Taiwan based Asus, which sells currently notebooks, ultrabooks, tablets, desktop, PC’s etc. in India, is set to launch its range of Zenfone smartphones in India on 9th July, 2014. In tablet segment, Asus has been quite successful with their tablets, but in the smartphone segment, the company’s entry will be met with stiff competition in India.
Before its official launch, we had the opportunity to take a quick look at Asus Zenfone 5. Take a look at the quick hands on review of Zenfone 5 and see what the device has to offer.
Display and Design
The Zenfone 5 features a 5″ inch HD 1280 x 720-pixel IPS display with a pixel density of 294 ppi (pixels per inch). The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, which will eliminate the chances of scratches occurring on the screen. The screen offers good viewing angles and colors look quite vibrant on the screen. Moreover, the web browsing on this phone is enjoyable as the text appears sharp and clear, thanks to its pixels density, and which is a major drawback in the mid-segment of many handsets.
Being a new comer, Asus has stuck to the basics and the design of the Zenfone is simple to say the least. It is made of good plastic with tinkling of metal in the body. The power button and volume rocker on the right side of of the smartphone have a touch of the metallic design. In the front, there is a metallic strip featuring concentric semi-circles just below the screen, which is also the feature of Asus ZenBook laptops. This small strip enhances somewhat the design of the phone, which otherwise is quite simple.
Hardware Features
Asus Zenfone 5 is equipped with pretty-good hardware features. It is driven by a dual core 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Z2560 processor with Hyper-Threading technology, which mean that it can work as a quad-core CPU when too many processes are running. It has 2 GB RAM and 8 GB internal storage, which can be expanded up-to 64 GB via microSD card support. For connectivity, this phone offers options such as 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. It is fueled by a non-removable 2,110 mAh battery.The Asus ZenFone 5 is Dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) smartphone and supports Micro-SIM.
Software
Zenfone 5 runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, with Asus’s ZenUI, which comes with many changes made to the Android OS. Normally, the customized software of many handsets prove to be a disappointment, but in the case of Asus, despite a new comer, its software works without any obstruction (in whatever time we had!), and good to work with. Moreover, this smartphone is scheduled to get updated to the latest Android KitKat, although Asus has not given any time frame for the same.
Camera
The Zenfone 5 houses an 8 MP (with auto-focus) rear camera with LED flash, which is capable of recording full HD 1080p videos and a 2 MP front camera, ideal for selfies. With the rear camera, you can click clear, sharp and detailed images in good lights but when there is dearth of light, then the quality is not as sharp as one expects. However, the photos taken in low light show a little bit less noise compared to rival smartphones. Moreover, this camera has the capability to snap the clear pictures even in low-light with its pixel-master technology.
Summing Up
In our limited usage, the phone worked without any glitch, and although it sports an Intel processor , the apps ran fast and switching of apps was quite fast. The web browsing is quite commendable and the battery of this smartphone is also powerful, although we did not have the time to test its real strength and hence can’t comment on this aspect. Courtesy its 5″ inch screen and HD resolution, it is enjoyable to play games of your choice and watch HD videos.
Going by the hardware features and overall experience, the ZenFone 5 can click in mid-segment, if it is priced less than Rs. 15,000. It will be seen on 9th July how Asus tackle this tricky issue of pricing keeping in view of the fact various domestic companies like Micromax, Lava and Karbonn, and other companies like Lenovo, Gionee, HTC, LG, and the most successful Motorola are quite aggressive in mid-segment.
