At the highly anticipated ZenFestival event held in Delhi today, Asus has launched 3 new smartphones as expected – ZenFone 2 Deluxe, ZenFone Selfie and the ZenFone Laser. But Asus even had a
Surprise! (
What's it? Why don't you read more!)
The Zenfone 2 Deluxe is priced starting at Rs 22,999, the Laser is sub-10k at Rs 9,999 and Selfie at Rs 15,999.
ZenFone 2 Deluxe
As Chairman Johnny Shih describes the Zenfone 2 Deluxe as the perfect mix of beauty and strength. It features chameleon color coating. The device sports a 5-inch Full HD display. Under the hood, it comes powered by an Intel Atom Z3580 processor which is dual core hyper threaded part, coupled with 4GB RAM. It runs Android 5.0 Lollipop and comes with a dual SIM mode. The connectivity options include 4G LTE, 3G and WiFi with support for ‘ac’ draft.
Shih claims that the GPU performance of the Zenfone 2 Deluxe is better than that seen on competition. On the camera front, the device comes with a 13MP rear snapper and 5MP front-facing camera with PixelMaster tech. The device will be made available in 64GB and 128GB variants with price starting at Rs 22,999.
ZenFone Laser
The highlight of the Zenfone Laser is
a 13MP rear camera with laser Auto Focus for 0.3 second focus time and dual-LED flash. It has a 5MP front-facing camera for selfies. It has a low light mode at 400pc brighter. Yes, this phone focusses on the camera. Taking a dig at the iPhone, the company boasts of Corning Gorilla Glass 4.
Some other specs include 5-inch HD display, Snapdragon 410 with 2GB RAM. It will be made available in 8Gb and 16Gb storage options. The device runs Android Lollipop along with connectivity options such as 4G LTE, WiFi, GPS with A-GPS and Bluetooth. Finally, a 2070 mAh battery.
The device will be competing with the like of Yureka and Moto G with a starting price tag that reads Rs 9,999.
ZenFone Selfie
Needless to say, the Zenfone Selfie is aimed at everyone looking for a good front camera. It comes with a 13-megapixel front and rear cameras, and the back has a Laser autofocus as well. Zenfone Selfie also features ZenMotion gestures, real time beautification modes and dual color tone LED on front and back cameras. The macro mode will let you shoot from 6cm with Super resolution mode.
On the specs front, one can expect a larger 5.5inch Full HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC coupled with 3GB RAM. The company may launch 2G RAM version too. A 3000 mAh battery completes the package for the dual SIM, 4G LTE supporting device. The Zenfone Selfie will hit stores for a price starting at Rs 15,999.
At the end, ASUS decided to throw in a surprise for those who are into phones with a massive battery: the ZenFone Max. This is one of the very few smartphones that come with a generous -- or perhaps overly generous -- 5,000 mAh cell, and you can even use the phone as a power bank to charge other devices. Like the ZenFone 2 Laser, the Max has a 13-megapixel f/2.0 main camera with laser auto-focus plus dual-tone LED flash, as well as a 5-megapixel front-facing imager and Gorilla Glass 4 on the 5.5-inch screen, though there's no word on the display resolution. The downer is the entry-level Snapdragon 410 chip with just 2GB of RAM, as if the battery life isn't already long enough.
Alas, it'll be a while until the ZenFone Max enters the market in October, so ASUS is keeping other details -- including the price -- under wraps for now. But just for reference, Gionee's mid-range Marathon M4 has the same battery capacity and goes for 15,499 Rupees or about $240, and then there's the $290
with an even bigger 6,000 mAh battery plus a slightly more powerful Snapdragon 615 chip, so it'll be a tough fight for ASUS.
