Yay, finally I have gotten a new smartphone! ❤ The old one has been serving me well for the past 2.5 years, but recently it has been running quite slow and fails me each time when I want to take picture :( So yeah, that explains why I get this latest model: ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser ZE601KL, a big sister to the ZE550KL and ZE500KL variants which are smaller in size (5.5 inch and 5 inch respectively).
Unboxing the packaging, the 6-inch ZenFone comes with the basics — Charger, USB cable, user guide and warranty card. The body itself is very solid, while the metallic cover does not look like any cheap plastic material. Available in 3 vivid colors — Sheer Gold, Glacier Gray and Glamour Red— but it is the classy and glamorous sheer gold that attracts me the most.
I know, I know, you must be wondering why did I choose Asus. Honestly, this is my very first Asus gadget, but the price factor is too attractive for me to resist! For such high specifications, the price is amazingly reasonable. And I must say, I have been a satisfied user for the past month!
Design wise, Zenfone 2 Laser wins all its competitors by having an incredibly slim 3.9mm design at the thinnest edge. The volume and shutter buttons we usually find at the sides are now moved to the back of the phone, which I think is more convenient and easy to reach.
I am already used to fiddling with large phones, so Asus' ergonomic arc design is a plus point for more solid gripping. It feels very comfortable and secure when the phone rests on my palm.
As most of my work are done on mobile, an Anti-Scratch Corning Gorilla Glass 4 screen with a large size of 6.0-inch and clear 1920x1080 Full HD IPS display is definitely what I need. Each time I download a new app, it will automatically group similar functional apps into folders which makes my app page "cleaner" and more organized.
For example, now Uber is a stand-alone app in the screen. When I download Grab, another taxi app, the phone will automatically group them under one folder named "Transportation". How cool is that!
And the pre-installed MyASUS app will help you in any situation you face with your ASUS gadget.
Unlike the usual Android phone, ASUS has its very own ZenUI that offers more than 1,000 features to improve upon the standard Android interface. For instance, I can use this festive monkey theme, without getting any external theme launcher service.
If I were to have any complaints at all, it'd be the 16GB storage that is definitely not enough as I take a lot of pictures everyday (Because I love its camera so much!! Will explain more later). Fortunately it comes with an external micro SD card slot, which is just next to the dual-sim compartments.
Performance wise, it is a huge improvement from my old phone in terms of speed. It is powered by a Qualcomm 64-bit Octa Core Snapdragon 616 Processor at a speed of 1.7Ghz. Hence, running multiple heavy apps (especially games and social media apps) concurrently is not a problem at all :)
Despite of that, I thought huge display and heavy usage will drain the 3000mAh battery very quickly. But no, this is not the case for ZenFone 2 Laser. Thanks to its superior power efficiency, it can last me from early morning till midnight if I am out for a full day event; I don't even need a powerbank!
ZenFone 2 Laser’s 13MP PixelMaster Rear Camera with its f/2.0-aperture lens is stunning!
But what satisfies me the most is its camera, both front and rear. From the screen, I see that the subject is very vivid and captured closely to its original tones. Most phone cameras appear very yellowish (overly warm) but ASUS' is just nice to get the right balance of color composition.
The resulting image is very crisp, vivid and detailed.
With the brand-new laser-autofocus feature, the camera focuses very quickly with minimal blurring, creating high-resolution photos with zero shutter lag. I'd usually go for Auto mode, but the Backlight (Super HDR) mode and Super Resolution mode are worth trying to capture detailed images.
If you notice my selfies on Facebook recently, many are taken using the 5MP Front Camera with its f/2.0-aperture lens. I am totally in love with ZenFone 2 Laser’s Beautification mode! ❤ It automatically softens my complexion, remove dark eye circle, enlarge eyes and sharpen the skin — all in real time!
Sorry, gotta spam you guys with more selfies to show you how well the beautifying function works!
Honestly, I can't believe that the front camera works so perfectly well even under low light condition. Look, the quality is close to that of a professional camera! Clear bright image, naturally-colored, minimal noise; All can be achieved without flash. Now, no more blurred photos during clubbing nights with friends :D
ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE601KL) has the Loudest, Proudest and Greatest Smartphone Dual Speakers!
Another key feature that I like is the dual-driver audio chamber — 50% larger than before, with a five-magnet construction and metal voice coil. Honestly I didn't realize it has such awesome feature until I try playing Youtube videos on the phone. The sound system is wide and deep, hence the sound is clearer and more powerful than the usual.
Verdict:
1. Overall, I am a happy user of ZenFone 2 Laser.
2. No complaimts about the performance at all! Very smooth operation, no lagging, just great for multitasking.
3. Reasons to buy: Large screen, good camera, powerful speakers, longlasting battery life, reasonable price
Key Specifications:
Platform: Android™ 5.0(With ASUS ZenUI)
Color: Glacier Gray/Sheer Gold/Glamour Red
Dimensions: 164.55 x 84 x 10.55 ~ mm (LxWxH)
Weight: 190g (with battery)
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 MSM8939
Memory: 2GB LPDDR3 RAM
Storage: 16GBeMMC Flash / 5GB free lifetime ASUS WebStorage
Memory Slot: MicroSD card (up to 128 GB)
Connectivity: WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, USB 2.0, Bluetooth V4.1+EDR +A2DP,
Dual Micro SIM card, SIM1 Support2G/3G/4G,
SIM2 Support2G/3G/4G, Dual SIM Dual Stand By
Display
Phone:
6inches, Full HD 1920x1080, IPS with Capacitive Multi touch panel
Scratch Resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass with HCLR Film, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4
Battery
Phone:
3000 mAh Li-Polymer
Standby Time 467.74 hours
Talk Time 25.78 hours
Camera: Front 5 Mega-Pixel ; Rear 13 Mega-Pixel
Audio Slot: 3.5mm
Nice smart phone... Asus makes good phones nowadays which are more importantly affordable... since iPhones and Samsung prices seems to be sky rocketing like no one's business
ReplyDeletewooot! i was there when you got this! lovely phone, and perfect for your selfie pictures ya :D
ReplyDeleteReally very slim.. Must be very nice to use!
ReplyDeleteMy brother bought this for my mom too! Not bad actually.
ReplyDeleteIt's like having a boombox in your phone!
ReplyDeleteNice! Never use ASUS brand smartphone before. Seem not bad =)
ReplyDeletei know u like 6 inch one. the bigger the better
ReplyDeletethe phones are all getting larger and higher quality then ever, even asus has a very good phone now eh
ReplyDeletei like the camera. its give super nice photo. and the price is affordable compare to top brands.
ReplyDeleteI love the front camera. It looks very clear and stunning. I can see the back of the phone is curvy is it?
ReplyDeleteNice photo taking with Asus. Gonna intro this to Fred since he is looking for a new hp. :)
ReplyDeleteso nice! new year new phone :) the colour very sweet and nice :) love the clear front camera though
ReplyDeletecheers, siennylovesdrawing
Thinking to change my phone soon, this Asus model looks like a good choice :)
ReplyDeleteThe screen sure is large. Liking the display and the rear camera. Asus is certainly upping their game
ReplyDeleteLooks like its an user friendly and reasonable price smartphone. I have not try ASUS phone yet.
ReplyDeleteMust say I like the design of the phone esp the colours! Size is perfect too...easy on the eyes but in my case not practical to fit into my running pouch for pics and emergency calls.
ReplyDelete