Sleek & Stylish: Asus Zenfone 4 And 5

I’m not really a techie person. I admit, most of my gadgets I haven’t fully utilize their potential. I only learned how to screen cap on my laptop months after I purchased it. Now don’t get me started on those shortcuts, as I still haven’t memorized each function + key. As for my camera, despite having programs suitable for different shooting modes, I still use auto mode, with or without flash. That’s it. I guess I’m not really techie and I like it basic when it comes to my gadgets. I feel like I have a million things to do and all I want for the things I need for work is to be intuitive and uncomplicated. I don’t really need complicated especially when it comes to the things I use everyday. To be honest, I haven’t really tried using an Android because I find it intimidating as I assume it has a lot of things going on and its something that I would unwillingly try to understand be because I perceive it’s hard to use.

I think the universe wants to prove me wrong because I got two newly released android phones to test and try- Asus Zenfone 4 and Asus Zenfone 5.

The Asus Zenfones were launched just last July and based on the reviews I found online, these particular series of Android phone is something you’d really want to consider if you’re planning on buying one.

I won’t go all techie in terms and specs. I would leave that to the experts like Yugatech. Instead, I’ll simply highlight what I like about these Zenfones and why I think they’re cool. 😉

First thing that caught my eye was the candy-colored back case. Love the cool turquoise color, kinda reminds me of the beach and the tranquility it brings every time I think of it.

Asus Zenfone 4 has 4 vibrant colors you can choose from: red, white, yellow and blue

When I held it in my hand, it didn’t seem different, size and shape wise from my current phone. If anything, it was lighter by a few grams. It uses Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3: damage and scratch resistant – a new level of tough. The brand new ASUS ZenUI makes it easy to use with intuitive design & multicolour themes.

It has a snap on back casing that you can change and a removable battery.

It comes with its charger, which also doubles as a USB cord.

Sleek!

ASUS ZenFone 4 :

4-inch TFT LCD

124.4 x 61.4 x 11.2mm/ 115g

Intel Atom Z2520 1.2 Ghz with Hyper Thread Technology

1GB RAM

8GB eMMC flash internal storage

Micro SD card up to 64GB

WiFi & Bluetooth

3G/HSPA

Rear 5MP camera (without flash)

Front VGA camera

1,200mAh battery

Android 4.3

SRP: Php3,995

Because I didn’t have time to try all the features, I opted to highlight Asus Zenfone 4’s dual camera instead.

Here’s a shot I took using the front VGA camera.

Here’s a shot I took using the rear 5 MP camera.

I didn’t do any edits on these photos. These are taken only a few seconds apart as I had to turn the phone around. Notice how much clearer and sharper the photo shot using the rear camera compared to the front?

The Asus Zenfone 5 comes in 5 chic colors. I love the gold one that I got as it looks elegant yet stylish.

The Asus Zenfone 5 is slightly bigger than the Asus Zenfone 4. Apart from the other upgrades, it seemed alike function wise, as they’re almost the same, if not similar as I couldn’t tell the difference.

Dual sim feature.

Just like Asus Zenfone 4, this Zenfone 5 is equally sleek and sexaaaah!

Like the Asus Zenfone 4, it also uses Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 that’s damage and scratch resistant. I’m kinda drawn more with the textured part of case of Zenfone 5. I find myself touching it more often than the touch screen. It also has a technology called GloveTouch where you can input while wearing gloves. Lavett!

The Zenfone 5 comes with a charger that doubles as a USB cord and an earphone.

The brand new ASUS ZenUI makes it easy to use with intuitive design & multicolour themes, just like the Asus Zenfone 4.

It comes with a handful of pre-installed apps.

One of the things that sets an Android phone apart, particularly an Asus Zenfone is its home screen. Aside from the usual widgets of apps, I can check on the weather easily and even spot the prediction in the coming days. Also, the Google search bar is present, which makes it really convenient for people who are always online, especially for someone like me, who loves searching for almost anything that’s indexed by  Google- food, family, fashion, fun!

With just a tap of a button, I get to see all the active apps and I can conveniently close them with just a swipe.

ASUS ZenFone 5:

5-inch IPS display

148.2 x 72.8 x 10.3mm/ 144g

Intel Atom Z2560 1.6GHz dual-core processor with HyperThreading Technology

              2GB RAM

8GB eMMC flash internal storage

Micro SD card up to 64GB

WiFi/ Bluetooth

3G/HSPA+

Rear 8 MP camera, w/ LED Flash, F2.0 Aperture

Front 2 MP camera

1080p video recording @30fps

                                                                                                 Non-removable 2110mAh battery

Dual-SIM

Android 4.3 (KitKat upgradable)

                                                                                                             SRP: Php6,495

Here’s a shot I took using the front 2 MP camera.

Here’s a shot I took using the rear 8 MP camera.

Asus Zenfone 5 also has a low light feature that you can use when there isn’t sufficient light to capture beautiful moments in the dark. Heehee. I’ll show you a sample photo when I post it on Instagram so don’t forget to follow me @gojackiego yes? 🙂

I love how clear the photo taken using the rear camera is. But what I like most about Asus Zenfone 5 is the What’s Next feature of the phone. I need this in my life! Its the one feature that can help me organize, plan the gajillion things in need to do and be on the right schedule. There are days when my schedule is filled to the brim that I don’t even have time to think about what’s next on my list unless its urgent and at the top of my mind.

I guess going Android is an option I’m considering now. I’m no longer intimidated about its features as it is simple enough to be understood, nor am I threatened on how difficult it is to use as I know it is intuitive and user-friendly.

For those considering on buying an Android smartphone, take Asus Zenfone 4 and 5 into consideration as these are phones that can do so much for you and can adapt gracefully to your lifestyle without paying for so much.

For more information about Asus Zenfones, visit their website at http://www.asus.com/ph