ZenFone 5: Decked up for the show

The mid range smartphone market has seen several entrants in the past few months. From Moto G to HTC Desire 516, all are out to woo you . Every company claims that their device has something new to offer, something the others don't have. The latest in this crowded ring is the Asus Zenfone series - ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 6. The Taiwanese smartphone maker says the devices will formally be launched in India on July 9; and they shall reveal the price of the gadgets on that day.

We got a chance to lay our hands on the Asus ZenFone 5 ahead of its launch.

Design and display
The ergonomic design will impress you at the first look. The device is easy to hold and not heavy (145 g). It features a 5-inch IPS HD (720x1280 pixels) screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The company says its new TruVivid technology reproduces a greater range of rich, natural colours. The screen's 294ppi pixel density makes text sharp and clear; this means the ZenFone 5 is gives you a fantastic web browsing experience.

Camera and software
The ZenFone 5 sports an 8-megapixel (MP) autofocus rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture lens and LED flash. There is also a 2MP front camera. The company is touting its PixelMaster technology to combine software, hardware and optical design for delivering good image quality. The camera could shape up to be the Asus' best asset in the market today.

The ZenFone 5 still runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, but an update to Android 4.4 KitKat will be made available soon.

Specifications and performance
Asus will be launching the A501CG model in India, which has an Intel Atom Z2560 dual-core (with HyperThreading) chipset. This chip runs at 1.6GHz instead of 2GHz but in order to make up for this, the Zenfone 5 will have 2GB RAM. You also get 8GB of onboard storage, which is expandable up to 64GB.

Comments
Asus ZenFone 5 packs a punch with its screen and solid build. It's pretty impressive for a mid-range phone. If ZenFone 5 is priced anywhere around Rs 15,000, it can be a very good option for those who prefer large screens.