Asus is selling the ZenFone 2 in four different variants in India: the ZE551ML (with 4GB of RAM, 64GB ROM and a 5.5-inch full-HD screen); the ZE551ML (with 4GB of RAM, 32GB ROM and a 5.5-inch full-HD screen); the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (with 2GB of RAM, 16GB ROM and 5.5-inch full-HD screen), and the ZenFone 2 ZE550ML (with 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM and 5.5-inch HD screen).
To add to the confusion, both ZE551ML (4GB) models use the 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 SoC whereas the ZE551ML (2GB) and the ZE550ML are powered by the 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3560. Prices range from Rs. 12,999 to Rs. 22,999.
There are more variants of the ZenFone 2 which the company might launch later. This naming scheme will be really confusing for buyers, because the model number alone does not mean anything. The folks at Asus could easily have avoided this hotchpotch of variants.
Nomenclatures aside, Asus sent us a review unit of the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage space. We put the phone through its paces to find out if 4GB RAM actually makes any difference in real-world usage.
The phone has 4GB of RAM, which is the first for any smartphone we've reviewed. It also has a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor with an integrated PowerVR G6430 GPU. Incidentally, the same graphics chip is also used in the iPhone 5s. The phone has 32GB of internal storage space and there is a microSD card slot which can be used to add 64GB more space. Furthermore, the Micro-USB port can be used to plug external USB drives in.
The phone accepts two Micro-SIM cards. The primary SIM card can connect to 4G networks including the 2300MHz Indian 4G frequency band. Both SIM cards can connect to 3G networks. Other connectivity options include Bluetooth v4.0, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac and NFC. The ZenFone 2 has a 13-megapixel primary camera with dual-LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing secondary camera. The phone also has a fairly large 3000mAh battery under the hood.
The 5.5-inch IPS LCD screen has a resolution of 1080x1920, which translates to a pixel density of 403ppi. Images look crisp and the colours are also accurately reproduced. Even the viewing angles are pretty good.
The ZenFone 2 ZE551ML with 64GB of internal storage is priced at Rs. 22,999 whereas the 32GB variant will set you back by Rs. 19,999.
Good
- 4GB RAM is a big plus
- Great gaming performance
- Not very expensive
Bad
- Average camera
- Battery life could have been better