Newest phone models are being launched here and there these days, making it hard for us to decide which one to get this holiday season as gift for ourselves or loved ones. I have a friend who wanted to upgrade her phone, she sent me private message on Facebook in the middle of the night, asking for advise what's the best phone to buy. She considers Asus Zenfone 2 Laser and since I've been road-testing mine for a couple of weeks now, I think it's the perfect time to share with you my thoughts and favorite features of ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser.
Unboxing
ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser (ZE500KL) - P7,295.00
The phone is sealed in a rectangular box that fits the palm of your hand, almost just the same size as the phone.
If you're going to give it as a gift, wrapping it would be easy.
The box contains the phone on top, below it are the charger adapter, data cable, a headset (with extra earbuds), warranty, and manual.
Nothing fancy that comes with the package like screen protector or a free case but that's fine. I bought a screen protector in ATC and have it installed for only P150.00. Maybe you can find a cheaper one in other malls.
You can find these on each side of the box.
Main features: Pixel Master Camera, Bluetooth 4.0, HD Display, WLAN, 4G/LTE, Gorilla Glass 4
ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser comes in different back colors such as blue, purple, red, white, silver, gold, and black. I'm so happy that I got the red one. It love the classy metallic red, perfect for its design.
It's thin and offers nice grip due to its itsergonomic arc design (curved back) and thinnest edge measuring 3.9mm. It fits the palm of my hand perfectly, making it so comfortable to hold as the back cover features an exquisit hairline design with metallic finish. I love the velvety feel / texture of the back cover on my hands, reminds me of one of my favorite makeup brand NARS (if you're a girl, you'll know what I mean hah!). The design and shape of the phone won't feel like it's about to drop while you're using it.
The removable battery is p owered by 3000 mAhLi - Polymer - 36 hours usage on 3G (single sim) and Wi-Fi turned on. Has 2 SIM Card slots, which is what I like with android phones. It's a great feature for people who handle their own businesses and different contacts.
I just can't find a Micro SD slot though in the manual it says it's up to 128 GB maximum micro SD storage. Please advise if you know how I can expand the memory. However it comes with a 16GB storage which is a lot already since I'm using the phone for my business and blog.
The shape of the phone helps improve the audio quality and you can still hear the sounds even if it's not facing downwards. I have an android phone where the speakers are also at the back but since it's flat at the back, the audio quality sounds muffled when you lay it normally on the table. It's not a big deal for me tho since I'm always on earphone or I use my bluetooth speaker whenever I want some nice soundtrip mood at home. Zenfone 2 Laser is equipped with Audio Wizard 2.0 that lets you adjust the sounds depending on your environment.
When it comes to the display, Zenfone 2 Laser has 5.0-inch HD screen (720 x 1280p) IPS Display and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 giving vibrant colors, just the right amount brightness (some phone make me feel blind by being too bright), wide viewing angles up to 178 degrees, and making the screen still readable even under sunlight. With the ASUS TruVivid Technology, it reduces reflectivenes while increasing clarity, brightness, and touch responsiveness.
It has 20nm anti-fingerprints coating with glove touch support that makes you enjoy swiping without leaving any fingerprint and even when you're wearing gloves. I honestly wanna run asap to the mall to get a screen protector because I wanted to avoid the feeling of leaving fingerprints while using it until I noticed, it doesn't need it at all because using it is flawless. I still got a screen protector though, because I'm OC like that, LOL.
It also comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for better protection from accidents and damages, making it the only smartphone on its price range, with the best screen protection. Zenfone 2 Laser is safer and stronger to use as the Gorilla Glass 4 gives 2x drop-damage resistance compared to its forerunner, 2.5x more strength, and 85% less likely to break even if you're using it everyday.
Responsiveness I've tried a lot of android phones before and to be honest, Zenfone 2 Laser is one of the fastest touch-response screen with just 60 ms. Definitely no lag feeling which is very important when you're playing games. It can also distinguish different patterns such as water drops, grease, and your finger making it still responsive despite these circumstances.
The ASUS ZenUI
This is the default display once you open the phone. It has a nice feature called ASUS Splendid where you can customize the temperature, hue, and saturation of your phone display, with Blue Light Filter (reduces 30% of blue-light emissions), making your eyes feel more relaxed as you use the phone for longer hours.
One of my most favorite features of this phone is its pre-installed theme management apps. Correct me if I'm wrong but based from experience, with other android phones, you need to download apps like launcher and stuff but Zenfone 2 Laser offers different artistic themes, pre-installed in the phone. I know what you're thinking, I immediately played with the themes of course! Haha.
Choose from the list of themes available, download the free ones, and Install for free!
I'm currently loving Afternoon Tea Theme. It has been my theme since I got the phone.
Afternoon Tea Theme Installed
Now. are you ready to See What Others Can't See?
