The Asus ZenFone 2 is one of the very pleasant surprises unveiled at CES 2015. Asus really outdid itself in its signature value-for-money territory, outing a phone with 1080p display, 13 MP camera, fast 64-bit processor, and a hearty battery for two Benjamins in starting price.
Design: taking a cue
Taking a little cue from LG, the ZenFone 2 sports a volume rocker placed fair and square on the back of the phone. By the company's own calculations, its phablet has a screen-to-body ratio of 72%, which falls in the middle as far as 2014 devices are concerned, and offers the passable dimensions of 6 x 3.03 x 0.43 in (152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9 mm), though nothing extraordinary like the G3, for instance.
The ZenFone 2 has a chassis with a brushed metal texture, which again reminds strongly of the G3, and the dual tone flash on the back does nothing to disperse this impression. Asus is not being unoriginal, though, and promises a number of special Transfusion and Illusion models with rather unique shells – the former line combines two colors, while the latter offers some odd patterns to go with the phone's shell.
Display
The Zenfone 2 display is a Gorilla Glass 3-protected, 5.5-inch panel with a flagship-standard resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, returning an excellent 403 pixels per inch count, and offering 400 nits of brightness. There's really nothing to stand out in the screen specs department here, but for this starting price Asus's offering is more than generous, and will fit most everyone's needs.
Processor and memory: first with 4 GB RAM and 64-bit mobile Atom
Asus has a long history with Intel's mobile processors, and the ZenFone 2 isn't breaking that trend, though it is now a trailblazer for the new 64-bit frugal Atom silicon. Namely, it sticks with the LTE-enabled Intel Atom Z3580 processor with four cores that can reach frequencies of up to 1.8GHz, and a PowerVR G6430 GPU with OpenGL 3.0 support. This processor is proven to be both fast and frugal, so you won't have any issues running the latest and greatest Android software on the ZenFone, including heavy 3D games.
The company's biggest surprise with the handset is left for the memory department, though. The ZenFone 2 might start you off with 2 GB of RAM in the basic version, but the more expensive ones will come with 4 GB of RAM, making it the first smartphone announced with more than 3 GB of RAM, which the native 64-bit Android support, and the new 64-bit processors make possible now. Asus claims seven times faster gaming performance than the previous ZenFone edition, which has to count for something.
Camera
The camera at the back is a 13-megapixel unit with 5 element, f/2.0 aperture lens, complemented by a dual-color Real Tone LED flash. At the front, we are looking at a respectable, 5-megapixel selfie snapper with wide-angle (85-degree) lens, and an option to shoot selfie panoramas.
Asus also made it clear over and over again that its PixelMaster software is available with both cams and offers goodies such as a low light shooting mode that can supposedly snap photos that are up to 400% brighter, though the digital noise at this level will likely be pretty visible, too.
SIM: Dual SIM dual standby-by dual active
Storage: 4GB RAM + 16GB ROM (+ MicroSD)
Support Gravity/Light/Proximity Sensing System
FM/MP3/MP4/Bluetooth/GPS/Wifi Function Supported
You come here, posting 0 deals and you attack a longstanding member with hundreds of posts based on seeing her 2 (very hot) deal posts from the same company?
louiselouise to FoxTwist
10 May 163#20
Eh? I only did a Deal for another ASUS phone about a week ago and that's the only one.
I simply add Deals from finds out shopping, email newsletters, and I take time to add pictures and reviews, and lists (I go into listmania mode if I have time) - simply to be a good Hotukdeals member. There's zero in it for me.
johnnyd57uk
10 May 163#7
There are loads of good phones out there with better specs and lower prices . The review below says it all.
