BCR NEWS (New Delhi): ASUS CEO Jerry Shen today announced ZenFone 2 in India at the Experience 2Morrow press event in Gurgaon. Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan, the renowned photographer Dabboo Ratnani and the celebrated singer Aditi Singh Sharma were also present for the launch.
The highly-anticipated ZenFone 2 builds on the enthusiastic reception and success of the first-generation ZenFone in India, and features a stunning new Zen-inspired design, uncompromising performance, and a premium user experience to bring a new level of empowering luxury to consumers. “We are incredibly excited to bring ZenFone 2 to consumers in India,” said Mr. Shen. “ASUS believes that the best technology should be used by a mass audience, and we have drawn on our core competence to deliver beautiful design and unprecedented performance in an empowering luxury for everyone to enjoy. Since its launch last year, ZenFone has been beloved by consumers and has won 238 awards worldwide.
Debjani Ghosh, Vice President Sales & Marketing Group, Managing Director, South Asia joined Mr. Shen onstage in celebration of the long term partnership of innovation between Asus and Intel. “We’re extremely proud to come together with Asus during the month in which we’re celebrating 50 years of Moore’s law to launch the Zenfone2, a product which has pushed the envelope on innovation yet again to deliver unprecedented performance. With the ZenFone 2, ASUS is giving consumers a great mobile experience in a sleek form factor, combining the 64-bit Intel® Atom™ Processor with Intel’s LTE-Advanced Intel XMM 7260 solution. Intel Co-founder Gordon Moore strongly believes that what can be done, can be outdone and that’s what Intel and Asus have done with the ZenFone 2.”
Commenting on this association, Amitesh Jha, VP – Retail, Flipkart said, “Asus is one of the leading players in the new-age mobile tech world. They are recognized for their best-in-class technology and innovative products. We are thrilled to take ahead this partnership with the announcement of their latest product—the Zenfone 2 on Flipkart.”
Also making an appearance at the event was renowned digital artist and Instagram sensation, Robert Jahns, who spoke about his experience using the ZenFone 2 PixelMaster camera and shared some of the incredible images he captured with it. Mr. Jahns also endorsed See What Others Can’t See, a global photography campaign designed to showcase the advantages of the ZenFone 2 PixelMaster camera technology.
Winner of a 2015 iF Design Award, the new ZenFone 2 models feature premium design together with incredible specifications and features at compelling prices. ZenFone 2 has a luxurious metallic hairline finish and is just 3.9mm at its thinnest edges, giving it an incredibly slim profile. With a remarkable 72% screen-to-body ratio, ZenFone 2 packs a gorgeous 5.5-inch screen into a compact body similar in size to most 5-inch smartphones.
Designed for comfort and easy one-handed use, ZenFone 2 features an ergonomically curved rear cover with an intuitive button that functions as the volume control as well as the camera shutter button when snapping selfies.
ASUS ZenFone 2 comes with the Android 5.0 Lollipop — the latest, 64-bit mobile operating system — and ASUS ZenUI 2.0 to deliver the ultimate user experience.
See What Others Can’t See
ASUS ZenFone 2 comes with 13MP rear-facing and 5MP front-facing PixelMaster cameras for capturing great-looking, high-quality photos and videos in any situation. The latest PixelMaster 2.0 technology features a wide range of enhancements, including Low Light mode on both the rear and front cameras, allowing users to capture up to 400% brighter photos and videos at night or in dimly lit scenes. When a flash is preferred, ZenFone 2 is equipped with a Real Tone Dual LED flash to ensure warm skin tones and natural colors.
The camera also features an enhanced HDR mode and a blue glass infrared filter, making ZenFone 2 one of the best smartphones for capturing challenging backlit scenes, such as sunset portraits. The camera’s zero shutter lag lets users take photos instantly, helping them capture those precious moments that can pass in the blink of an eye.
