ASUS Zenphone™ 5LTE Smartphone Review #ZentasticXmas

My usual phone and tablet are both Samsung, the phone being a Zoom, which I got especially for the camera ability.  So I was looking forward to trying this one out and see what the camera was capable of.  As a blogger, the camera and internet connection are vital!

It was really easy to set up.  The initial charge didn’t take that long and in fact subsequent charging has been completed very quickly too.  It was quite intuitive, which is good for someone like me who doesn’t like reading manuals.

This Android phone has a JellyBean 4.3 operating system and is equipped with a fast, energy-efficient Intel^®Atom™ Z2560 (1.6GHz) processor.  This doesn’t means much to me, but what I do know is that it is super quick; can cope with me running a million things at once and never closing any windows!  The details state it has 2GB of RAM, which to my knowledge is pretty good.  The WiFi and 4G performance are also impressive.  A great feature of the platform is that it brings your diary/appointments into a list on the main screen, which even works when the screen is locked.

 I love how it gives you a little comment about the weather!  Who needs Wincy Willis!

I sometimes work on my phone, so I need a decent sized screen.  The ZenFone™ 5 has a 5-inch IPS panel that delivers superb high-definition images.  It has a 1280 x 720-pixel resolution, resulting in gorgeous pin sharp images, with rich, bright colours.  Perfect for lots of lovely blog post images.  It also has a resilient anti-fingerprint coating effectively reduces smudges on the screen.  I am not sure this is vital for me, but a nice touch.

 I love how bright and crystal clear the images are.

The phone has a 8 megapixel rear camera (f/2.0 lens) and a 2 mega pixel front camera (f/2.4).  It features PixelMaster, technology that delivers incredible image quality.  Image stabilisation and low light mode to capture 400% more light, which I think is quite amazing.  I used the low light mode on a recent trip to see Santa, with  some fab results.  The camera has lots of different options, such as time rewind, HDR, Panorama, Night, Low Light, Selfie, Miniature, Depth of Field, Smart Remove, All Smiles, Portrait & GIF animation.  You can hold the button down to take a series of shots, which is great when you are chasing a crazy toddler!

 I think it did a great job in Santa’s Grotto, as it was really dark in there.

The phone is really sleek and at it’s thinnest edge is 5.5mm.  A great addition for me (as I have form for breaking phones!) is that is has Gorilla^® Glass 3, which would help me keep it in one piece…. probably…   There are four difference colour options; Charcoal Black/Pearl White/Cherry Red/Champagne Gold.  You can also take the back off (which includes the sides) and change the colour of the phone instantly.   It is also light for a phone with a large footprint.

The phone is really straight forward to use.  The only thing that took me a little getting used to way that the ‘back’ button is on the opposite side to my Samsung phone.  It has a super fast response time of about 60ms.  Scrolling is virtually without any noticeable lag.  I think especially for photographing children, that super fast response is vital, as you never know when you want to snap something.

 

The battery demonstrates up to 334 hours (3G) standby time and 18.5 hours talk time, which is music to my ears.  I am ALWAYS running out of battery and forgetting my chargers.  I was pretty impressed with the overall lasting power of the ZenFone 5. It features Smart Saving, Ultra Saving and a custom mode which allows you to adjust power saving as you wish.  Since using this phone I haven’t been caught short (battery wise!).

Another thing I need it lots of storage, as I take trillions of photo’s and forget to delete them… until the phone grinds to a halt.  So the 8GB internal storage is fab.  There is also 5GB of free lifetime ASUS Web Storage and a memory card slot (taking a card of up to 64mb).  So I doubt I will ever fill it up.

I really liked the Zenphone 5LTE, it was responsive, didn’t leave me high and dry battery wise and I really like the results I got with the camera.  It is priced at around £200 (sim free), meaning that it is affordable too.