Display
Screen type: Capacitive
Screen size: 5.5 inch
Screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 (FHD)
Camera
Camera type: Dual cameras (one front one back)
Back-camera: 13.0MP (Dual flashlight)
Front camera: 5.0MP
Media Formats
Picture format: BMP,GIF,JPEG,PNG
Music format: AAC,MP3,WAV
Video format: 3GP,MP4
MS Office format: Excel,PPT,Word
E-book format: PDF,TXT
Live wallpaper support: Yes
Other Features
I/O Interface: 2 x Micro SIM Card Slot,3.5mm Audio Out Port
Sensor: Gesture Sensor,Gravity Sensor,Proximity Sensor
Additional Features: 3G,4G,Bluetooth,Browser,E-book,FM,GPS,MP3,MP4,People,Sound Recorder,Video Call,Wi-Fi
Battery
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3000mAh
Package Contents
Cell Phone: 1
Power Adapter: 1
USB Cable: 1
Dimensions and Weight
Product size: 15.52 x 7.72 x 1.09 cm / 6.11 x 3.04 x 0.43 inches
Package size: 19.00 x 12.00 x 6.00 cm / 7.48 x 4.72 x 2.36 inches
Product weight: 0.170 kg
Package weight: 0.550 kg
louiselouise
10 May 16#2
louiselouise
10 May 16#3
tfish
10 May 16#4
Nice!
AndyRoyd
10 May 161#5
Am I correct in thinking it is missing a UK 4G band?
Boyee to AndyRoyd
10 May 16#12
Doesn't show the 800 band for 02, looks like other providers will work from the looks of it
jacjacatac
10 May 16#6
What's unique about a 3000mhz battery? My 4 year old Note has a 3200mhz bat.
Not liking the spiel but the spec seems excellent for the price.
Am I missing something with the cold votes?
Voted hot anyways.
fishmaster to jacjacatac
10 May 16#18
milliampere hour (mAh) not Megahertz (MHz)
johnnyd57uk
10 May 163#7
There are loads of good phones out there with better specs and lower prices . The review below says it all.
I bought the 64gb version of this and have to say I'm very impressed overall. The only issue with it, which I hope will be rectified soon, is that I can't watch my sky sports mobile or do mobile banking on it. Something to do with it being an Intel processor apparently. Apart from that a very good phone.
djames108 to philreid1
10 May 16#11
ive got the same model and can do internet banking....although I'm Lloyd and hsbc
sam_of_london to philreid1
10 May 16#16
Intel sucks in mobile phones. Many other apps are incompatible with x86 chipset Intel crap inside. Plus the modem is not comparable to Qualcomm. So Qualcomm sells for premium and no one wants Intel chips in mobile phones
djames108
10 May 16#10
aren't the lower specs ze550ml?
philreid1
10 May 161#13
i get 3 4g fine
philreid1
10 May 161#14
Not working with Barclays... phoned them. They said it was a security thing with Intel in these phones.
sam_of_london
10 May 161#15
No UK 800 4g band so not for me. Much better phones on sale with UK 800 band and qualcomm 4g modem than the Intel inside in this phone at similar price. Intel failed in mobile space so now has cancelled all new mobile phone chips this year and is laying of more than 15000 staff due to mounting loss. Hope Zenphone 3 to be launched this month has UK band modem inside otherwise no good as a phone.
antos
10 May 16#17
Only thing I don't like about it, is the front of the phone would prefer it if the front matched the back in colour =(
FoxTwist
10 May 16#19
is the lady sponsored by asus by any chance?! a lot of promoting there!
louiselouise to FoxTwist
10 May 163#20
Eh? I only did a Deal for another ASUS phone about a week ago and that's the only one.
I simply add Deals from finds out shopping, email newsletters, and I take time to add pictures and reviews, and lists (I go into listmania mode if I have time) - simply to be a good Hotukdeals member. There's zero in it for me.
MAXSTARR
10 May 162#21
Heat for the price, but wouldn't touch gearbest with a barge pole. Been waiting three weeks for delivery of a Note 3... Paid extra for EU warehouse delivery. Absolute con of a company. I know no one will listen to this, as I ignored every negative view of gearbest I read, but if I help one person I'll be happy. Nothing against yourself OP. Id just recommend paying more from a better seller.
louiselouise
10 May 16#22
I've only ordered one thing from Gearbest (from the thread about the Cube iwork10/Linx 10 keyboard) which was just under £13. Not sure I'd spend much more to be honest!
louiselouise
10 May 16#23
With Gearbest/other Chinese e-tailers, I think there is a gap in the market for a company that offers stellar customer service (like Amazon) - if such a site existed word of mouth would put all the others out of business pretty damn quickly.
