A year after its unveiling at the 2015 International CES, ASUS is finally ready to show off the ZenFone Zoom and its 3x optical-zoom range in all its final glory, with at least one local tech blog saying that the long-speculated camera phone will retail for P26,995 when it arrives in the Philippines next week.
If that’s indeed the case, I think ASUS will be facing a “David and Goliath” battle against the iPhone 6s and the best that Android has to offer now, especially considering how much Samsung, LG, OPPO, and Huawei have improved on the camera of their higher-end devices.
It’s also not encouraging that early impressions of the ZenFone Zoom suggest a rear-camera module that isn’t up to scratch, at least compared to those of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and LG G4. Android 5.0 Lollipop on an upcoming premium phone looks like a deal-breaker to me as well.
ASUS will be facing a ‘David and Goliath’ battle against the iPhone 6s and the best that Android has to offer now.
To be fair, the ASUS ZenFone Zoom variant that will be sold here is said to have 4GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, as well as a 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3590 processor that improves on the standard ZenFone 2, so you can expect storage space and performance befitting the price tag. The full-resolution IPS screen spans 5.5 inches across and should come topped with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 4.
ASUS has also fitted the plastic rear panel with a stitched-leather finish, swapping out the matte-finish plastic back of the pre-release model my partner Alora Uy Guerrero saw at last year’s CES. An attempt perhaps to make the Zoom look more upscale than its ZenFone cousins.
Of course, there’s the ZenFone Zoom’s 3x optical-zoom camera module. There’s plenty of tech jargon to throw around here. But for the uninitiated, the bottom line is that the rear-facer is capable of taking higher-quality and sharper photos from further away, just like a point-and-shoot camera. That’s quite a feat for something that has the thickness of an average smartphone, with the Zoom measuring 11.95mm at its thickest point.
The ASUS ZenFone Zoom is capable of taking higher-quality and sharper photos from further away, just like a point-and-shoot camera.
Sure, the zoom feature may come in handy at some point, but would you spend top money for one standout function? That’s the question you should be asking when the ASUS ZenFone Zoom hits local stores soon.
Image via Android Central
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