The folks over at Engadget have managed to spend some time with the Acer Extend prototype, where it surprisingly (or not, depending on your viewpoint) functions in a similar manner as that of the ASUS Padfone. Basically, the Acer Extend allows you to hook up your smartphone to a clamshell-style dock that will be equipped with a display, in addition to a keyboard as well as a rather generous 6,000mAh battery which works great to recharge your handset, too.
The demonstration saw a modified version of Acer’s Liquid E2 smartphone being hooked up to the Extend dock using an MHL cable, although Acer representatives did mention that a market-ready version could eventually arrive with a retractable cord in tow, although we are not going to rule out the possibility of a wireless, Bluetooth-based solution either. The Extend Dock comes in handy if you want to be even more productive with your smartphone, but do not really need the full power of an Ultrabook to get the job done. In a nutshell, it is pretty much a niche market this, but those with enough disposable income might be able to add this to their growing gadget collection. Do you think that this niche device will be able to take off?