The feeling that you're dealing with a lottery - will it turn up? Will the seller keep extending the delivery time to try to get out of Paypal buyer protection? Will the device die on me after a few months with no comeback?
These all need to be addressed, it's a real shame because customer loyalty would make them more money in the long run.
jaydeeuk1
11 May 16#24
Normally id agree, but as its over £100 use your credit card and if they dick you about, whack em with a chargeback.
amour3k
11 May 16#25
Luvvvvvvvv'ing the Red one, very sexy, lol. :-)
cicobuff
11 May 16#26
This is always what puts me off buying any Chinese branded phones that do not have any presence in Europe.
Firstly many have no overseas operations for any warranty repair. Secondly it is bad enough putting faith in some UK retailers that sell mobile phones let alone any Chinese online retailer.
Amazing that the likes of Xiaomi being the largest Chinese phone manufacturer have no operations outside of China other than in India, and then you get companies such as ASUS, Lenovo etc that do but their phones whilst being GSM compatible are marketed for the Chinese market.
Nexusfifth
11 May 16#27
The issue has a lot to do with copyright/patent laws, which by the way (more or less, more on the more side) don't exist in China. This is one of the reasons they are able to sell such great specs for little money.
If say Xiaomi officially sold phones in UK then all the big companies whose patents they are using could sue them, it is unfortunately as simple as that. The only option is if xiaomi or others actually take the effort to produce a phone which is compliant. But I think even that wouldn't stop their asses being sued.
One of the reasons this phone is cheap is the Intel processor in it, I think Intel was giving processors away for free at some point to get market share, (if they put that intel inside nonsense on the phones), not sure if it is this one.
In my experience intel processors (albeit in android and windows tablets) were pretty decent, never skipped a beat and never had compatibility issues. (Note also this is x64 rather than x86 as someone was arguing.) I also don't see the point of qualcomm fanboys, this really isn't much worse than say an S610 or so, according to benchmarks and I am sad to see qualcomm almost getting a monopoly. (I don't like Samsung, but am routing for exynos all the way here.)
cicobuff
11 May 16#28
Considering Xiaomi are ahead of the likes of ZTE and Huawei in sales you would think they would want to expand by making compliant phones for the European market, or at least do what they have done by manufacturing phones for rebranding for mobile phone providers such as ZTE have done with the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6.
Nexusfifth
11 May 16#29
Well to be honest, European market is pretty small and well saturated as well as full of customers with high expectations and they would lose the main edge of very good prices.
I think India is a far more appealing market for them.
It is not that simple to make a phone which doesn't break patent laws, for example all the big ones (Google, Apple, Samsung,...) are constantly on trial for some patents, they would also need law divisions etc.
The fact you want them to come to Europe is based on the fact you are not willing to pay a lot and are expecting high level of service...
Nexusfifth
11 May 164#30
Really mate? Really?
You come here, posting 0 deals and you attack a longstanding member with hundreds of posts based on seeing her 2 (very hot) deal posts from the same company?
cicobuff
11 May 16#31
Is there anything wrong with that? ZTE and Huawei manage to do it. Not to mention a lot of Chinese phones specs are similar to what our premium phones were 1-2 years ago and generally filtered down in cost to be as competitive. Such as the LG G3 for around £150 in comparison to something like the Xiaomi Note 3 for similar cost but without the added grief of questionable warranty and dealing with the likes of Gearbest.
topazz
11 May 16#32
Hmm. If I was to take another roll of the dice on the great Gearbest gamble, i don't think it would be on this LG G3 knockoff. I used to own a G3 and it is an ace phone. There are plenty of good uk LG G3 refurbs out there that come with a proper warranty. I'm currently thoroughly enjoying the Ulefone Power but if i was going Chinese again i'd prefer to go for something more capable and interesting than the asus, something like the Redmi Note Pro 3 for one.
topazz
11 May 16#33
Oh and don't forget Quidco. 6% for a new customer and 3% for existing.
