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It’s been quite a few months since we first saw the ASUS ZenFone 2 officially unveiled at CES 2015 earlier this year. Today, ASUS unveiled the phone again, but this time they were finally ready to talk about availability. Starting tomorrow, May 19th, the ASUS ZenFone 2 will officially be available to order from major online retailers in the US and Canada, starting at $200.
If you’re looking for something a little higher-end than the $200 base model, ASUS will also has the nicely equipped $300 model which comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display, quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB internal storage, and a 13MP camera. The phone also comes in a plethora of colors — red, black, gray and silver — with weird (but very cool) 3D patterns.
It’s pretty much the best value in mobile hardware we’ve ever seen and easily undercuts the competition like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge which will run over $1,000 for a similarly equipped model. The unlocked North American version of the ASUS ZenFone 2 will be available at fine retailers like Amazon, B&H, Groupon, and Newegg. Who’s buying?
Perfect timing since I’ve damaged my Z3. Can fix it and sell it sans waterproofing, get one of these instead :-/ Atl east my old m7 is still around!
Any word on whether these have the Google framework so it can access Google Play?
I thought I read not long ago that Play would not be on them….i’m trying to find that now
I thought I read somewhere the WW US versions would have it.
then I hope i’m wrong!! I really do and probably am. According to my wife, I am never right =)
Let me guess, we are never right and it’s always our fault? Yeah.. In the same boat. ;)
haha well if she is right….then i am wrong on this….and Google Play will be on the US variant. So in this case, I hope she is right. <~~should send her this link haha
See Pic, second reply from the top of this thread. I think it’s a safe bet, it will have google framework.
I captured that for the ZenPhone2 Promo Video.
I wonder if it will only be GSM networks
now lets see what OnePlus Two has in store….these prices are GREAT for the specs you get!
Oh nice. I’d be interested to see how the intel atoms perform both battery wise and general productivity wise.
I find it incredible ASUS can turn enough profit to sell the phones at those prices and then look at other OEMs and the astronomical prices they charge.
They probably have cheaper internals than, for example, the S6 Edge. I think it has hardware that costs about $285.
I have heard rumors that Intel charges $5 per SOC to Asus for the Zenfone 2. Intel is losing money on these SOCs and pushing hard to buy their way into the mobile market.
Intel is. And since this is the flagship phone for both ASUS and Intel, updates will come frequently. Two so far for me, plus ASUS is working on 5.1
My guess is that Intel is incentivizing Asus quite well to keep the price point down.
OR.. is it others are over inflating their prices and this price is closer to reality.
Definitely the case. But people continue to pay it so….
Eh, this is great for the price but none of the parts are cutting edge like real flagships. From what I’ve read the screen is OK, the GPU is an overclocked iPhone 5s gpu which was about on par with the adreno 330, the emmc flash storage is last gen, the camera is decent, and the battery life isn’t that great. Once again it’s great hardware for the price but the standout feature is the 4gb of ram which I assume is lpddr3, not lpddr4 found on most current gen flagships. I honestly think the oneplus one is a better budget phone than the zenfone 2 it beats it everywhere except for the ram department and micro sd expansion.
Not sure about this. I have an ASUS Atom based tablet and there are certain apps that aren’t compatible and at least one that out and out doesn’t work (WWE Network).
I also have a Atom-based tablet (Lenovo Yoga 2). I haven’t yet run into an app that wasn’t compatible (not to say they aren’t some out there).
Will be interesting to see if the camera is as good as they said it should be..
The review I read said the camera was so so at best.
http://www.androidauthority.com/asus-zenfone-2-review-600414/
“Like a lot of smartphone cameras, the camera of the Zenfone 2 performs best in good lighting conditions, with the f/2.0 aperture allowing for some nice depth of field. That said, the biggest issue with this camera is the lack of dynamic range. While it is capable taking a decent shot, more often than not highlights were either completely blown out and overexposed, or right at the other end of the spectrum with images being too dark and underexposed. HDR mode proves to be the savior here, and works quite well to even out the images, while adding some extra saturation as well. HDR image processing does take a long time between shots though, so if you don’t have a steady hand, or the subject is moving, the image will be not be particularly sharp.
Image quality deteriorates as lighting conditions worsen, with photos starting to exhibit noise, and the image quality becomes worse when shot at ISO 300 or higher. ISO is capped at 800, which limits the amount of noise that could potentially be introduced, but even then, the camera’s image processing doesn’t handle the existing noise all that well. The built-in low light mode takes advantage of the Pixelmaster software to allow for up to 400% brighter photos, and while it does work, the images are of a lower resolution, and the increase in light actually makes the digital noise even more visible.”
Meh.. S6 or the next medium-sized Nexus it is then.. But I’ll wait another 6 months until replacing my N5 so maybe something new will come along :)
Sadly, this is not the only review to say something negative about the camera.
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/asus-zenfone-2,review-2818.html
No new Zen watch announcement?
this might be my new phone because i hate my lumia 1520
if you can put cm12 on it Should be awesome
yea, I’m looking to replace my n5 and was looking for something midrange until I see a flagship worth the money. there’s root for the international version already, in the form of a prerooted system image. no word yet as to whether or not the bootloader is locked tho.. it’s either this or the Alcatel idol 3, assuming they get developer support
by the way, Phandroid guys… why no coverage of the Idol 3? I’ve seen it compared to nexus devices on many reviews. I was hoping to get your take on it
How in the hell could you hate a Lumia 1520, not that I believe a Google fanboy actually owns a 1520? It’s a fantastic phone.
I have been using Android since the droid Eris and my last phone was a m8 so I wanted to try something else. So I got the 1520 I like the size the battery life the look of WP.
But I HATE the lack of apps and the browser sucks so bad
Would this work on any carrier like the Nexus 6 or just GSM carriers?
Only GSM. Perils of being CDMA (Sprint/Verizon/Boost/Virgin Mobile)
Thanks. I have T-Mobile so it’s all good
Me!! Here’s to hoping the Dev community eats this device up and we see quick ports
I got overly excited because I thought it was the PADphone. This may get me to cancel out my Alcatel Idol 3 that’s coming in. BUT at least Alcatel is using Snapdragon so I won’t have any issues with compatibility. Anything on bands supported?
Beast of a phone but won’t come out here :(