Asus Zenfone 2 review: A balancing act
- M
- Marcel
- NCv
- 17 Apr 2015
AnonD-306562, 17 Apr 2015I don't see price anywhere :D where you guys get this price... morePrices were taken from various announcements (on gsmarena and elsewhere) by the manufacturer when launching in different countries specifically. Also, Asus did release an expected price map, which at least shows price _differences_ between various models, here: http://www.asuszenfoneblog.com/2015/02/asus-zenfone-2-estimated-price-and-specifications.html
Prices can vary quite a bit by location. When they launched in Taiwan, the 551ML 2.3GHz/4gb ram/32gb storage model was ~US$285, compared to the above link's $269 estimate. Quite close. But the France release of that model was ~$385. Zero idea how the North American releases will be priced, but I would expect closer to Europe than Asian prices. (For me, importing one would not be worth it as I'd get no easy warranty, and at least as much as the difference in price in shipping, taxes and import duties. I might as well wait and get it locally.)
- M
- Marcel
- NCw
- 17 Apr 2015
AnonD-386800, 17 Apr 2015Sadley battery chargers that say 2.1 or 2.4 amps are lies! ... moreI agree it is difficult to tell precisely what the power bank will give with any specific phone. Mine is the Konnet PowerEZ Pro, and the manufacturer's website only says it delivers 5V/2.1A, with a 2.1A and a 1.0A slot, but it's likely as you say that the 2.1 only works for Apple. But hey, it has 11.2 amps when fully charged, so even if it only delivers 1A, I can keep the phone plugged and use it for a lot longer, or charge it when sleeping if there's no plug nearby, or in my pocket... it's still quite useful, just not 30-minute-useful. :)
But please do let us know how your experiment goes!
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- AnonD-306562
- GH8
- 17 Apr 2015
I don't see price anywhere :D where you guys get this prices from :D
- Q
- Quantify
- sHm
- 17 Apr 2015
vahn, 17 Apr 2015is the camera that bad??? need your feedbackCheck out examples linked to here in the comments. Answer: No, the still camera is quite good. Video is not great.
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- AnonD-288178
- YTd
- 17 Apr 2015
what is the SOT of this Zf2 with above average use? any users out there pls reply. i'm stuck with a base samsng phone after i sold my moto g2 back in feb anticipating this one.
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- vahn
- Kg%
- 17 Apr 2015
is the camera that bad??? need your feedback
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- AnonD-386800
- Y9G
- 17 Apr 2015
There are actually Quick charge 2.0 battery packs already out.
Aukey Quick Charge 2.0 10000mAh Portable External Battery is on Amazon for $30
- M
- Marcel
- RuV
- 17 Apr 2015
Quantify, 16 Apr 2015I also realized I had the quality on "standard", ... moreI had a look at the videos - thank you, that is a very fair and good comparison between the two. The zenfone's video, at those settings, exhibits the same "rendered" effects that the basic all-auto photos do, and "sub-par" is my word for it too. Not crappy, but definitely not a video that will have any quality to it, not even youtube quality.
I can believe that the Fine photo quality gives the Android Authority pics, then (would have been nice of that reviewer to mention it), which are definitely more than decent - not Galaxy S6, but definitely quite fine for a mid-range phone and acceptable to look on a big screen, as in TV or computer monitor instead of phone screen.
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- AnonD-386800
- 492
- 17 Apr 2015
sid33, 16 Apr 2015Hows ur battery life??I play a lot of Terra Battle. I just redid my phone this morning. I will have a better idea of usage tomorrow and this weekend and get back you. I did reach 50% yesterday. On the stock charger for 36 minutes, I went from 50% to ~84%.
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- AnonD-386800
- 492
- 17 Apr 2015
Marcel, 16 Apr 2015I do agree the fast charger supplied by Asus will make rech... moreSadley battery chargers that say 2.1 or 2.4 amps are lies! these 2+ amp numbers are only for apple products that support that. My last phone was a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 which had quickcharge 1.0 (5V 2A) and it would only pull 1 amp from those 2.1/2.4amp ports. I would think this phone will also pull only 1 amp. Will check this weekend. I will post an update next week.
- M
- Marcel
- NCv
- 16 Apr 2015
Quantify, 16 Apr 2015Oh goodness no, it's not nearly that bad. Wow. the exposur... moreOh, good to know! I _was_ considering the Moto G2 until THAT video. That was an absolute dealbreaker. That's pretty much unacceptable. But there is also a definite difference, as you say, with and without optical image stabilisation (which I think this video shows very well), but I think only flagships have that nice little feature...
