Acer unveils new ‘antimicrobial’ laptop, tablet and 2-in-1 convertible – Times of India

Taiwanese PC maker Acer has launched three new ‘antimicrobial’ electronics products which include a laptop, a 2-in-1 hybrid and a tablet. They are the TravelMate Spin P4 hybrid, the Acer Enduro Urban N3 laptop and Acer Enduro Urban T3 tablet.
The company unveiled them during its next@Acer event. This is not the first time Acer is launching a product as an ‘antimicrobial’ one; the company has only augmented its range of such products with three new ones, a lineup it introduced in 2020.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes ‘antimicrobial’ as something that is capable of “destroying or inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and especially pathogenic microorganisms”.
As per Acer, the ‘Antimicrobial 360’ design of the products can fight the microorganisms with the help of the company’s Silver Ion Antimicrobial technology and Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass.
Silver-ion antimicrobial technology
There is a silver-ion agent coating on the outer high-touch surfaces of the devices like the keyboard, the touchpad, the fingerprint reader, the outer part of the chassis, the hinge etc. This coating, as per the company, will help fight the growth of bacteria.
As per the report, the silver-ion coating “can cut the bacteria count to 1,000 after a 99.9 per cent reduction, based on the International Organization for Standardization 22196 test protocol” which details methods for testing the “antibacterial activity of antibacterial-treated plastics and other non-porous surfaces of products.”
Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass
To enhance the antimicrobial resistance of the devices, the company has worked on incorporating silver ions (Ag+) as the antimicrobial agent into Corning Gorilla Glass itself.
“This is done via trace amounts of silver ions leaching to the glass surface to eliminate the surface bacteria while still offering other benefits such as improved durability and scratch resistance.”, says Acer.
With this integration, customers can expect the glass surface to stay cleaner longer and be less susceptible to stain or odour-causing bacteria.