Asus is playing the price card really aggressively as it attempes to swamp the North American market with its new ZenFone 2. Towards that, the 2 GB ZenFone 2 has been priced $199 while its high-end version with 4 gigs on-board commands $299, both sim-free.
This makes for a really simple strategy that the Taiwanese company has adopted, to make available its top tier phones unlocked at the price that most high-end phone are sold for under a contract obligation, Engadget reported.
Price apart, the ZenFone 2 boasts of some impressive hardware specs, which includes a 64-bit Intel Atom 3560 chip rated at 1.8 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory. The latter is again expandable to 64 GB via microSD cards.
The ramped up version comes with an Intel Atom 3580 processor clocked at a higher 2.3 GHz, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory, all for hundred grands more.
These apart, both the versions offer 5.5 inch FHD Gorilla glass reinforced display and supports 4G capable dual sim connectivity, Mashable mentioned.
For the shutterbugs, the ZenFone 2 comes with a 5 and 13 megapixel front and rear camera setup, with the latter capable of full HD video recordings. Asus also stated there are a lot of enhancements included to allow for better photography in low-light conditions or for higher magnifications thanks to the PixelMaster mode that offers up to 52 megapixel resolution.
Launched in January during CES 2015, the ZenFone also comes with some exciting design cues like the volume buttons packed along the rear aka LG G3/G4. The device also comes with a curved rear that tapers off to a measly 0.15 inch along the edge.
On the performance front, while the ZenFone 2 may not have the specs to take on the likes of the iPhone 6S or the Galaxy S6, the Asus offering does impress with the way it is able to take on demanding apps or games. The phone has already sold over 10 million in Europe and Asia where it was launched prior to its introduction in the North American market and does make for a compelling choice for those looking for a phone with top-tier performance at less than half the price.