Aside from the Padfone line and Fonepad phablets, Asus doesn’t
really have a set of properly-sized smartphones to go head to head with other
brands such as Samsung, LG and Sony. Furthermore, the company doesn’t have much
foot hold in the entry-level and mid-range market, which puts them at a slight
disadvantage compared to other manufacturers.
So the logical step for Asus would be to get some budget
smartphones into the market. And this is exactly what the company did when it
announced three new handsets at CES a few days ago.
Borrowing the Zen branding from its line of high-end Ultrabooks,
the ZenFone series feature the same concentric circle design on textured metal
that gives it a bit of a premium look.
Leading the trio is the ZenFone 6 which features a 6-inch
display with 720p resolution. The phablet is powered by an Intel Z2580 chipset
with 2GB of RAM and a 2GHz dual-core CPU.
At the back of the device is the 13MP f/2.0 aperture camera with
Asus’s PixelMaster technology that delivers improved shooting performance even
in low-light conditions. The ZenFone 6 also packs a 3240mAh battery as well as
the company’s SonicMaster Audio technology.
Connectivity features include dual-SIM functionality, 3G
with DC-HSPA+ connectivity, Bluetooth v4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and a microUSB
port. The ZenFone 6 will be available in four colours: black, white, red and
gold for $199.
Following the ZenFone 6 in size is the Zenfone 5, which
boasts a 5-inch IPS LCD screen with an improved capacitive sensor that works
with gloves and regular pens as stylus. The phone is powered by the same chip
and CPU as the ZenFone 6 albeit the lowered 1GB of RAM.
The phone features an 8MP camera at the back which is
equipped with the same PixelMaster technology in its bigger brother. Due to its
smaller size, Asus has downgraded the ZenFone’s 5 battery and internal storage
to 2050mAh and 4GB respectively.
The Asus ZenFone 5 will be available in black, white, red,
yellow and blue for $149.
Then there’s the 4-inch ZenFone 4 with watered-down specs
that include a WVGA screen resolution, an Intel Atom Z2520 chip with 1.2GHz
dual-core CPU and 1GB of RAM. Asus once again downgraded the camera and battery
on the device, which now stands at 5MP and 1170mAh respectively.
The Asus ZenFone 4 will be available in a number of colour
options including charcoal black, pearl white, cherry red, sky blue and solar
yellow for $99.
All three models will run on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with
Asus’s ZenUI on top.
Asus recently announced five new devices at IFA in Berlin,
Germany. The Taiwanese manufacturer tried to cover all bases by creating a
specific product for each consumer group, which includes a couple of budget
tablets and notebooks, two Ultrabooks and a convertible.
First on the list are two MeMO Pad tablets – the MeMO Pad 8
and MeMO Pad 10. As the name implies that the two tablets have an 8-inch and
10-inch display respectively. Both models have an IPS LED-backlit 1280x800
pixel displays, a 1.6GHz quad-core processor and either 8GB or 16GB of storage
(8GB for 8-inch model) with option for expandability through a microSD card
slot.
In the camera department, the 8-inch model boasts a 5MP
camera at the back while the 10-incher has a 2MP snapper at the back. Both
models have a 1.2MP front-facing camera and a pair of quality speakers that
uses Asus’ SonicMaster audio technology.
There’s also an updated version of the company’s FonePad
tablet. The tablet is powered by an Intel Atom Z2560 processor and uses Intel’s
hyper threading technology. The FonePad 7 of course packs a 7-inch IPS display
with an option for an 8GB, 16GB or 32GB storage.
The tablet also provides consumers with support for
telephony as well as a 5MP rear camera and a 1.2MP sub camera. Unfortunately,
there’s no support for 4G LTE and users would have to settle with 3G with
HSPA+.
