The ASUS Zenfone 5: First Impression/Hands-on
ASUS made a huge comeback with its android mobile phones this year, 2014. Just this last July, ASUS introduced a new phone called ASUS Zenfone 5
this month and will later release or perhaps have the Zenfone 6
available in the market here in the Philippines soon. The ZenFone 5 especially got my attention, considering the specs, design and price range (P6,495.00) It's good timing too because I need a new phone for my mom
as a gift for her birthday. :) So let's get it started! :D
I fell in love with the phone as soon as I saw it.The design looks classy with a wide 5 inch
display. The back cover is plastic and can
be removed. It comes with multiple colors from Charcoal Black/Pearl
White/Cherry Red/Twilight Purple/Champagne Gold. I chose the Gold one
since they only have Black and Gold in stock. I bough the phone at SM
Santa Rosa, Philippines, ASUS outlet.
As for the packaging, it comes with the a USB charger, a headset
(the design is kinda new to me so I took a picture of it), spare ear
buds and the manual. ASUS made the packaging as simple as possible but
still looks elegant at the same time.
The volume rocker and the power button are placed in the right
position as well as the audio jack. The phone is not that bulky and only
weighs about 145 g.
The phone is also equipped with a 2X2: Intel® Atom™ Multi-Core
Z2580/Z2560 Processor 2.0/1.6GHz with Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, a
2GB RAM (1GB is also available but why go with that) and an 8/16 GB
internal storage. It also comes with 4.3 Android version and an update
to KITKAT 4.4 will be available soon. ASUS was also generous enough to
put an SD Card slot on the phone to maximize the storage up to 64 GB. I
got the 8 GB version wih 2 GB RAM.
Yes, I'm using my Samsung S3 phone to take pictures. :P
At the back of the box, you can see the bar code that includes the
phone's internal memory and the RAM. So please check it out before you
purchase one.
I was really surprised with the screen of the phone as it comes
with 5 inches, HD 1280x720, IPS with Capacitive Multi touch panel Corning®
Gorilla® Glass 3, Supports GloveTouch input (based on ASUS webpage).
The colors are bright and vibrant and is good for watching videos or
viewing pictures.
The notification and lock screen is also impressive with the new
ASUS ZenUI which gives a new Android experience to everyone. It may not
be the new Android L but it's still amazing. (Sorry, I think I’m becoming a fan!:P)
Speaking of performance, the ASUS Zenfone 5 is
incredibly smooth! Some
say that the phone is "laggy" but so far, so good. Updates are readily
available once you connect the phone to the Internet so please update
the phone's firmware ASAP.
Antutu Benchmark was up to 19488 which is really impressive as it is higher than my Samsung S3 which is a Quad-Core phone.
Some apps are also pre-loaded on the phone like, Candy Crush, Pet Saga and the new app by ASUS "What's Next" and the "Omlet Chat" As I mentioned earlier, the new
ASUS ZenUI is a fresh OS (or maybe enhanced) which I really loved about
this phone. It's simple, fast and very unique (from my own point of
view. PLEASE don't freak out!)
Other cool improvements are as follows: Contacts, Dialer, Calendar, Calculator, Time Zone App, Weather App, and Power Saver.
Camera is 2 MP front and 8 MP rear. It may not be the best camera but it’s sure worth
the price. Now my mum can take good selfies! :D
The battery is about 2110 mAh Lithium and is not removable. Some
say it can last 353 hours (3G) on standby while 18.5 hours (3G)
Talktime. I was not able to test the battery myself YET but I will for
sure update this blog once I get my hands on this baby again.
There are rumors that Facebook App is not working properly or
collapses after you install it. Luckily, ASUS was able to update the
firmware to prevent it from happening. My mum's facebook app on her
phone is working great!
As a final verdict, the Cisco ASUS Zenfone 5 is
definitely one of the best budget phones in the market right now. It may be a
multi-core/dual-core phone but you should not let that affect your choices. There
are phones that are labeled as QUAD Core but man they suck. BIGTIME! I
don't want to mention models to respect these manufacturers though. :P The only downside of this phone is the
compatibility of the apps from googleplay store. I just downloaded the Camera 360 App, yes it works but there’s a glitch and camera is
not stable.
I hope a firmware fix will be out soon as well as the update for Kitkat.
You can also visit ASUS webpage to check a full introduction of the phone. Click here.
YES! She's one happy mother! :) <3