ZenFone 2’s 5MP front-facing camera features a wide, 85-degree field of view perfectly engineered for taking selfies. Built-in real-time beautification makes taking selfies even more fun. When taking a selfie with a group of friends, or including scenery in the shot, ZenUI Selfie Panorama mode lets users capture panoramic selfies with up to a 140-degree field of view.
For those seeking fine-grained control over camera settings like ISO, shutter speed and more, Manual mode offers users a DSLR-like experience right on their smartphone.
Uncompromising Performance
ASUS ZenFone 2 is powered by the latest 64-bit Intel Atom Super Quad Core processor and is the world’s first smartphone with 4GB of 64-bit dual-channel RAM—delivering super-fast, PC-like data transfer speeds—for blazingly-fast multitasking and smooth performance when running the latest apps. A 60ms touch response time ensures lag-free input, and OpenGL 3.0 provides incredible gaming performance.
ZenFone 2 dual-SIM slot with Dual Sim Dual Active (DSDA) technology ensures that users will never miss important calls. While making or receiving a call on SIM 1, users can switch seamlessly without disconnecting SIM 1 if another caller tries to contact them on SIM 2.
Users will spend less time waiting and more time enjoying ZenFone 2 with its high-capacity, 3000mAh battery that provides more than a full day of use on a single charge. BoostMaster technology enables 2X faster charging, letting users charge ZenFone 2 from from 0% to 60% in just 39 minutes. When charging, ZenFone 2 helpfully displays the current battery state and remaining time needed before the battery is fully charged.
More Personalized Interface
ASUS ZenUI on ZenFone 2 has been updated to provide a simpler and smarter user experience. To ensure ZenUI is always up-to-date, ASUS put more than 30 ZenUI apps in the Google Play, so each app can be updated separately without having to wait for a system update like on most other Android smartphones. With ZenUI Instant Updates, ASUS developers can make ZenUI updates available immediately, avoiding delays between app releases and ensuring the best experience for ZenFone 2 users.
ASUS Launcher, also available in Google Play features enhancements such as easy customization and ZenMotion, a collection of intuitive touch gestures, each providing a new way of interacting with ZenFone 2, such as double tapping on the screen to wake the device.
Along with ZenMotion is a collection of touch gesturesthat can be enabled to instantly launch different apps even when the screen is off. For example, when a user swipes the screen as if writing the letter C, the camera app will open. Swiping as if writing a lowercase letter E will open the email app.
Other special motion gestures are available for different purposes. For example, by double-tapping on the home key, the user can switch to one-hand mode for easy single-handed operaton. The user can also gently shake ZenFone 2 to have the information currently displayed on the screen be added to Do It Later.
SnapView lets users easily secure their data in ZenFone 2. SnapView provides different storage spaces to keep personal files separate from work files. SnapView ensures photos, documents, and other files remain unopened if a user logs in with different username.
Ultimate Entertainment
ASUS ZenFone 2 is packed with entertainment features. Its 5.5-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 resolution) IPS display with a wide 178-degree viewing angle and ASUS-exclusive TruVivid technology delivers amazing brightness and brilliant colors for incredible gaming and video-watching experiences.
ZenFone 2 is equipped with SonicMaster technology for revolutionary smartphone sound quality. Compared to its predecessor, ZenFone 2 has 38% larger audio chambers and improved speakers with better diafragmas and stronger voice coils, resulting in 4X more powerful sound output, 4X deeper bass (increased by 14dB), and 2X higher pitch.
The included Audio Wizard application lets users customize ZenFone 2’s sound for a truly personal audio experience. When AudioWizard is turned on, users can choose from six different output modes to give them the type of sound they desire.