djames108
11 May 16#34
not found an incompatible app yet, and what this nonsense about the modem.......stop picking flies, its a good phone
plus as far as bands go I've just changed to giffgaff (o2 network) and 4g works fine. As long as it cones with the ww firmware then UK bands are available. If not its quite easy to flash ww firmware on it like I did as mine was cn when I got mine
ws007
11 May 16#35
It's not a security issue, it's a laziness issue, Intel CPU's are a new comer to Android phones, so some apps need a bit of reprogramming for them to work, some companies can't be bothered :disappointed:
splender
11 May 161#36
All big money manufacturers and MI5, CIA, KGB...post here to manipulate the markets and influence voters. That's why this forum has moderators to inspect suspicious posts.
splender
11 May 161#37
FoxTwist, by virtue of just signing on this forum on 20 April 2016, posted third comment ever, appeared to be exactly as my post above, a paid agent to "control" our minds, to insinuate something to influence our view of this product. These agents are all over the social networks, including spies, policemen, politicians' agents...
Gearbest1
11 May 16#38
Dear MAXSTARR,
This is Gearbest Store Rep. Alice
We sincerely sorry to hear that.
Haven't received your Note 3 yet ? Could you please PM me your order number/details for checking ?
We will do our best to help you.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Alice
check_your_bank
11 May 161#39
I know that it doesn't work for Barclays either or Halifax and several other i think , sent one back for this exact issue as couldn't even use internet banking on laptop without it (needed to use pinsentry which is part of the app)
Shame, its a nice phone, but this is a major showstopper for most people - the banks need to build x86 compatible apps, no fault of Asus for using the intel processor as its fast , but obviously this compromise slipped the cracks.
Other option is switch to a bank that does have an x86 app, i tried all the bank apps when i discovered the issue and only 1 worked if i remember rightly - this was a couple of months ago though.
The app for barclays didn't say it was incompatible on playstore , it just didnt work , so when i complained to barclays and got to the bottom of it i got a £100 for my troubles, to cover the money effectively wasted on a phone i had to replace again.
I dont if they have updated the compatibility requirements on playstore yet but they assured me it would be fixed.
Besford
11 May 16#40
Good to see someone has their priorities sorted! :wink:
ChutneyFerret
11 May 16#41
Had one of these. Nice phones but if it goes wrong you're screwed - was going to cost me more to repair than the price here. Tech support is appalling and repair costs, even just for screens are exhorbitant. High street repair places look at them strangely and don't know what to do with them. Don't work on all UK networks so make sure you check.
9El9Nino9
11 May 16#42
that's not true at all. flashing the WW firmware won't enable the LTE bands.
it depends which version of the zenfone 2 you buy. there are 3 main ZE551ML devices on the market, CN, TW and WW.
CN is China bands. TW is Taiwan and WW is rest of the world.
the one on sale here is the CN one. it won't enable band 20 (800Mhz). i know this as i've just given 1 for free to "recycle". i got a customer a xiaomi redmi note 3 pro instead as he uses VM and Orange(still not updated to EE) and doesn't care much.
the zenfone 2 TW can enable the 800mhz band with a bootloader unlock according to forums. i don't have 1 to test out.
the WW already has band 20.
the device i was given had a CN rom on it. i flashed the WW rom and downgraded to bootloader unlock it using 2.19.40. you flash fastboot droidimg.img and the respective recovery rom and then adb sideload the official rom. job done.
vodafone only uses the 800mhz where i love, not any of its other bands so i did test out. my other devices pull 4g yet the zenfone was in emergency mode only. i had got into *#*#info#*#* and selected LTE only to really test it. and even tried all the other options. i got 3g and 2g easily on the phone and made calls and browsed. it just wouldn't connect to 800mhz.
