB port so you’re bound to find someone with a compatible charger nearby.

Call quality was generally acceptable, with the loudspeaker producing a bit too much bass when I was in a conference call. I didn’t have any dropped calls or interference during my calls, and all my callers could hear me perfectly which was a welcome relief.

The Acer Allegro is great for anyone who wants to give Windows Phone a try but can’t be bothered (or afford) to get one of the higher-end models. With a cheaper build and smattering of features, the Acer Allegro is enough for basic phone functions and the occasional web surfing to Facebook, but other than that it’s just nothing special.

Design & Build Quality

With the recent boom of ultrabooks, many laptop manufacturers have to differentiate themselves from others with extra features and, more importantly, aesthetic design, since hardware remains consistent across the board. Now I’ll be the first one to admit that Lenovo laptops aren’t exactly eye-catching. Of course, many people will say the ThinkPad series has a classic design that doesn’t need a change, much like Porsche’s 911s, but I digress. A little innovation in terms of radical design is always welcome. And what better a platform to show off a new design than the new ultrabooks?

So today I’ll be looking at the new Lenovo IdeaPad U300s ultrabook, a laptop designed “drop jaws” according to Lenovo. First thing’s first, the U300s is as far a departure from the traditional ThinkPad design as possible, while at the same maintaining enough semblance to carry over the legendary heritage. On the outside, the IdeaPad U300s has a smooth surface all around. It is, in fact, a single sheet of aluminum that runs from the top of the screen to the bottom panel; there’s not a single screw or adjoining piece of metal to ruin the beauty of U300s.

There’s no absurd branding or product inscriptions anywhere except the Lenovo logo on the top right corner of the lid. Everything is kept simple. The front is equally devoid of any obtrusive LEDs popping out of the seam.

On the left we have the OneKey Recovery button, which is literally a one button startup to initiate the Windows Recovery process. The exhaust grill is also on the top left, followed by the USB 2.0 port. On the right we have 3.5mm headphones jack, USB 3.0 port, the HDMI port and the power jack.