NOTES TO EDITORS
ASUS Global Press Room: http://press.asus.com
ASUS Global Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ASUS
ASUS Global Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ASUS
Specifications
ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML/ZE550ML
OS
Android 5.0 Lollipop
CPU / GPU
64-bit Quad Core Intel® Atom™ Z3560/Z3580 processor (running at 1.8 or 2.3GHz)
PowerVR Series 6 – G6430, with OpenGL 3.2 support Intel Exclusive 3D Tri-Gate Transistor Technology
Display
5.5-inch IPS display with 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) resolution and 403ppi pixel density, 400 cd/m2 brightness and full-screen lamination (ZE551ML)
5.5-inch IPS display with 1280 x 720 (HD) resolution and 268ppi pixel density (ZE550ML)
Scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 with 20nm Oleophobic anti-fingerprint coating
GloveTouch support
Super-fast 60ms touch screen response time, 72% screen-to-body ratio
ZenMotion touch and motion gestures (including Tap Tap to wake and sleep)
RAM
64-bit dual-channel LPDDR3 4GB (World’s first 4GB RAM smartphone)
64-bit dual-channel LPDDR3 2GB
Storage
16GB/32GB/64GB, ASUS WebStorage 5GB (lifetime)
Micro SD card support, up to 64GB
Camera
Rear: 13MP, f/2.0-aperture, 5-element, auto-focus lens with dual-color Real Tone flash.
Front: 5MP, f/2.0-aperture, wide-angle 85-degree lens with Selfie Panorama
PixelMaster features include Low Light mode / Backlight (HDR) mode / enhanced real-time Beautification mode / Manual (DSLR/professional) mode / zero shutter lag/ 52MP Super Resolution mode
Video
MPEG-4 playback up to 1080p
Full HD recording (1920×1080, 1080p) at 30fps with video stabilization and one-touch still-capture feature
DivX, H.264, MPEG4, H.263, Xvid, 3GP
Audio
Dual microphone with noise cancellation
ASUS SonicMaster
Network
5 laser direct structuring antennas
4G LTE Cat4 for 4G download speeds up to 150Mbps (please check local carrier for the detail support)
GSM/WCDMA Quad-band 850/900/1900/2100 for Worldwide data roaming
Wireless
802.11a/b/g/n/ac dual band up to 433Mbps (802.11ac is 5x faster than 802.11n)
Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot (tethering),
NFC support (ZE551ML)
Connectivity
3.5mm audio jack, Micro USB with OTG support
SIM Card
Dual Micro-SIM support with Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA)
Sensor
Accelerometer, proximity, ambient-light, gyroscopic, digital compass and Hall-effect sensors
Navigation
5 satellite navigation system supports GPS, GLONASS, QZSS, SBAS, Beidou
User Interface
ASUS ZenUI with 1000+ software enhancements
What’s Next, ZenLink, Zen Motion, Quick Access, ASUS Splendid, Kids Mode, SnapView, One Hand Mode, Trend Micro Security, etc
Services
PhotoCollage, PhotoEffects, MiniMovie, Google App, ASUS Sync, MyCloud, File Manager, MyLibrary, SuperNote
Themes (customize your ZenFone 2 theme from many different templates)
BBM & WhatsApp ready
Dimension/Weight
152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9-3.9mm / 170g
Color
Glacier Gray / Osmium Black / Glamour Red / Ceramic White / Sheer Gold (ZE551ML)
Osmium Black, Glamour Red, Ceramic White (ZE550ML)
Battery
3000mAh lithium-polymer
ASUS BoostMaster fast-charging technology. (ZE551ML 4GB model)
Accessories (optional)
ZenFone View Flip Cover Deluxe with access to 7 ZenUI functions
Receive calls, reply messages, flashlight, weather, settings, instant camera, what’s next
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About ASUS
ASUS is a worldwide top-three consumer notebook vendor and maker of the world’s best-selling, most award-winning motherboards. A leading enterprise in the new digital era, ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home and office, with a broad portfolio that includes motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, displays, desktop and all-in-one PCs, notebooks, netbooks, servers, multimedia devices, wireless solutions, networking devices, tablets and smartphones. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS won 4,326 awards in 2014 and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with its Eee PC™. ASUS has more than 13,600 employees around the globe with a world-class R&D team of 4,500 engineers. Company revenue for 2014 was approximately US$14.5 billion.
