ASUS ZenFone 2 / Zoom

[SAWYER]

When are reviews supposed to be out? This looks to be a Moto G killer. I love my G and can get 5 plus hours screen time by the time my battery is low, if I ran it to 0 percent I could probably get 6+. My only complaint with the G is my screen could be bigger and the 1 gig ram. I can't be on the browser and listen to my podcasts at the same time or the podcast app will close out eventually

 

[mmntech]

Here are all the supposed SKUs LTE bands.

WW (world wide I suppose) is what will come to Europe.

Rogers is LTE band 4, 7, and 17 so looks like I'm good with the US model.

 

[kpkp]

My only complaint with the G is my screen could be bigger and the 1 gig ram. I can't be on the browser and listen to my podcasts at the same time or the podcast app will close out eventually

As far I am aware that's a bug specific to Motorola (maybe some nexus builds). Is not a normal behaviour on a 1GB RAM device.

 

[Bman123]

So when can i buy this? Take my moneyz

 

[SAWYER]

As far I am aware that's a bug specific to Motorola (maybe some nexus builds). Is not a normal behaviour on a 1GB RAM device.

In have not heard that, interesting. I wonder if they are working on a fix

 

[kpkp]

So when can i buy this? Take my moneyz

In about a month should be available in the USA and selected EU markets. ASUS is ramping up production:

The Zenfone 2 in question will be made by Pegatron, a total of 500,000 units have been ordered for March, then a million next month, and these can be scaled up to 3 million units a month if there is sufficient demand for the new handsets.

 

[Bman123]

It shouldn't be too hard to get these in the states. Most people here only know galaxy and iphone. I have no clue how the marketing will be for these.

I've been looking to get something new for a while now. I almost bought a g3 last week, but decided to wait.

 

[kpkp]

Benchmarks of the 4GB version of the Zenfone 2.

 

[Roland00Address]

I am curious do we know if this has a locked bootloader or such?

It would be very interesting if you could put windows 8 or windows 10 on this, or another similar spec'd $200 to $300 phone. Yes I recognize the limitations of traditional x86 software on a 5.5 inch screen but it would be cool to be able to run such software on the phone, with the phone merely being used as a docking station with a wireless display and a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Having a proper wacom stylus would make such device be a lot more functional for you can easily do finesse and right clicking.

Finding drivers could be difficult, but maybe not now that the phone version of windows 10 is going to be both intel and qualcomm.

 

[kpkp]

I am not sure this will be possible without BIOS/UEFI.

 

[mmntech]

Benchmarks of the 4GB version of the Zenfone 2.

Well, if the Geekbench results are to be believed, it's faster than the iPhone 6 in multicore applications. Though slower for single core. However, it's fairly on par with most flagship phones.

I'll wait for official reviews to come out. 4GB of RAM, dual sim and MicroSD already has me sold over the OPO but I want to see how the rest of it stacks up.

 

[holden j caufield]

does tmobile have 700 mhz band 12 in any of the major markets yet? I think I will buy this phone if it supports the current band 4 1700mhz 2100mhz tmobile is using? Also confirmed tap to wake feature?

 

[Strk]

does tmobile have 700 mhz band 12 in any of the major markets yet? I think I will buy this phone if it supports the current band 4 1700mhz 2100mhz tmobile is using? Also confirmed tap to wake feature?

http://www.spectrumgateway.com/t-mobile-700a-spectrum

 

[Bman123]

Why does the benchmark show the cpu at 1.3 ghz instead of 2.3ghz?

 

[mmntech]

Why does the benchmark show the cpu at 1.3 ghz instead of 2.3ghz?

Intel says 2.33ghz is the burst frequency, so 1.33ghz might be the base frequency. Intel doesn't publish that number for some reason.

Any pre-release benchmarks have to be taken with a grain of salt. However, Geekbench scores for the Dell Venue 8 are comparable to what's being reported. Both use the same CPU.
http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/search?q=Z3580

The phone is going to be up for sale in its native Taiwan on March 23rd. So hopefully we'll have some reviews soon.
http://www.asus-zenfone.com/2015/03/asus-zenfone-2-4gb-ram-will-be-on-sale.html

Big question is, should I get the white one or the red one? :hmm:

 

[Bman123]

I'm with you on what color to get. I'm really interested in this phone. How fast is asus with updates tho?

 

[holden j caufield]

any chance this thing have wifi calling? I've never used wifi calling on an iphone, do they work regardless of carrier on the iphone?

 

[Bman123]

I have no clue about how it works on a iphone. I know t mobile has it and it works great.

I'm pumped for this phone, I've got the money sat aside for it already

 

[mmntech]

Just a quick question since I've never had an Android phone before, and didn't think it was worth making a new thread.

Can I record video directly to a MicroSD card?

 

[Bman123]

You can change the destination for recording video. Default it sends it to the internal memory so you should be able to change it easily

 

[mmntech]

We have more dubious benchmarks! Battery life. Seems it will get about 9 hours of video playback. About 44 hours standby with WiFi on.
http://www.asus-zenfone.com/2015/03/asus-zenfone-2-ze551ml-battery-endurance-test.html

Nothing particularly shocking there. Same site also did a camera comparison but the page isn't loading correctly right now.

 

[kpkp]

Same site also did a camera comparison but the page isn't loading correctly right now.

Try this link.

I don't expect this phone to set any records except in the value category. I expect it to be a solid "allarounder" that could replace most current $700+ phones without any major pain points to the average user, as long as they approach the phone as a tool and not a fashion object or a status symbol.

 

[mmntech]

Try this link.

I don't expect this phone to set any records except in the value category. I expect it to be a solid "allarounder" that could replace most current $700+ phones without any major pain points to the average user, as long as they approach the phone as a tool and not a fashion object or a status symbol.

Sharper than the S6, almost artificially so. The Galaxy kills the Zen 2 in low light, high contrast performance.

A solid "all-arounder" is pretty much what I want. I don't want to get into any more phone contracts, but the 64GB iPhone 6 costs an obscene $969 here in Canada. Both the OPO and Zen 2 offer similar performance and features at a much lower price. Last thing I care about is my phone being a status symbol.

 

[senseamp]

I am ready to buy right now.
What do you guys think about the zoom model, worth the extra bulk?

 

[SAWYER]

How much screen on time?