Asus is about to introduce its Zenfone series in India very soon and we already got to play with its new Zenfone 5 India variant. The phone is a refreshing product with yet unknown price. Let’s take a good look at what ASUS brings to the table with the new Zenfone 5 and whether this will be enough to win.
Asus Zenfone 5 Quick Specs
- Display Size: 5 Inch HD IPS LCD, 1280 x 720p resolution, 294 PPI, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 10 point multi touch
- Processor: 1.6 GHz dual Core Intel Atom Z2560 processor with PowerVRSGX 544 MP2 GPU clocked at 400 MHz
- RAM: 2 GB
- Software Version: Android 4.3 Jelly bean (customized)
- Camera: 8 MP camera, Capable of Full HD, 1080p video recording
- Secondary Camera: 2 MP, Capable of 720P HD recording
- Internal Storage: 8 GB
- External Storage: MicroSD support up to 64 GB
- Battery: 2110 mAh
- Connectivity: HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, aGPS, GLONASS, Micro USB 2.0
Asus Zenfone 5 Unboxing, Quick Preview, Camera, Benchmarks, Features and Overview [Video]
Design, Form Factor and Display
The Design language of of Asus Zenfone is quite simple and sturdy. The front is mainly a large 5 inch display lined on the bottom with capacitive buttons and a Metallic strip, which is a nice touch and blends well with the new Zenfone 5. The smartphone will be available in several colors and these further add to its appeal. The Metallic hardware keys on the edge compliment the looks quite well.
The 5 inch Display panel has good viewing angles. The color reproduction and brightness are also quite appropriate. It is not the best 5 inch display that we have seen, but it won’t disappoint you. We are expecting this to be launched for around 15 K mark and the 5 Inch HD Display will be one of the better ones in this price range. The display is also enjoys Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Processor and RAM
The processor used is Intel Atom Z2560 with 2 cores clocked at 1.6 GHz based on 32nm process technology. The 2 core PowerVR SGX544 MP2 GPU is also quite powerful. The SoC will be much better than conventional Qualcomm and MediaTek Dual core chipset. Intel is also using Hyper threading technology which lets Z2560 execute 2 instructions per cycle.
The SoC also comes with 2 GB of RAM and we can expect the performance to be at par with the Quad core counterparts. It scored 19,396 on Antutu and 60.3 on Nenamarks2. We did observe some lag in heavy graphic intensive games, but light games run without any issue.
Camera and Internal Storage
The primary camera has an 8 MP sensor and wide f2.0 aperture. It also enjoys Autofocus and LED flash functionality. In our initial testing, the camera performance was more than decent. The quality of images was pretty good even in low light conditions.
The camera did stutter in some shots, but we would rate it above average based on initial impressions. Asus also highlights its Pixelmaster software which boosts performance . The rear camera can record 1080p full HD videos and the front 2 MP shooter can record 720p HD videos as well, but video quality doesn’t look very good.
The internal storage is 8 GB and if you remove the rear cover, you will find a MicroSD card slot as well. The storage is expandable by up to 64 GB. We think this will be enough storage for most people in this price range.
User Interface and Battery
The phone runs on Android 4.3 jelly bean OS with changes of future upgrade to Android KitKat. The customized UI is something we liked in this phone. It vaguely reminds of Aviate launcher and features a balanced mix of functionality and design. In line with the global trends, it’s quite flat as well. Asus has also provided with several useful preloaded apps like PC Link which lets you view and control your smartphone from your PC.
The battery capacity is 2110 mAh and in our initial testing, this didn’t last for complete one day. With moderate usage and perhaps using those battery saver modes that Asus has provided, we can surely expect to cross the one day mark. Asus claims about 18 hours of 2G Talk time and 353 hours of Standby time. The battery is also non removable.
ASUS Zenfone 5 Photo Gallery
Conclusion
The ASUS Zenfone 5 may not be as dazzling on paper, and before you make an opinion based on specifications, you should know that overall experience in practice will be better than your expectations. Multitasking is smooth; thanks to 2 GB RAM and the chipset performance in basic tasks is quite smooth. We can expect ASUS to launch this along with other phones in Zenfone series sometime later this month.