- Q
- Quantify
- sHm
- 16 Apr 2015
Marcel, 16 Apr 2015I'll be able to check the new photos tonight - thank you mu... moreOh goodness no, it's not nearly that bad. Wow. the exposure doesn't change like that, and the video doesn't wobble like that. It's just not as good as a flagship.
- M
- Marcel
- NCw
- 16 Apr 2015
Quantify, 16 Apr 2015I also realized I had the quality on "standard", ... moreI'll be able to check the new photos tonight - thank you muchly for really improving the quality of this review, by the way!
Is the video as bad as the way the Moto G goes wonky around 19:30 of this review? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lAHbpc8fW4 It's also shown with video from the Moto X 2014, which seems fine to me... because if it is as bad as the G there, that may well be a dealbreaker. (last chance will be when I test it out in stores.. whenever they make it to stores here in Canada)
- M
- Marcel
- NCw
- 16 Apr 2015
We can compare, sure, but they're not in the same class, as the real-world results of the camera demonstrate. Like all mid-range phones, compromises were made. I just wasn't expecting _that_ much of a compromise on the camera... This said, as a mid-range phone, it still delivers fantastic quality in other smartphone departments, such as browsing, app use and connectivity. I'm currently using a HTC One V and while anything would look good after that (even my even older phone, a flagship Motorola XT860/Milestone, which sadly died), I still want something more than decent... the camera issues are not yet a dealbreaker.
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- Brad666
- 2Au
- 16 Apr 2015
comparing this phone into flagship of sony's and LG's seems legit. think before comparing i guess this phone is just a mid range phone,,,
- Q
- Quantify
- sHm
- 16 Apr 2015
Marcel, 16 Apr 2015Thank you for the photos link. While they're better than t... moreHere's a comparison of the Zenfone 2 with my HTC Desire EYE. Both 13MP sensors, neither have OIS, both at Full HD. Actually a bit closer than I would have thought, but again no match for something with OIS.
http://goo.gl/VCy7yC
- Q
- Quantify
- sHm
- 16 Apr 2015
Marcel, 16 Apr 2015Thank you for the photos link. While they're better than t... moreI also realized I had the quality on "standard", rather than "fine". Not sure why the heck there's even an option for this, but I took additional comparisons, and Fine definitely improves things. That might explain the android authority pictures. Having said that, for sure a galaxy S6 will take better photos.
video is definitely sub-par. exposure does change quickly, and I was also not impressed with overall quality. panning is not smooth, lots of the "rubber band" effect even with the mostly useless stabilization off. I will need to play a bit more to see if I can change the myriad settings a bit to improve things...but to me the video is by far the weak link with this device. Having said that, I have many of the same grumblings about my wife's 2014 Moto X, so I'm not sure this is really much worse. My Lumia 1020 and Xperia Z3C are just so much better in the video department.
- M
- Marcel
- NCw
- 16 Apr 2015
Quantify, 15 Apr 2015Here is a shortened link to ZF2 images without image optimi... moreThank you for the photos link. While they're better than the optimised mess posted in this review, they're still not exactly "great", even at the high definition - bigger, but not with much details. I'm left wondering about the photos posted in the Android Authority review, which look better than even yours.
Can you talk about the video quality? gsmarena's review mentions how the exposure seems to change significantly and annoyingly as you film... I've seen a video review of the Moto G and Moto X, both 2nd generation, and the G's video recording suddenly went bonkers in auto-exposure, going washed-out bright and dim dark and back and forth in seconds.
- M
- Marcel
- NCw
- 16 Apr 2015
Anonymous, 16 Apr 2015lg g4 will kill this ...of course the LG G4 will kill this, they're not even in the same class, and the G4 is vastly superior in everything - including in cost. :) Apples and oranges, you cannot compare them. Zenfone 2 is about mid-tier phone performance, not top-tier.
- M
- Marcel
- NCw
- 16 Apr 2015
AnonD-386800, 16 Apr 2015And by plug it in do you mean 30 min on a charger and you h... moreI do agree the fast charger supplied by Asus will make recharging a breeze, minimising even having to go one day only before recharging. Though if there is no plug to use said fast recharger (I don't have a car) and I were to use my power pack (which admittedly has a 2.1A output, not just 1.0A), I wonder how fast it does recharge - no one has made that test that I can see. But this is quibbling at this point, and if there is a ROM update or Android 2.1 update that fixes battery drain, then yay!