Top Features
1. Great display
2. Consistently smooth performance
3. Excellent price
NEW DELHI:
Asus has entered the smartphone fray in India and launched five smartphones
in one go. The Asus
ZenFone 5 is the best positioned
of the lot, offering a 5-inch HD screen, Android 4.3 and 2GB RAM and still
keeping the price under Rs 10,000 for the base variant. However, unlike most
Android phones today, the handset is powered by an Intel processor, not
Qualcomm or Mediatek.
Does it fare well against the Moto G's base variant? Should you buy this
smartphone or spend another Rs 4,000 and go for Xiaomi Mi 3? We answer these
questions and more in our Asus ZenFone 5 review...
Design and display
Asus ZenFone 5 has an understated look, with the company opting largely for
plastic construction with only a hint of metal. The plastic used here is not
cheap and has matte finish that feels good to the touch. However, the look is
rather plain and does not set the smartphone apart from the competition
either.
In the front, just below the screen you will see a metallic strip featuring
concentric semi-circles, taking up less than a centimeter of space on the
front panel. Though this strip is not too bold, it certainly adds a little
flair to the design character, which the device doesn't seem to have
otherwise. Asus uses the same metal trim in its laptops.
 
ZenFone 5's removable back panel is curved, which make it easy to hold with
one as well as two hands. However, the smartphone itself is a little big and,
thus, a little difficult to operate with one hand. At 145gram, it is a little
heavy, but feels solid.
One thing we don't like about Asus ZenFone 5 is the wide bezels, which make
ZenPhone 5 unnecessarily large. The smartphone could have been much more
compact, somewhere to the tune of Samsung Galaxy S4, but the wide bezels on
all sides make it too large for comfort. The Home, Back and Task Switcher
buttons have not been given on the screen as well, thus adding to its size.
Asus ZenFone 5 sports a 5-inch display with 720p resolution. The screen's
colour reproduction is balanced, delivering accurate and balanced colours in
most cases. Being an IPS panel, it offers good viewing angles, ensuring that colours
do not wash out when viewed from the sides. Pixilation is not noticeable
either.
 
The
Indian smartphone market has just got a new kid on the block: Xiaomi Mi 3.
From the house of China's third-biggest smartphone maker, this new model
features top-end specifications at an attractive price of Rs 14,999.
Want to know how Xiaomi Mi 3 fares vis-à-vis other top smartphones in its
price range? Here's comparing Mi 3 against phones from the likes of Motorola,
Sony, BlackBerry, Gionee and Asus...
Hardware
Asus ZenFone 5 comes across pretty well-equipped when it comes to the
hardware. The smartphone has the Intel Atom Z2560 dual-core processor running
at 1.6GHz; it features Hyperthreading technology, meaning that it can act as
a quad-core CPU when too many processes are running.
The India variant of ZenPhone 5 comes with 2GB RAM, 8GB and 16GB internal
storage options and microSD card support up to 64GB. Connectivity options are
standard: 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. The smartphone also
sports an 8MP camera flanked by LED flash on the back, and a 2MP camera in
front. It has a non-removable 2,110mAh battery.
The 8GB variant has been priced at Rs 9,999, whereas the 16GB model can be
purchased for Rs 12,999.
Software
Software is yet another highlight of Asus ZenFone 5. Android smartphone
makers try to set themselves apart via customized software, but most do not
turn out well and make the phone appear cluttered.
However, Asus, despite its rather limited experience with smartphones, has
done a very good job, giving us an Android launcher that improves the basic
functionality of Android, is pleasing to the eyes and does not make you
cringe when you look at the icons.
ZenFone 5 comes preloaded with Android 4.3, but the Android 4.4 update is
around the corner. There is no word on Android L release for this smartphone.
 
