ASUS Launches 4 variants of Zenfone 2, price starts at Rs.12,999

After creating a lot of buzz in the Indian market, Asus has finally launched its latest flagship smartphone- Zenfone 2.

The Taiwanese tech giant has introduced four variants; two are powered by a 64-bit 2.3 GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor has 4 GB RAM and Full HD display. These will be available with 64 and 32 GB in-built storage and the price is Rs. 22,999 and Rs. 19,999 respectively.

The Zenfone 2 ZE551ML with Full HD display, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB in-built storage and 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3560 CPU is priced at Rs. 14,999. The last model- ZE550ML, which comes with an HD display, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB in-built storage and 1.8 GHz Z3560 CPU costs Rs. 12,999.

All the variants are available for pre booking on Flipkart from today.

The back panel has brushed metallic finish, houses volume rockers and a 13 MP camera with LED flash

Talking about the design, Zenfone 2 looks like a merger of HTC One M8 and LG G3. The removable back panel that houses the micro SD and SIM card slots has given a brushed metallic finish. There is a 3000 mAh battery which is however non-removable. The volume rockers are placed just below the 13 MP camera lens, just like LG G2 and other variants.

The top edge has the Power button and 3.5mm headphone jack

However the power/wake button is placed on top, which is kind of unreachable because of the big size of Zenfone 2. Overall the design is good, it sits easily in your hands because of the curves edges and feels quite sturdy.

The 4 GB variant has a Full HD display which is bright and has good viewing angles, moreover the screen has minimal bezels on either sides

The front consists mostly of 5.5 inch display with minimal bezels. There are three touch capacitive buttons- Back, Home and Recent apps at the bottom of the display. The 1080p screen on the 4 GB variant is very sharp. The colours look vibrant and display has good viewing angles. And likewise previous Zenfones, the signature concentric circle metallic bar is provided at the bottom.

The top has a 5 MP camera and a speaker grill

Asus Zen UI is now flatter and has got some new additions, such as new themes, Snapview to create separate user profiles, ZenMotion for gestures, etc. The overall UI looks clean and impressive.The dual-SIM ZenFone 2 runs on the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop with the company's ZenUI skin on top.

The ZenUI has got some upgrades. The notification center now follows the floating style of Android 5.0 Lollipop

The UI is mostly similar to the previous Zenfone models with some noticeable additions from Google's Android Lollipop such as new floating notifications system.

The 13 MP rear f/2.0 camera is integrated with the updated PixelMaster 2.0 technology. However, Zenfone 2 has some new modes for photography enthusiasts, such as Super resolution, Manual mode etc Low Light mode, Beautification, Super HDR. We will give you the complete performance review in the coming week.

These are various rear panels for Zenfone 2

Asus has also showcased some attractive rear panels for the Zenfone 2 that can be bought separately. Moreover some other accessories such as View Flip cover (Rs. 1,599), Zen Earphones (Rs. 599), Zen Powerbank (1,499) and two flash lights Lolliflash (799) and Zenflash (1,599) were showcased.