Asus ZenFone 2 Philippines Demo, Hands-On, and Exclusive Interview Videos
Like what I always tell you guys, I go to tech events in and outside the country with the main goal of bringing the events to you through my blog posts, photos, and videos. I feel very fortunate to have a profession that's indistinguishable from my passion and I feel equally blessed that I'm able to share this amazing adventure with all of you.
In line with that, I want to give you two exclusive and extensive demo and interview videos featuring the freshly launched Asus ZenFone 2. The first clip below was taken during the handset's South East Asia launch held at the Pullman Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia last April 21, 2015 and the second one was recorded just yesterday - May 16, 2015 - at the flagship smartphone's launch in the Philippines held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
For those who are seeing this handset for the first time, Asus ZenFone 2 is the Taiwanese company's 2015 flagship smartphone serving as the formal follow-up to the very successful ZenFone 4, 5, and 6 last year. The Philippines will be getting four official variants of this year's model with the following key internal hardware specs and official suggested retail prices:
ZE500CL 16GB HD / 2GB RAM / 1.6 GHz Dual Core 32-Bit Intel Atom Z2560 - Php 7,995
ZE551ML 16GB Full HD / 2GB RAM / 1.8 GHz Quad Core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3560 - Php 9,995
ZE551ML 32GB Full HD / 4GB RAM / 2.3 GHz Quad Core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 - Php 13,995
ZE551ML 64GB Full HD / 4GB RAM / 2.3 GHz Quad Core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 - Php 14,995
All of these versions feature the same Zen design elements, which include a sleek, brushed-metal finish and concentric-circle detailing, as well as new refinements, like a graceful curved case that tapers to an incredibly thin 3.9 mm at the edges. So how are they different from one another exactly, you ask? I'll talk about that in detail via a future blog post but off hand, they vary in terms of power and technical specifications. For instance, the most affordable model - ZE500CL - only has a 5.5-inch HD display, Dual Core 32-Bit Intel Atom Z2560 chipset, 8 MegaPixel main camera, 2 MegaPixel front cam, and a non-removable 2,500 mAh battery pack compared to the 5.5-inch Full HD display, Quad Core 64-Bit Intel Atom Z3560 and Z3580 chipset options, 13 MegaPixel main cam, 5 MP selfie camera, and 3,000 mAh battery pack of the more expensive ZE551ML models.
"We are very excited to bring ZenFone 2 to consumers in [the Philippines and the whole of] Southeast Asia," said Mr. Jerry Shen, Asus CEO. "[We believe] that the best technology should be used by a mass audience, and we have drawn on our considerable engineering expertise to create this empowering luxury for everyone to enjoy."
In line with that, I want to give you two exclusive and extensive demo and interview videos featuring the freshly launched Asus ZenFone 2. The first clip below was taken during the handset's South East Asia launch held at the Pullman Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia last April 21, 2015 and the second one was recorded just yesterday - May 16, 2015 - at the flagship smartphone's launch in the Philippines held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
With the Asus ZenFone 2 in Jakarta, Indonesia
For those who are seeing this handset for the first time, Asus ZenFone 2 is the Taiwanese company's 2015 flagship smartphone serving as the formal follow-up to the very successful ZenFone 4, 5, and 6 last year. The Philippines will be getting four official variants of this year's model with the following key internal hardware specs and official suggested retail prices:
ZE500CL 16GB HD / 2GB RAM / 1.6 GHz Dual Core 32-Bit Intel Atom Z2560 - Php 7,995
ZE551ML 16GB Full HD / 2GB RAM / 1.8 GHz Quad Core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3560 - Php 9,995
ZE551ML 32GB Full HD / 4GB RAM / 2.3 GHz Quad Core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 - Php 13,995
ZE551ML 64GB Full HD / 4GB RAM / 2.3 GHz Quad Core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 - Php 14,995
All of these versions feature the same Zen design elements, which include a sleek, brushed-metal finish and concentric-circle detailing, as well as new refinements, like a graceful curved case that tapers to an incredibly thin 3.9 mm at the edges. So how are they different from one another exactly, you ask? I'll talk about that in detail via a future blog post but off hand, they vary in terms of power and technical specifications. For instance, the most affordable model - ZE500CL - only has a 5.5-inch HD display, Dual Core 32-Bit Intel Atom Z2560 chipset, 8 MegaPixel main camera, 2 MegaPixel front cam, and a non-removable 2,500 mAh battery pack compared to the 5.5-inch Full HD display, Quad Core 64-Bit Intel Atom Z3560 and Z3580 chipset options, 13 MegaPixel main cam, 5 MP selfie camera, and 3,000 mAh battery pack of the more expensive ZE551ML models.