Chutney: as for spares, it's easy to find on ebay and do it yourself. it's simple enough.
screen is 20 quid online from amazon or ebay from a uk supplier. mask off broken glass with tape. and pull it off the edge. it really couldn't be any easier. remove the screws, pop the battery ribbon off, pop the 2 ribbons off for the old screen. reverse process of fitting.
my own usage compared to xiaomi redmi note 3 pro(sd version)- both devices are smooth. i used the 4gb ram version the zenfone compared to both the 3gb and the 2gb ram version on the xiaomi.
i find the 2gb model of the xiaomi to be spot on. does everything i need, 3gb for MY needs is overkill but might be what others need so 4gb on the zenfone a bit too over kill for me. battery life on both devices is fine. YMMV!
i thing that doesn't get talked about is the different technology the zenfone uses for dual sim compared to other manufacturers.
most use standby method, where as the asus uses the active method. what this means both lines are active. i like this feature. i can put people on hold and take an important call on the other line if i need to rather than send it to VM.
yet, out the 2 i'd by the Xiaomi, its cheaper, camera is slight better, software is updated more frequently, has a gimmick finger print reader an is a lot lighter but feels nice. 4000mah battery a bonus though miui does use a bit more than stock android.
the asus is slightly heavier. has NFC but their implementation is a bit strange compared to other devices.
while people complain about the intel processor, i think its more than capable, but not a patch on the 650SD. modem wise the 650 is newer and supports a faster LTE standards.
o and i forgot, asus is pretty much like an LG g2//g3/g4 type of device-i like my g2 and g4. asus use the volume rockers at the back but power on top near the headphone jack. they implemented double tap to wake on the device too and you can buy quick circle cases for this device.
the Xiaomi official flip case is just a faux leather cover. works well but sometimes you might like to see who's calling though a window or something rather than opening up the cover completely.
djames108 to 9El9Nino9
11 May 16#45
your comment was a bit lengthy so I didn't bother reading it all so sorry :smile:
however I can assure you that I changed my cn to ww and am on 4g (as indicated by the 4g icon and the 38mb speed test), this is on giffgaff which uses 800mhz.
topss
11 May 16#43
You mean a deal with lots of relevant detail to help 'new' members like yourself.
weldermike
11 May 161#44
I bought the phone last year and wish I didn't, got hooked by the hype, nothing special and to top it off, have had to replace the speaker 3 times already and it's rubbish when working 100%, save your money and look somewhere else.
SIM1 Support2G/3G/4G
SIM2 Support2G (Call only)
Dual SIM Dual Active
djames108
11 May 16#46
the simple fix for this would be to just put a shortcut to the banking login page on your home screen so it functions like the app.......the app after all is just a posh version of the mobile site and still connects the same way
FoxTwist
13 May 16#48
You really need to unclench mate...
FoxTwist
13 May 16#49
glad someone has got a sense of humour. :wink:
absoluteLHerb
13 May 16#50
I bought this handset last year and I must say that, in my experience, while the spec is great, the build is not.
The screen is flimsy at best, the camera had stopped working altogether 10 months in. (after one, light, 10cm drop)
Quotes from the UK based Asus repair partner were astronomical and their service was questionable.
Voted hot as the price is great for a solid mid-range spec but be prepared to treat with kids gloves.
This or an Iphone 5S refrbished B grade from o2? btw does anyone know if you can still do the tricke where you pay off the monthly handset cost on o2 refresh and just cancel the airtime + get an unlock, if not my question is irrelevant.
tfish
5 Jul 16#53
Does anyone know how to upgrade this to marshmallow?
tfish
5 Jul 16#54
I've figured out the problem. This arrived with the wrong firmware on. z008. The wrong one for this handset! No wonder OTA wont work.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
Design: taking a cue
Taking a little cue from LG, the ZenFone 2 sports a volume rocker placed fair and square on the back of the phone. By the company's own calculations, its phablet has a screen-to-body ratio of 72%, which falls in the middle as far as 2014 devices are concerned, and offers the passable dimensions of 6 x 3.03 x 0.43 in (152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9 mm), though nothing extraordinary like the G3, for instance.
The ZenFone 2 has a chassis with a brushed metal texture, which again reminds strongly of the G3, and the dual tone flash on the back does nothing to disperse this impression. Asus is not being unoriginal, though, and promises a number of special Transfusion and Illusion models with rather unique shells – the former line combines two colors, while the latter offers some odd patterns to go with the phone's shell.
