Asus is updating its ZenFone line of smartphones with a new model featuring an optical zoom lens and another model that will be an affordable model with some premium features.
Meet the Asus ZenFone Zoom and ZenFone 2.
Asus ZenFone 2
The ZenFone 2 features a 5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel IPS display an Intel Atom Z3560 or Z3580 64-bit “Moorefield” processor, and up to 4GB of RAM. It supports 4G LTE, has a 13MP camera with zero shutter lag, and supports low-light and HDR photography as well as a 5MP front-facing camera.
The phone has a 3000mAh battery and fast-charge support which lets you charge the phone to 60 percent in less than 40 minutes.
Asus will ship the ZenFone 2 with Android 5.0 Lollipop and the latest version of its ZenUI user interface, along with support for ZenMotion touch gestures and a One Hand mode.
There’s also a “stealth account” feature for privacy.
The Zenphone 2 supports 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS, and has a microSD card slot for up to 64GB of removable storage.
Asus says prices will start at $199 for a ZenFone 2 with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The company will also offer models with up to 64GB of storage and up to 4GB of RAM.
The ZenFone 2 should be available in the US in the second quarter of 2014, making it one of the first phones from Asus to get be released in the US.
Asus ZenFone Zoom
Asus describes this phone as the world’s thinnest to feature a 3X optical zoom lens.
It has a 13MP rear camera with a 10-element lens design featuring optical image stabilization (so your photos or videos won’t be too blurry if your hand shakes as you shoot), and optical zoom support for snapping photos of far-away objects without losing image quality.
The camera also has a laser auto-focus and a manual mode which lets you manually adjust ISO settings and shutter speed, among other things.
The ZenFone Zoom has a starting price of $399.
The ZenFone 2 should be available in the US in the second quarter of 2014, !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well my heart is broken. Yet again… They had to f*** this up, just like Lenovo did with K900, touting an Intel Atom phone, and then they bring out that Atom Z28XX series piece of crippled PowerVR garbage.
Now here we are again, we have a 4GB of RAM, 22nm Atom phone, but they slap the Z35XX series in it to run a useless, idiot friendly, mobile OS. We now have 2 years since it became possible, but still, there is no sign of a possible X86 Windows “UMPC”. Now… I have to ask… Who’s dick do you have to suck, to get a modern iteration of a Fujitsu F-07C like device ?!
It would indeed be interesting to see an x86 Windows 8 phone that can be a full PC, so far the smallest we’ve got are the 8″ Windows tablets. But I don’t think you can blame Asus, why should they be blamed when no one else is offering it either – even Microsoft themselves are producing phones with Windows Phone, and not trying to offer us such a device.
I don’t blame them, but I will say this….We all knew there was a new ZenFone coming out at CES, and I suppose, out of all the potential candidates, my highest hopes were with Asus. I mean, after all, they are the company that made Atom’s famous, with a ballsy move in the form of a 7″ Eee PC, and apart from a few accessories and peripherals, 99% of their business is Windows PC’s and laptops, so I think it’s weird as shit that the first ZenFone wasn’t a pocketable PC, and now here we are with the second one. WTF already.
I think something with specs like this device will happen when Windows 10 comes around, since Microsoft seems to be pushing this idea that 10 will be the same or nearly the same software on tablets, desktops, laptops and smartphones – whether it be ARM or x86 – and dropping the word ‘phone’ from the branding. It will be cool to see if we get Windows phones with basically PC in your pocket capability like you’re suggesting. That kind of thing is the future to me.
I had equally enthusiastic hopes for Windows 10, when they announced it would be “the same experience for all platforms from 5 to 80 inches”. But then this thing came out a few days ago ( https://tinyurl.com/mthju3e ). Looks like they recarpeted Windows Phone 8.1 and added a couple of GUI trinkets. SSDD
We’ll see. I would like to know whether docking or HDMI/Slimport output parameters has some code in the mix for pumping out a full desktop UI to a monitor or TV when available. Ze future.
I feel ripped off by Oneplus now. The zenfone 2 seems way better than my One.
The zenfone zoom looks nice but I don’t know if it is worth the trade offs.
yeah i am so glad now that they couldn’t sell me one so now i can get a phone that is actually for sale!!
I have an Asus desktop and Asus laptop. Never really thought about buying an Asus phone. I’d be open to it but Asus as a company needs to drastically improve their customer service first (at least in North America). I love my computers but trying to get updates and fixes from these guys is a real pain in the ass. The desktop (Windows 8.1) computer never shipped with a utility to create backup DVD’s. I ended up having to image it with Macrium Reflect and downgrade to a Windows 7 OEM DVD install as I hate Windows 8.1. Anyhow, when you get two Asus products, the OEM Windows keys work and activate on both devices since it’s built into the bios. Transferring the activation certs from the Windows 7 box to the 8.1 box was easy. 🙂
Is it just me, or does the Zenphone 2 have a great price?
Ya, it seems good.