The ASUS Zenfone series has been a driving force for Intel’s Atom mobile processors with exception for the Zenfone 5 LTE edition. With the release of the Zenfone 2, they have renewed its partnership with the latest range of Atom processors including its 2.3GHz Quad-Core Z3580 processor that comes with an epic serving of 4GB RAM.
At yesterday’s Zen Festival event in New Delhi, ASUS has announced a new Zenfone 2 Laser line up that runs on Qualcomm’s processors instead. To make it stand out from the current Zenfone 2, it gets an extra Laser AF feature, hence the “Laser” . This allows the camera to focus onto subjects as quick as 0.3 seconds especially under low light. Meanwhile the design is still unmistakably a Zenfone 2 with a curve back and a rear mounted volume rocker. Typical of ASUS, the Zenfone 2 Laser comes in 4 different variants with various screen size ranging from 5 to 6 inches.
5″ Zenfone 2 Laser (ZE500KG)
It starts with the ZE500KG and ZE500KL that comes with a 5″ HD 720p display. The ZE500KG is the lowest denominator as it supports dual-SIMs with just 3G HSPA+ connectivity. It runs a 1.2GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 410 processor that’s mated with 2GB of RAM and it comes with either 8GB or 16GB of storage that’s expandable with microSD. For imaging, it gets an 8MP f/2.0 rear shooter with Laser AF and PixelMaster technology. Meanwhile the front gets a 5MP f/2.0 selfie shooter. Powering the device is a 2,070 mAh battery and it runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop with its ZenUI.
The ZE500KL is similar with the ZE500KG but it is slightly better with support for 4G LTE and has a higher resolution 13MP f/2.0 main camera. Another difference is the battery where it is listed to come with either a 2,070mAh unit or a larger 2,400mAh option. These models would compete directly with the likes of the Redmi 2 that are priced under RM500.
Which would you pick? The Intel based Zenfone 2 or the Qualcomm powered Zenfone 2 Laser?