Mr. GP Padit, PR Specialist of Asus Philippines, graciously gave our community extensive demos of the Asus ZenFone 2's key features and capabilities - from the hardware to the user interface, from the PixelMaster camera to the benefits of 4GB of RAM.
"We are very excited to bring ZenFone 2 to consumers in [the Philippines and the whole of] Southeast Asia," said Mr. Jerry Shen, Asus CEO. "[We believe] that the best technology should be used by a mass audience, and we have drawn on our considerable engineering expertise to create this empowering luxury for everyone to enjoy."
| Name | Asus Zenfone 2 |
| Type | Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen) |
| Price Category | Midrange |
| Dimensions | 152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9 mm |
| Weight | 170 grams |
| Available Colors | Osmium Black, Sheer Gold, Glacier Gray, Glamor Red, Ceramic White |
| Operating System | Android 5.0 Lollipop with Zen UI |
| Display | ZE551ML: 5.5 inches (~403 ppi pixel density), 1080 x 1920 pixels, IPS+, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, Gorilla Glass 3 ZE500CL: 5.5 inches (~267 ppi pixel density) 720 x 1280 pixels, IPS+, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Processor | ZE551ML : 16GB version: Quad Core 64-bit 1.8 GHz Intel Atom Z3560 chipset with PowerVR G6430 GPU ZE551ML : 32GB and 64GB versions: Quad Core 64-bit 2.3 GHz Intel Atom Z3580 chipset with PowerVR G6430 GPU ZE500CL : 16GB version: Dual Core 32-bit 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Z2560 |
| RAM | 16GB version: 2 GB of RAM 32GB and 64GB version: 4 GB of RAM |
| Internal Storage | 16GB/32GB/64GB options, expandable via microSD card slot supporting up to 64GB |
| Camera | ZE551ML Main: 13 MegaPixels, 4208 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, Dual Tone LED flash Front: 5 MegaPixels ZE500CL Main: 8 MegaPixels 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, Dual Tone LED flash Front: 2 MegaPixels |
| Video Capture | Full HD 1080p 30 frames per second for main camera, HD for front camera (TBC) |
| Audio and Video Playback | MP3, WAV, eAAC+, FLAC, MP4, H.264 |
| Ports | microUSB v2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, EDR, 3G HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, HSPA+; LTE Cat4, NFC |
| GPS | Yes, with GLONASS and A-GPS |
| FM Radio | Yes |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity Gyroscope |
| Network | 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 and SIM 2, 3G HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100, 4G LTE 700 / 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 17, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29), TD-LTE 1900 / 2300 / 2500 / 2600 (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41) |
| SIM Card Type | Dual microSIM, Dual Standby |
| Battery | ZE551ML: Non-removable 3,000 mAh Li-Po battery ZE500CL: Non-removable 2,500 mAh Li-Po battery |
| Uptime | TBD |
| Value-Added Features | Zen UI, PixelMaster camera, Affordable price tag; Top-notch specs, Fast Charging |
| Announcement | CES 2015 ~ January 6, 2015 South East Asia ~ April 21, 2015 Philippines ~ May 15, 2015 |
| Availability | Philippines: May 16, 2015 |
| Price | Official SRPs in the Philippines ~ 16 GB with 1.6 GHz Dual Core Intel Atom Z2560 chipset and HD Display ~ ZE500CL : Php 7,995 16 GB with 1.8 GHz Quad Core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3560 chipset ~ ZE551ML: Php 9,995 32 GB with 2.3 GHz Quad Core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 chipset ~ ZE551ML : Php 13,995 64 GB with 2.3 GHz Quad Core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 chipset ~ ZE551ML : Php 14,995 |
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