ASUS, today in a global event launched their new range of Zenfones in India. The company has introduced the narcissist friendly ZenFone Selfie along with the ZenFone 2 Laser with the Indian subcontinent as the first market. With the new phones, ASUS is switching back to the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset after experimenting with the Intel processors for a while.
The big headline with the ZenFone 2 Laser is its laser auto focus enabled 13 megapixel camera with a fast f/2.0 aperture and dual-tone flash. It’s one of the rare few phones in its price bracket to feature the quick focusing laser tech. The Laser is available in three sizes, the smallest 5 inch version is not introduced yet, but the bigger 5.5 inch and 6 inch versions are available at prices starting $ 160 (Rs 9999) and $280 (Rs 17999) respectively. The phones feature decent specs with a resolution of 1080p, Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and 2GB (3GB on higher spec) of RAM. While all of that sounds good for the price, the only fly in the ointment is the quad-core Snapdragon 410 and octa-core 615 chipsets which aren’t quite the quickest processors out there.
Selfie, as the other new phone is called, gets a 5.5 inch screen, similar to the one on the Laser. The difference here is the hi-performance front facing camera with wide-angle and 13-megapixel resolution. There is also a big f/2.2 aperture for good low-light performance, but there isn’t any laser focussing tech on the front shooter. Like the Laser, the Selfie is also powered by the Snapdragon 615 chipset and has been priced at $250 or INR 15,999.
A suprise launch at the event was the ZenFone 2 Deluxe, which is more of a stylistic upgrade. The Deluxe looks quite cool with its three dimensional polygonal back covers. We are hoping that these removable back covers are available for other ZenFone 2 users as well. The Deluxe gets 128GB of internal storage, 4GB RAM and 2.3GHz 64-bit Intel Atom processor. The highlight here is the fast charge tech, which allows the phone to be changed from zero to 60 percent in a shade less than 40 minutes. The phone retails for $360, or 22,999 INR, which is a good deal looking at those specs.
Another big surprise at the event was the ZenFone Max with a monster sized 5000 mAh battery. The phone also allows the user to let other devices charge using its power, working as a power bank in effect. The Max gets a 13-megapixel f/2.0 back shooter with laser auto-focus and dual-tone LED flash. Front camera is a 5-megapixel unit, above a 5.5 inch screen covered by Gorilla Glass 4. ASUS have not released any details on the screen resolution of this one, though the processor and RAM are relatively underwhelming with Snapdragon 410 chip and 2GB of RAM. Note that the Max has only been revealed, not launched, with the launch slated later in October. Expect a price of about $250 or INR 15,500 for this one, though.
Also getting their share of the limelight were ASUS’ range of tablets, what the company calls the ZenPads with screen sizes ranging from 7 inch to 8 inch and prices varying from Rs 11,999 to 14,999.
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