Asus has announced three variants of ZenFone 2, the ZE551ML, the ZE550ML, and the ZE500CL.
At CES 2015, the company had promised for March release. According to a Korean publication, apart from Taiwan, the ZenFone 2 will be available in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and France starting in March, while other countries such as Italy and other Southeast Asian markets, including India, will launch in April. At the same time, Brazil’s release is scheduled for June 2015.
The new Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (4GB RAM) priced at TWD 8,990 (Roughly Rs. 18,000); the Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (2GB RAM) at TWD 6,990 (Roughly Rs. 13,900); Asus ZenFone 2 ZE550ML comes at TWD 5,990 (Roughly Rs. 11,900), and Asus ZenFone 2 ZE500CL is priced at TWD 4,990 (Roughly Rs. 9,900).
Asus has also claimed that the ZenFone 2 is the “industry’s first smartphone” packing 4GB of RAM. The 4GB RAM variant is powered by a 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core processor running at 2.3GHz, while another variant model has 2GB of RAM and is backed by a quad-core Intel Atom Z3560 processor, clocked at 1.8GHz.
The same Intel Atom Z3560 chipset also powers the ZenFone 2 ZE550ML. The basic ZenFone 2 ZE500CL model features a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 processor. All these versions support up to 64GB of microSD card.
The top model of the Asus ZenFone 2, which comes with 4GB of RAM, will also boast 32GB inbuilt storage and a 5.5-inch full-HD display. On another handset, the ZE551ML will also feature a 5.5-inch full-HD display, but it will be packed with just 2GB of RAM, alongside 32 GB of internal storage.
The Asus ZenFone 2 ZE550ML features a 5.5-inch HD display coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16 GB of inbuilt storage. It features a 5-inch HD display alongside 2GB of RAM and 16 GB of built-in storage. It supports only single-SIM, unlike other variants in the ZenFone-series.
These four variants run the company’s new ZenUI on the top with Google’s Android 5.0 Lollipop. The Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML and ZenFone 2 ZE550ML housing a 13-megapixel rear PixelMaster camera, while there is a 5-megapixel front camera on board for selfies and video calling. Both the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (4GB and 2GB RAM) models feature dual-tone flash. Simultaneously, the Zenfone 2 ZE500CL houses an 8-megapixel rear PixelMaster camera and a 2-megapixel camera at the front for selfies and video chatting.
On the connectivity front, both the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML and the ZenFone 2 ZE550ML include 4G LTE (Cat 4), dual-SIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS, and GLONASS. The ZenFone 2 ZE500CL supports 3G, dual-SIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS, and GLONASS.
Both, ZenFone 2 ZE551ML and the ZenFone 2 ZE550ML are backed by a 3000mAh battery, while a 2500mAh battery backs the Zenfone 2 ZE500CL. The firm also claims that the ZenFone 2 models support fast-charging technology and can charge up to 60 percent in just 39 minutes. It has an accelerometer, proximity, ambient-light, gyroscopic, and digital compass sensors.