Display
The Zenfone 2 display is a Gorilla Glass 3-protected, 5.5-inch panel with a flagship-standard resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, returning an excellent 403 pixels per inch count, and offering 400 nits of brightness. There's really nothing to stand out in the screen specs department here, but for this starting price Asus's offering is more than generous, and will fit most everyone's needs.
Processor and memory: first with 4 GB RAM and 64-bit mobile Atom
Asus has a long history with Intel's mobile processors, and the ZenFone 2 isn't breaking that trend, though it is now a trailblazer for the new 64-bit frugal Atom silicon. Namely, it sticks with the LTE-enabled Intel Atom Z3580 processor with four cores that can reach frequencies of up to 1.8GHz, and a PowerVR G6430 GPU with OpenGL 3.0 support. This processor is proven to be both fast and frugal, so you won't have any issues running the latest and greatest Android software on the ZenFone, including heavy 3D games.
The company's biggest surprise with the handset is left for the memory department, though. The ZenFone 2 might start you off with 2 GB of RAM in the basic version, but the more expensive ones will come with 4 GB of RAM, making it the first smartphone announced with more than 3 GB of RAM, which the native 64-bit Android support, and the new 64-bit processors make possible now. Asus claims seven times faster gaming performance than the previous ZenFone edition, which has to count for something.
Camera
The camera at the back is a 13-megapixel unit with 5 element, f/2.0 aperture lens, complemented by a dual-color Real Tone LED flash. At the front, we are looking at a respectable, 5-megapixel selfie snapper with wide-angle (85-degree) lens, and an option to shoot selfie panoramas.
Asus also made it clear over and over again that its PixelMaster software is available with both cams and offers goodies such as a low light shooting mode that can supposedly snap photos that are up to 400% brighter, though the digital noise at this level will likely be pretty visible, too.
SIM: Dual SIM dual standby-by dual active
Storage: 4GB RAM + 16GB ROM (+ MicroSD)
Support Gravity/Light/Proximity Sensing System
FM/MP3/MP4/Bluetooth/GPS/Wifi Function Supported
Networks:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100MHz
Top comments
You come here, posting 0 deals and you attack a longstanding member with hundreds of posts based on seeing her 2 (very hot) deal posts from the same company?
I simply add Deals from finds out shopping, email newsletters, and I take time to add pictures and reviews, and lists (I go into listmania mode if I have time) - simply to be a good Hotukdeals member. There's zero in it for me.
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/asus-zenfone-2-1279756/review
This one would knock spots off it from here 2 weeks ago.
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/xiaomi-redmi-note-3-pro-2gb-ram-16gb-rom-5-5-fhd-metal-body-fingerprint-snapdragon-2428748
All comments (54)
Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JupHeBThhU (says this has a non-removable battery at 1:30)
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML VS Note 4 - Speed & Camera Test! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st0eS2NeLQE
Brand: ASUS
Type: 4G Smartphone
OS: Android 5.0
Service Provide: Unlocked
Language: Japanese, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Afrikaans, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Catala, Cestina, Dansk, Deutsch, Eesti, English, Spanish, Euskara, Filipino, French, Galego, Harvatski, IsiZulu, Italian, Kiswahili, Latviesu, Lietuviu, Magyar, Nederlands, Norsk bokmal, Ozbekcha, Polski, Portuguese, Romana, Rumantsch, Slovenscina, Suomi, Svenska, Vietnamese, Turkish, Greek, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Thai, Korean
SIM Card Slot: Dual SIM,Dual Standby
SIM Card Type: Dual Micro SIM Card
Hardware
CPU: Z3560
Cores: 1.8GHz,Quad Core
GPU: PowerVR G6430
Radio/Modem: Intel 7262 + Intel 2230
RAM: 4GB RAM
ROM: 16GB
External Memory: TF card up to 64GB (not included)
Network
Wireless Connectivity: 3G,4G,Bluetooth,GPS,GSM,WiFi
WIFI: 802.11b/g/n wireless internet
Network type: GSM+WCDMA+LTE-FDD
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100MHz
Display
Screen type: Capacitive
Screen size: 5.5 inch
Screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 (FHD)
