With its cross-screen computing product portfolio, Acer addresses the growing needs of all levels of education, starting from nursery school, primary school up to university and adult education.
Acer will showcase its product portfolio for the education market at BETT in London, January 21-24, 2015 at booth F188. The full range consists of notebooks, chromebooks, tablets, 2-in-1’s, monitors and projectors.
The Acer Aspire Switch Series are smart 2-in-1 notebooks that easily switch between four modes – touch, type, view, and share at any time. The four modes (notebook, pad, display and tent) are bringing maximum versatility to the classroom. Besides being used as a fully functional notebook and comfortable tablet, the Aspire Switch Series can do even more. With the Display mode, the screen can be switched to show and share content to a smaller group, while tent mode is perfectly for confined space such as small tables. It is also the ideal mode for watching videos.
The Aspire Switch models for the education channel are equipped with Full HD displays including IPS technology and Zero Air Gap direct bonding technology; students can see everything clearly from wide viewing angle, with vivid colours and detail and even in bright sunlight. The displays are protected by super strong Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a sophisticated screen-glass technology that provides superior shock and scratch resistance.
Thanks to its light weight and up to 10 hours of battery life, students can effortlessly keep the Aspire Switch at their side all day long. The 10-inch model weighs just 1.17 kg, while 11-inch and 12-inch models are coming at 1.55 kg and 1,40 kg respectively.
The Aspire Switch models with optional Full HD displays are supporting Acer’s Active Stylus¹which enables students to enjoy a pen-on-paper experience. The comfortable stylus feels like a conventional ball-point pen with smooth movement and pressure-sensitive rendering that resembles real ink. It’s the ideal tool for an intuitive writing and drawing experience.
Acer is committed to deliver durable and versatile designs at price-points which meet the budget constraints of schools and universities. Acer is currently the only vendor to offer a full range of Chromebooks in 11, 13 and 15-inch screen sizes. The company leads the Chromebook market with approximately 40 percent market share worldwide according to Gartner.3
“Acer Chromebooks are already seen as successful student learning platform, as they are being used by students to collaborate, conduct research and work on projects in exciting new ways,” said Jakob Jersild Olsen, VP EMEA of Acer’s Commercial Channel Division. “The two new Acer Chromebooks feature newly enhanced durable designs that can handle even more of the rigors so common to the education environment. Also, schools can deploy and manage these new platforms cost-effectively, quickly and securely, so the emphasis stays on student success.”
The new Acer C910 has a large 15-inch display and is ideal for labs and classrooms where it may be shared by multiple students. The Acer C740 is a compact Chromebook with an 11-inch display that neatly fits in a backpack for students who use it both in the classroom and at home. Knowing that students can be especially harsh on their devices, both models were designed with extra durability features. The C910 and C740 have reinforced covers that can withstand up to 60kg of force, while the corners can tolerate up to 45cm drops without damage. Also, the hinges have been reinforced, so the new Chromebooks can endure more twisting and stress.
The Acer C910’s large 15.6-inch display is the ideal size for students to share in classrooms and labs. The crisp and vibrant display comes in either a Full HD (1920×1080 resolution) or HD (1 366 x 768 resolution) options to meet the budgets of schools.
Both the Acer C910 and C740 have Acer ComfyView displays, so they have anti-glare properties that minimize the amount of reflecting light for less eye strain on students and allow them to use their Chromebooks in more places around school for learning. The Acer C740 provides up to 9 hours of battery life and the Acer C910 provides up to 8 hours, so both systems can be used all-day by students. Administrators will find setting up and managing Acer Chromebooks to be intuitive and efficient. The web-based management console allows remote management of apps and policies across all Chromebooks in the network.
Ultra short distance projection for the classroom
Acer’s U5220 and U5320W projector families are featuring ultra-short-throw technology which projects large images of up to 7.6m (300-inches), even in areas with limited space. The new Acer U-series projects clear and wide images of up to 2.5 m (100-inches) diagonally from as little as 1.5 meter from the screen thanks to short-throw technology, a high 3,000 lumens brightness and a native 16:9 aspect ratio.
Due to its ability to project a large picture from a short distance, it’s perfect for educators who will be using the projector to teach lessons in the classroom, because the projected picture is free from annoying shadows and the presenter no longer needs to worry about a blending lamp light. To provide even more comfort and to enhance the experience at school, Acer’s Interactive SmartPen2 delivers a new interactive way for presentation in small rooms and classrooms. As a remote control, Acer SmartPen2 let presenters write directly on the projected image and control their presentation easily, improving audience collaboration, communication and learning.
A hidden wireless adapter enables Acer MHL adapter to transfer data and project wirelessly. Furthermore the audio stream can also be transferred to a wireless Bluetooth headset, sound bar or speaker.