During its ongoing event at the CES 2015, Asus has announced a camera-centric version of the Zenfone 2, the Asus Zenfone Zoom. It features specifications similar to that of the Zenfone 2, which was announced today, but it has a better primary camera, complete with laser autofocus, 10-element lens, optical image stabilisation and 3x optical zoom lens. Both, the primary camera and the 5-megapixel secondary front-facing camera, can record 1080p videos.
Asus Zenfone Zoom specifications
- 5.5-inch IPS LCD display, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 72 percent screen-to-body ratio, and Gorilla Glass 3 with Oleophobic coating
- Android 5.0 Lollipop with new Zen UI
- Intel Atom Z3580 SoC, 64-bit 2.3GHz quad-core processor, PowerVR G6430 GPU, and 2GB/4GB of RAM
- 16GB internal storage and a microSD card slot
- 13-megapixel PixelMaster primary camera, laser autofocus, 10-element lens, 3x optical zoom, dual-tone dual-LED flash, and 1080p video recording
- 5-megapixel secondary camera and 1080p video recording
- 4G LTE Cat. 4, Wi-Fi ac/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth v4.0, and GLONASS A-GPS
- microUSB v2.0 port and 3.5mm headphone jack
- 3,000 mAh battery with fast charging
Asus has definitely drawn some design inspirations from the Nokia Lumia 1020, as the Zenfone Zoom looks like the camera-centric smartphone from Nokia, though Asus has not actually used a larger camera sensor or a Xenon flash. However, we are sure that the 10-element lens, OIS, dual-tone dual-LED flash, and laser autofocus will help improving the image quality from the camera.
Other features include a 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD display, Android 5.0 Lollipop with new Zen UI, a 64-bit quad-core processor from Intel, 2GB/4GB RAM, and a 3,000 mAh battery. The device has been priced at $399, which translates to around Rs. 25,234, but Asus' CEO, Jonney Shih, hasn't announced anything related to its India-specific launch plans. Considering the kind of response, which Asus Zenfones received in India, we are hopeful that the Zenfone Zoom will be launched in India.
