Official ZenFone 5 Thread

[caterham7]

so i am right to say the China type can be used in Singapore?
or they got sell different type?

thanks..

china has a few different networks

buy the wcdma version

 

[knightshaz]

so i am right to say the China type can be used in Singapore?
or they got sell different type?

thanks..

just like how some people go china and bought redmi 1s td-cdma version only to find out they can only use 2G. same applies to zenfone, make sure it's wcdma and not td-cdma if buying in china.

 

[floxika]

just like how some people go china and bought redmi 1s td-cdma version only to find out they can only use 2G. same applies to zenfone, make sure it's wcdma and not td-cdma if buying in china.

thanks.. will let my friend knows so she can buy the correct version..

 

[galliano]

Ok, here's a personal review after using it for about 1 day or so. I'm not a tech expert, just a simple guy who has taken a liking to the budget phones.

Note that I converted from a iPhone 5S to a Redmi to Zenfone (now). So comparing apple to apple, i'll be using my 3 month long experience with my trusty Redmi as the basis for comparison. Only gonna talk about the main differences.

Pros:
1. Build quality. As mentioned before, it puts a smile on any one face when you actually realize is a phone that costs only $200. The metallic buttons wins hands down. In short, its not bulky.

2. Lightweight. Kudos for a 5" phone.

3. Speed. Its slightly faster than the Redmi considering the Zenfone has 2Gb ram. No issues with lag or stuttering as what some reviews claim. My mkv movies (on SD card) actually starts up faster. However, when running certain apps, I notice smtimes its not as smooth as the Redmi, but its hardly noticeable. Its still as buttery as anything. Hopefully new firmwares (or the KK version) might make it better.

4. Dual 3G SIM slots!

5. Yes, it supports Android 4.3 & future 4.4 OS. This is a big plus considering the Redmi (including the 1S & Note) is still wallowing in 4.2

6. Bluetooth 4.0 (finally can sync with my fitness trackers)

Cons:
1. Battery. Its no good (nuff said) and to make things worse, its non-removable. Apologies, as I do not know how to test professionally, but I can honestly say that the batt life is not as good as Redmi (which is already not that fantastic)

2. Camera. This is the reason why i took so long to write this review. I tried many times to take photos of moving objects. And again, the quality of photos from Redmi's cam exceeds. Its somewhat more natural with no degradation in certain spots. Despite all that marketing hype about Asus low light capability .. honestly, how often do you need to take photos in low light?! What i want is a camera that takes good pictures when i want it .. my food shots, my kid shots.

3. OS. Xiaomi’s MUI is way better, easy to use, downloadable themes.

Conclusion
In a nutshell, I prefer the Zenfone over the Redmi. Considering the 720p screen quality is pretty decent and its bigger at 5’. And again, the build quality is very good. As for the batt , I’ll need to do more power management. And I could get use to the camera.

The point is.. the Zenfone is a very good sub $250 phone. I mean .. c’mon .. its cheap. And it does not feel or function like a budget phone. Today in office, I showed 5 colleagues .. and 3 of them are going to stop waiting for the Redmi Note. I think that’s evident enough.

(apologies for the long review)

 

[kyleongwl]

Ok, here's a personal review after using it for about 1 day or so. I'm not a tech expert, just a simple guy who has taken a liking to the budget phones.

Note that I converted from a iPhone 5S to a Redmi to Zenfone (now). So comparing apple to apple, i'll be using my 3 month long experience with my trusty Redmi as the basis for comparison. Only gonna talk about the main differences.

Pros:
1. Build quality. As mentioned before, it puts a smile on any one face when you actually realize is a phone that costs only $200. The metallic buttons wins hands down. In short, its not bulky.

2. Lightweight. Kudos for a 5" phone.

3. Speed. Its slightly faster than the Redmi considering the Zenfone has 2Gb ram. No issues with lag or stuttering as what some reviews claim. My mkv movies (on SD card) actually starts up faster. However, when running certain apps, I notice smtimes its not as smooth as the Redmi, but its hardly noticeable. Its still as buttery as anything. Hopefully new firmwares (or the KK version) might make it better.