Zenfone 2 Laser has PixelMaster 2.0 Camera, 8MP rear camera with laser auto-focus, dual-LED real tone flash, and 5MP camera in front for selfies. The 0.3 Laser Auto-Focus gives the fastest clarity with its infrared laser. You can now have close-up photos even in low-light environment.
For true life colors, Zenfone 2 Laser has Dual Color Real Tone Flash by using both yellow and white-based lighting. You can also simply swipe "C" on the screen to launch the camera! Not all, even high-end phones offer that cool feature.
By the way, that long button at the center is the Volume control. I was looking for it on the sides when I opened it but found it there which for me is better so you will not accidentally adjust the volume plus, it's easier to take selfies! You can use the Volume decrease button as shutter release.
Another favorite, you can now enjoy the manual setting of a DSLR straight on your Zenfone 2 Laser! It's one of the first things that I always look for in a smart phone or digital camera. It's perfect for photo savvy people and bloggers like me.
Now let's go to my favorite part! Selfies!
I'm in love with this feature! Real Time Beautification Mode!
As you can see on the photo above, these were automatically adjusted: skin softening, brightening, blush, eyes enhance, cheek thinning, and color correction! You can adjust everything in the settings. I feel like I look totally dolled-up without making any effort. Cool! See how flawless my skin is? 😀 If you don't like it to look too perfect, you can adjust your preferred style in the settings.
Sample Selfies: (No Edit, No Filter, just the Beautification Mode effect)
These were taken via front camera of Asus Zenfone 2 Laser. No edit and filter baby!
Sample Image using the Zenfone 2 Laser's Rear Camera
It's 8MP Aperture, 5-element lens, Auto-focus, Dual Color Flash
Camera Selection Settings (Rear Cam)
You can choose from different settings depending on the kind of photograph you want to produce like panorama, selfie, or auto mode.
Here's a sample video taken around 5 PM in the afternoon - Auto Mode
You can record a video with a maximum resolution of Full HD 1920 x 1080 while the laser auto focus system still works to also fix blurry video footage.
PerformanceASUS Zenfone 2 Laser - 64 bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 cortex A53 MSM8916 quad core processor
Adreno 306 GPU clockspeed @ 400MHz.
2GB DDR3 RAM
Variants (Storage): 8GB - 16GB, supports up to 128 GB MicroSD card
Zen UI Launcher for easy customization tools
Theme Store where you can access latest themes and customize your display (colors, font, wallpapers, etc.)
Privacy Protection - SnapView to protect your personal apps so you can share your phone without worries.
Zen Motion allows you to detect gestures to directly go to the app that you want to use.
Kids Mode to easily manage applications for your kids and be in control of everything.
Easy Mode to simplify display. This is great for our parents or old loved ones who want a everything on basic look.
Here's a quick comparison overview of ZenFone Laser vs. ZenFone 2 Laser 5.0
Full Specifications ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser: Model Name: ZE500KL (ZenFone 2 Laser)
Price: P7,295.00 (check for sale and promos to get discounts)
Screen: 5-inch
Screen Resolution: IPS LED Backlight TFT screen with 178 o wide view angle
Pixel Per Inch: 294
IPS Panel: Corning Gorilla 4 glass with with 178 o wide view angle
Processor: Qualcomm, Snapdragon S410, Quadcore, 1.2 GHz
Rear Camera: 8MP Aperture, 5 elemet lens, Auto focus, Dual Color Flash
Front Camera: 5MP, f/2.0 Aperture, wide angel 85 o Pano Selfie
Battery: 2070mAh Prismatic battery (removable)
Network: 3G, LTE
Operating System: Android Lollipop 5.0
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16 GB
WebStorage/Google drive/ Dropbox bundle: 5GB Free (lifetime)
Dual SIM support: Yes
Max Micro SD Support: 128GB
Bluetooth 4.0
Navigation System: A-GPS and GLONASS
Sensor: Accelerator, E-compass, proximity, hall sensor, ambient light sensor
Weight: 140 grams
Colors Available: Black, White, Red, Purple, Aqua Blue, Gold, Silver
I'm not a tech blogger or really that techie, fyi. So my view on this phone is really as a consumer and someone who is looking for a great quality smartphone that's worth the price. I've been wanting to one of the the ASUS ZenFone models since I heard only great stuff about their products. For the price of P7,295.00, this is a great investment. I have friends who are looking for a nice gift for themselves and their family this Christmas and I highly recommend this phone if you're aiming for a phone as a gift. ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser has a lot of cool features and great specs for the price. I love the design, no doubt it won an award for 2015. Camera quality is nice too especially the selfie or front cam, oh I really love it! The display is very sophisticated. So yes, two thumbs up for this phone and I highly recommend it to you guys. If you're budget is less than 10k, get this phone.
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