Much like HTC's Sense UI, the Asus custom skin brings shortcuts to the lock
screen so that you can open the apps that you use the most without unlocking
the device. It also displays time, weather and upcoming events on the lock
screen.
While you swipe downwards to open the Notifications Bar, a swipe from the
left side of the screen opens your notifications whereas the swipe from the
right opens all the toggles, just like it happens in Android tablets
nowadays. Brightness, Flashlight, Memory Booster, Calculator and Quick Memo
are permanent in the toggles menu, but you can choose the remaining toggles
that show up in Notifications from Settings.
Another feature worth mentioning here is Easy Mode, which lets you choose and
control those apps you may use most frequently. Much like the similar feature
by Samsung, Sony and HTC, Asus ZenPhone 5 shows common apps like Dialler,
Contacts, Camera etc by default, but also lets you set which other apps can
be opened in this mode.
Via Settings, you can enable ZenFone 5 to open the camera by clicking the
Volume Down key twice when the screen is turned off. You can also take
screenshots by just tapping the Task Switcher haptic key twice.
Also worth mentioning is the design of the icons you see in several Asus
apps. The icons are flat and minimalist, making the screen uncluttered even
if it has several apps and widgets.
Of course, all this doesn't mean that Asus, like other manufacturers, hasn't
preloaded its own set of apps in ZenFone 5. Along with Google apps, the
Taiwanese manufacturer has put several apps on the device, and not all are
useful.
Those worth mentioning are AudioWizard and Splendid. The former, as the name
suggest, lets you control the phone's audio profile depending upon the
functions you are performing. There are six modes in this app, namely Speech,
Music, Recording, Movie, Gaming and Power Saving.
Splendid enables you to control the colour reproduction on the display, allowing
you to make it richer or colder.
Asus has said that it will update ZenFone 5 to Android 4.4 (KitKat) in coming
weeks, but there is no word on an upgrade to Android L release.
Performance
We have been fairly impressed by the software, hardware, design and display
quality of Asus ZenFone 5. But what about the performance in everyday usage?
ZenFone 5 did not fail us even once, delivering consistent performance
without a single glitch.
What's more surprising is that the Intel-powered smartphone delivered a user
experience that was as good, if not better, than that of its Qualcomm-powered
counterparts. Apps opened quickly and switching between them was smooth. With
2GB RAM at its disposal, the smartphone did not give any 'out of memory'
error as well.
The smartphone performs well as a gaming machine too, but resource-hungry
games feel a little slow to start. The Power VR GX544MP2 GPU renders rich
graphics without a hitch. The games we tried, Real Racing 3 and Dead Trigger
2, played smoothly and there were no frame drops.
In benchmark tests, Asus ZenFone 5 gave pretty good results. In fact, its
scores were right up there with those of Google Nexus 4 in most tests we
used, and decidedly better than that of Moto G.
Call quality on both sim cards, in our experience, has been fine, but nothing
to write home about. Wi-Fi and 3G networks too worked smoothly in all
environments.
As a multimedia device, however, Asus ZenFone 5 is not good. Though the
display is great and all video formats play easily, the sound is just not
enough. It is not loud enough, and thus makes playing songs or videos a poor
experience. Due to the low sound output, using this smartphone in loudspeaker
mode is also useless.
One problem we faced while handling the device is that the haptic keys are
not backlit. Therefore, using it in the dark is a little difficult.
Battery life is also a concern. During regular usage, where we keep the
brightness at 50% and always keep either 3G or Wi-Fi turned on, the battery
drained in approximately 6-7 hours. Turning off internet connectivity helps
the ZenFone 5 get through a day. The smartphone has battery saver modes, but
they don't do help much unless the internet is turned off. It is, therefore, advisable
to keep the charger with you for emergency situations.
Camera
The camera of ZenFone 5 is decent for an 8MP camera, and especially good for
the sub-Rs 10,000 range. Asus has used also added several software feature to
give users an array of image capturing options, such as Depth of Field,
Miniature, Smart Remove.
In Auto mode, the lighter parts in photos are overexposed, while dark areas
are underexposed. Colours in daylight photos are accurate and the white
balance also okay. Lowlight photos come out pretty great and show a little
less noise compared to rival smartphones.
You can make GIFs using the smartphone, much like Nokia Lumia phones'
CinemaGraph. The Miniature feature lets you bring a single object in focus,
while keeping the rest faded. The Depth of Field feature works well, but is a
little slow and it took us several tries before we got a satisfactory photo.
Verdict
If you are looking for a smartphone under Rs 10,000, then Asus ZenFone 5
should easily be your first choice. Battery life is a concern, but a wall
charger or power bank in your bag is a simple fix. The screen, software,
camera and overall performance compensate more than enough for the small
battery.
However, if you can stretch your budget to Rs 14,000, then you should go for
Xiaomi Mi 3, which is a fantastic smartphone that does much more than what
ZenFone 5 can
Specifications
Launch
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2014, January
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Available. Released 2014, May
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Body
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124.4 x 61.4 x 6.3-11.2
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115 g (4.06 oz)
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Dual SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
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Display
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TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
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4.0 inches (~59.6% screen-to-body ratio)
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480 x 800 pixels (~233 ppi pixel density)
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Yes
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Corning Gorilla Glass 3
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Platform
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Android OS, v4.3 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to v4.4.2 (KitKat)
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Intel Atom Z2520
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Dual-core 1.2 GHz
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PowerVR SGX544MP2
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Memory
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microSD, up to 64 GB
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4/8 GB, 1 GB RAM
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Camera
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5 MP, 2592 х 1944 pixels, autofocus
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Panorama, face detection
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1080p@30fps
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Yes
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Sound
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Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
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Yes
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Yes
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Comms
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Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
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v4.0, A2DP, EDR
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Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS
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No
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microUSB v2.0
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Features
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Accelerometer, proximity
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SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
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HTML
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No
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- MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
- MP4/H.264 player
- Document viewer
- Photo viewer/editor
- Voice memo/dial
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Battery
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Li-Po 1200/1600 mAh battery
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Up to 192 h
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Up to 10 h
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Misc
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Charcoal Black, Pearl White, Cherry Red, Sky Blue,
Solar
Yellow
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1.18 W/kg (head)
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0.53 W/kg (head)
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