Camera
Camera type: Dual cameras (one front one back)
Back-camera: 13.0MP (Dual flashlight)
Front camera: 5.0MP
Media Formats
Picture format: BMP,GIF,JPEG,PNG
Music format: AAC,MP3,WAV
Video format: 3GP,MP4
MS Office format: Excel,PPT,Word
E-book format: PDF,TXT
Live wallpaper support: Yes
Other Features
I/O Interface: 2 x Micro SIM Card Slot,3.5mm Audio Out Port
Sensor: Gesture Sensor,Gravity Sensor,Proximity Sensor
Additional Features: 3G,4G,Bluetooth,Browser,E-book,FM,GPS,MP3,MP4,People,Sound Recorder,Video Call,Wi-Fi
Battery
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3000mAh
Package Contents
Cell Phone: 1
Power Adapter: 1
USB Cable: 1
Dimensions and Weight
Product size: 15.52 x 7.72 x 1.09 cm / 6.11 x 3.04 x 0.43 inches
Package size: 19.00 x 12.00 x 6.00 cm / 7.48 x 4.72 x 2.36 inches
Product weight: 0.170 kg
Package weight: 0.550 kg
Not liking the spiel but the spec seems excellent for the price.
Am I missing something with the cold votes?
Voted hot anyways.
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/asus-zenfone-2-1279756/review
This one would knock spots off it from here 2 weeks ago.
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/xiaomi-redmi-note-3-pro-2gb-ram-16gb-rom-5-5-fhd-metal-body-fingerprint-snapdragon-2428748
I simply add Deals from finds out shopping, email newsletters, and I take time to add pictures and reviews, and lists (I go into listmania mode if I have time) - simply to be a good Hotukdeals member. There's zero in it for me.
The feeling that you're dealing with a lottery - will it turn up? Will the seller keep extending the delivery time to try to get out of Paypal buyer protection? Will the device die on me after a few months with no comeback?
These all need to be addressed, it's a real shame because customer loyalty would make them more money in the long run.
Firstly many have no overseas operations for any warranty repair. Secondly it is bad enough putting faith in some UK retailers that sell mobile phones let alone any Chinese online retailer.
Amazing that the likes of Xiaomi being the largest Chinese phone manufacturer have no operations outside of China other than in India, and then you get companies such as ASUS, Lenovo etc that do but their phones whilst being GSM compatible are marketed for the Chinese market.
If say Xiaomi officially sold phones in UK then all the big companies whose patents they are using could sue them, it is unfortunately as simple as that. The only option is if xiaomi or others actually take the effort to produce a phone which is compliant. But I think even that wouldn't stop their asses being sued.
One of the reasons this phone is cheap is the Intel processor in it, I think Intel was giving processors away for free at some point to get market share, (if they put that intel inside nonsense on the phones), not sure if it is this one.
In my experience intel processors (albeit in android and windows tablets) were pretty decent, never skipped a beat and never had compatibility issues. (Note also this is x64 rather than x86 as someone was arguing.) I also don't see the point of qualcomm fanboys, this really isn't much worse than say an S610 or so, according to benchmarks and I am sad to see qualcomm almost getting a monopoly. (I don't like Samsung, but am routing for exynos all the way here.)
I think India is a far more appealing market for them.
It is not that simple to make a phone which doesn't break patent laws, for example all the big ones (Google, Apple, Samsung,...) are constantly on trial for some patents, they would also need law divisions etc.
The fact you want them to come to Europe is based on the fact you are not willing to pay a lot and are expecting high level of service...
You come here, posting 0 deals and you attack a longstanding member with hundreds of posts based on seeing her 2 (very hot) deal posts from the same company?
plus as far as bands go I've just changed to giffgaff (o2 network) and 4g works fine. As long as it cones with the ww firmware then UK bands are available. If not its quite easy to flash ww firmware on it like I did as mine was cn when I got mine
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Shame, its a nice phone, but this is a major showstopper for most people - the banks need to build x86 compatible apps, no fault of Asus for using the intel processor as its fast , but obviously this compromise slipped the cracks.
