Planned over 5 days, ASUS’ Zensation road show surely stirred up something during its long extravaganza of releasing products. Flash-forward to the last day, which allowed us to see the new Zenfone 2 Deluxe and the Zenfone 2 Laser.
As the name implies, the 2 Laser has a 13-megapixel shutter on the rear, that’s equip with laser auto-focus and dual-LED to boost its camera taking ability. Seems like ASUS wants put its Zenfone devices in smaller niche categories by making them differ in small aspects. However, we aren’t sure this is a great strategy to begin with. Nevertheless, the determining factor that sets the Zenfone 2 Laser apart from the Zenfone Selfie, is omission of the 13-megapixel sensor on the selfie camera, no dual-LED up front and tuning the internal specs a tad lower. It’s quite unfortunate that Malaysia will be getting only the mid-range model from the list of three Zenfone 2 Laser devices released.
Zenfone 2 Laser on the left, Zenfone 2 on the right
The Zenfone 2 Laser has an entry level 64-bit capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable internal storage. Although, being a slouch in the processing department, the device is no slouch in the cellular connectivity department – LTE enabled dual-SIM support. Sporting a 5.5-inch display with only 720 p resolution, the smart phone is powered by a large 3000 mAh battery and runs on a ZenUI skinned version of Android 5.0 out of the box.
Upping the stakes on its current Zenfone 2 series, ASUS also announced pricing of the Zenfone 2 Deluxe. An upscale model that redesigns the back to look like intricate polygons scales, purported to increase the grip of the device. That aside, ASUS also decided to maintain the Intel Atom Z3580 to 2.3GHz but double the internal storage to 128GB.
Once you’ve considered the two, otherwise, the Zenfone 2 Deluxe is pretty much the same as the high-end Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML) model. Packing 4GB of RAM and even a microSD slot for additional storage (up to 128GB), given that you’ve stuck out on your already existing 128GB of internal memory. It’ll also run the 5.5-inch IPS screen at FHD (1920 x 1080), that’s present on the ZE551ML. ASUS’s latest premium device supports 4G LTE on its Dual-SIM capable phone that has a 3000 mAh battery (fast charge enabled). Lastly, it runs the same ZenUI skinned Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system.
Slated to arrive in retailers from the first week of September onwards, the Zenfone 2 Laser will run you back RM 799 (w/ GST), while the Zenfone 2 Deluxe will cost nearly double, at RM 1,599 (w/ GST) and the existing 64GB high-end ZE551ML Zenfone 2 costs RM 1,399 (w/ GST). Stay tuned for a breakdown of all the Zenfone models, so you can easily decide which device suits your needs.