The tablet will be powered by a 3950mAh battery, which
according to Asus is enough to get 28 hours of 3G talk time, 35 days of standby
time and up to 10 hours of video playback on a single charge. Asus will also be
providing 5GB of lifetime Asus WebStorage including WebStorage Office that
provides a full Microsoft Office experience on the move.
Both the MeMO Pad tablets and the FonePad 7 can be equipped
with a protective TriCover, which can be used to prop the screen for on-screen
typing or watching a video.
For more serious users, Asus is also updating their line of
notebooks. First one up is the Zenbook UX301 and US302. The new Zenbooks boasts
an attractive design with a Gorilla Glass 3 covered lid with Native Damage
Resistance. The UX301’s and UX302’s 13.3-inch displays have a resolution of
1920x1080 and 2560x1140 pixels respectively.
The Zenbooks are powered by the latest-generation Intel Core
processors with an optional 512GB RAID SSD storage. They also come equipped
with either an Intel Iris graphics or Nvidia’s GeForce GT730M with Optimus
technology for improved game visuals and detail settings.
The Ultrabook will come with the usual standard connectivity
options including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0 and a backlit keyboard with automatic
light level control and large multi-touch touchpads with support for Windows 8
gestures.
In case, you want a smaller Ultrabook, Asus also released
the 10-inch X102BA. The device’s 10.1-inch display has a resolution of 1366x720
pixels and features 10-point multi-touch capability with a 5mm contact point.
The device is powered by a 1GHz AMD A4-1200 APU (Accelerated
Processing Unit), which is complemented by a Radeon HD 8180 graphics chip that
delivers performance and energy efficiency. Asus also equipped the X102BA with
its SonicMaster technology as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0, USB 3.0, a large
multi-touch trackpad that also supports Windows 8 gestures and the company’s
Super Hybrid Engine II that gives it the “Instant-On” feature found in most
smartphones and tablets.
Last but certainly not the least is a convertible called the
Transformer Book T300. The 13.3-inch laptop has a detachable full HD display
that works as a standalone Windows 8 tablet.
It also packs a multi-touch digitizer technology that
detects a 6mm contact point in contrast to the Microsoft-recommended 9mm
contact point. There’s also a pair of cameras, with the one at the front
capable of capturing 720p videos while the one on the back can take 1080p
videos.
The Transformer Book T300 has a built-in USB port,
micro-HDMI port and an LED battery charge indicator. The keyboard dock on the
other hand features a magnetic dock connector that snaps onto the tablet
display. The dock comes equipped with a full-size keyboard with backlit keys
and a large multi-touch pad, again with support for Windows 8 gestures.
Asus recently announced its newest Zenbook that will make
its debut at Computex 2013 next month in Taipei, Taiwan – the Asus Zenbook
Infinity Ultrabook.
The Zenbook Infinity will sport dual-Gorilla Glass 3
protection, which is a feature never before seen in the notebook industry. The
first layer of toughened glass will be found on the laptop’s lid and is fused
with the aluminium panel of the laptop. So even with an extra layer of glass,
Asus was still able to shave a few millimetres off the Zenbook Infinity making
it 14% thinner than its predecessor at only 15.5mm.
Just like other Zenbooks, the Zenbook Infinity still
features the metallic rippling pattern in the lid which is a trademark of the
Asus Zenbook line of Ultrabooks, only now this pattern is protected by a layer
of toughened glass.
The other Gorilla Glass 3 panel on the laptop will be found
on the area surrounding the keyboard. This gives the keyboard area an added
layer of protection that is resistant to scratches whilst maintaining a
high-gloss finish.
The new Corning Gorilla Glass 3 has the same durability and
thinness as Gorilla Glass 2 but uses the company’s NDR technology (Native
Damage resistance). This new technology gives the glass superioir scratch
resistance, reduced scratch visibility and improved toughness. Specifically,
Gorilla Glass 3 has 3 times the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass 2, gives a
40% reduction in the number of highly visible scratches and 40% improved retained
strength if a deep scratch does occur.
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