Other option is switch to a bank that does have an x86 app, i tried all the bank apps when i discovered the issue and only 1 worked if i remember rightly - this was a couple of months ago though.
The app for barclays didn't say it was incompatible on playstore , it just didnt work , so when i complained to barclays and got to the bottom of it i got a £100 for my troubles, to cover the money effectively wasted on a phone i had to replace again.
I dont if they have updated the compatibility requirements on playstore yet but they assured me it would be fixed.
it depends which version of the zenfone 2 you buy. there are 3 main ZE551ML devices on the market, CN, TW and WW.
CN is China bands. TW is Taiwan and WW is rest of the world.
the one on sale here is the CN one. it won't enable band 20 (800Mhz). i know this as i've just given 1 for free to "recycle". i got a customer a xiaomi redmi note 3 pro instead as he uses VM and Orange(still not updated to EE) and doesn't care much.
the zenfone 2 TW can enable the 800mhz band with a bootloader unlock according to forums. i don't have 1 to test out.
the WW already has band 20.
the device i was given had a CN rom on it. i flashed the WW rom and downgraded to bootloader unlock it using 2.19.40. you flash fastboot droidimg.img and the respective recovery rom and then adb sideload the official rom. job done.
vodafone only uses the 800mhz where i love, not any of its other bands so i did test out. my other devices pull 4g yet the zenfone was in emergency mode only. i had got into *#*#info#*#* and selected LTE only to really test it. and even tried all the other options. i got 3g and 2g easily on the phone and made calls and browsed. it just wouldn't connect to 800mhz.
Chutney: as for spares, it's easy to find on ebay and do it yourself. it's simple enough.
screen is 20 quid online from amazon or ebay from a uk supplier. mask off broken glass with tape. and pull it off the edge. it really couldn't be any easier. remove the screws, pop the battery ribbon off, pop the 2 ribbons off for the old screen. reverse process of fitting.
my own usage compared to xiaomi redmi note 3 pro(sd version)- both devices are smooth. i used the 4gb ram version the zenfone compared to both the 3gb and the 2gb ram version on the xiaomi.
i find the 2gb model of the xiaomi to be spot on. does everything i need, 3gb for MY needs is overkill but might be what others need so 4gb on the zenfone a bit too over kill for me. battery life on both devices is fine. YMMV!
i thing that doesn't get talked about is the different technology the zenfone uses for dual sim compared to other manufacturers.
most use standby method, where as the asus uses the active method. what this means both lines are active. i like this feature. i can put people on hold and take an important call on the other line if i need to rather than send it to VM.
yet, out the 2 i'd by the Xiaomi, its cheaper, camera is slight better, software is updated more frequently, has a gimmick finger print reader an is a lot lighter but feels nice. 4000mah battery a bonus though miui does use a bit more than stock android.
the asus is slightly heavier. has NFC but their implementation is a bit strange compared to other devices.
while people complain about the intel processor, i think its more than capable, but not a patch on the 650SD. modem wise the 650 is newer and supports a faster LTE standards.
o and i forgot, asus is pretty much like an LG g2//g3/g4 type of device-i like my g2 and g4. asus use the volume rockers at the back but power on top near the headphone jack. they implemented double tap to wake on the device too and you can buy quick circle cases for this device.
the Xiaomi official flip case is just a faux leather cover. works well but sometimes you might like to see who's calling though a window or something rather than opening up the cover completely.
however I can assure you that I changed my cn to ww and am on 4g (as indicated by the 4g icon and the 38mb speed test), this is on giffgaff which uses 800mhz.
SIM1 Support2G/3G/4G
SIM2 Support2G (Call only)
Dual SIM Dual Active
The screen is flimsy at best, the camera had stopped working altogether 10 months in. (after one, light, 10cm drop)
Quotes from the UK based Asus repair partner were astronomical and their service was questionable.
Voted hot as the price is great for a solid mid-range spec but be prepared to treat with kids gloves.
see here (under global) -
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6917