ASUS ZenFone 5 Smartphone Review

Using the ZenFone 5

In use, the ASUS ZenFone 5 is excellent. The dual-core Atom Z2560 processor running at 1.6 GHz gives the phone a lot of agility, specially in the model with 2 GiB of RAM. The screen is big and bright, with crisp and clear images and colors.

The phone is big, measuring 5.8 x 2.9 inches (148 x 73 mm) and light, weighting 5.1 oz (145 g), but not very thin, being 0.4” (10.3 mm) thick around the center. But, thanks to the thinner borders, it is comfortable to hold and to talk.

The screen resolution is good for the screen size, although a Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen could offer a better experience. Of course, such a screen would position the ZenFone as a high-end device, making it more expensive.

The ZenFone 5 comes with the Android 4.4 operating system (if you buy an early model with Android 4.3, it will update itself to version 4.4), which is easy to use, powerful, and intuitive. Figure 10 shows the initial screen when you turn on the phone for the first time.

Figure 10: main screen

Pressing the icon with six dots, you enter the list of applications, shown in Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14. The ZenFone 5 comes with several preinstalled apps and games; actually, the operating system is very customized by ASUS.

Figure 11: list of applications

Figure 12: list of applications

Figure 13: list of applications

Figure 14: list of applications

You can install new applications using the Google Play Store, which has thousands of applications and games available.

The smartphone uses a 2,110 mAh lithium battery, which barely lasted two days with a few calls and a couple of hours browing the internet. According to the manufacturer, it can last up to 353 hours (14 days and 17 hours) in standby and up to 18 hours of talk time in a GSM network.

The 8 Mpixel main camera is excellent for a mid-range smartphone. You can check the quality of unedited photos taken with the device by clicking here and here. It can also record videos at Full HD.

The front camera (for video chats and “selfies”) has 2 Mpixel resolution.