4. Dual 3G SIM slots!

5. Yes, it supports Android 4.3 & future 4.4 OS. This is a big plus considering the Redmi (including the 1S & Note) is still wallowing in 4.2

6. Bluetooth 4.0 (finally can sync with my fitness trackers)

Cons:
1. Battery. Its no good (nuff said) and to make things worse, its non-removable. Apologies, as I do not know how to test professionally, but I can honestly say that the batt life is not as good as Redmi (which is already not that fantastic)

2. Camera. This is the reason why i took so long to write this review. I tried many times to take photos of moving objects. And again, the quality of photos from Redmi's cam exceeds. Its somewhat more natural with no degradation in certain spots. Despite all that marketing hype about Asus low light capability .. honestly, how often do you need to take photos in low light?! What i want is a camera that takes good pictures when i want it .. my food shots, my kid shots.

3. OS. Xiaomi’s MUI is way better, easy to use, downloadable themes.

Conclusion
In a nutshell, I prefer the Zenfone over the Redmi. Considering the 720p screen quality is pretty decent and its bigger at 5’. And again, the build quality is very good. As for the batt , I’ll need to do more power management. And I could get use to the camera.

The point is.. the Zenfone is a very good sub $250 phone. I mean .. c’mon .. its cheap. And it does not feel or function like a budget phone. Today in office, I showed 5 colleagues .. and 3 of them are going to stop waiting for the Redmi Note. I think that’s evident enough.

(apologies for the long review)

A very well written...

Batt life cant b help
Camera, like M7 then, sold as gd for low light...but daylight is a so-so.
Miui could b installed thru the miui express.

 

[simplytimo]

Cons:[/B]
1. Battery. Its no good (nuff said) and to make things worse, its non-removable. Apologies, as I do not know how to test professionally, but I can honestly say that the batt life is not as good as Redmi (which is already not that fantastic)

2. Camera. This is the reason why i took so long to write this review. I tried many times to take photos of moving objects. And again, the quality of photos from Redmi's cam exceeds. Its somewhat more natural with no degradation in certain spots. Despite all that marketing hype about Asus low light capability .. honestly, how often do you need to take photos in low light?! What i want is a camera that takes good pictures when i want it .. my food shots, my kid shots.

3. OS. Xiaomi’s MUI is way better, easy to use, downloadable themes.

Conclusion
In a nutshell, I prefer the Zenfone over the Redmi. Considering the 720p screen quality is pretty decent and its bigger at 5’. And again, the build quality is very good. As for the batt , I’ll need to do more power management. And I could get use to the camera.

The point is.. the Zenfone is a very good sub $250 phone. I mean .. c’mon .. its cheap. And it does not feel or function like a budget phone. Today in office, I showed 5 colleagues .. and 3 of them are going to stop waiting for the Redmi Note. I think that’s evident enough.

(apologies for the long review)

Hi,

For battery, can you try and install battery saver app and see if it helps and share with us?

For camera, can adjusting contrast/sharpness/etc. and use of flash helps?

 

[thewiseone]

Zenfone 5 is different. The China's version is also WCDMA and thats what i'm using.

thanks.. will let my friend knows so she can buy the correct version..

 

[simplytimo]

thanks.. will let my friend knows so she can buy the correct version..

Apart from that I saw somewhere that they specifically say that if you are on china version you have to use the china upgrade patch so I guess there maybe some other difference in the software.

I think buying tw version is safer.

 

[Advancer]

Could someone advice how I can get the red battery cover? Not good with the Chinese language taobao. Can someone help bring one in and I will pay u for that?

 

[thewiseone]

Not quite true. The hardware is the same, difference is in the software. U can use a china model and flash it with a TW or WW firmware. Vice versa as well. Care must be taken however during the flashing process to reset to factory default to prevent operation quirks from appearing thereafter.

Apart from that I saw somewhere that they specifically say that if you are on china version you have to use the china upgrade patch so I guess there maybe some other difference in the software.

I think buying tw version is safer.

 

[Rickosw]

For new / current owners, I have second system update...does anyone know what is the update about? General system improvement?

As for the camera, there should be some difference in taking in "auto" mode vs specific special modes, blur / night / low light & HDR modes. It does improve the overall quality ...

I will try to post some pics when I get back.

 

[garychengjw]

nope, only got one update so far.

 

[knightshaz]

my phone updated once on saturday itself then there was another update on sunday

 

[kyleongwl]

Could someone advice how I can get the red battery cover? Not good with the Chinese language taobao. Can someone help bring one in and I will pay u for that?

U could get in thtu qoo10
[Qoo10] Carristo

 

[garychengjw]

To those using white version, is the back cover same material as black?
i find it that black it more fingerprint prone

 

[galleria]

Does anyone know how to use/activate the fast swipe input? Mine does not work when i tried to swipe across my keyboard or this doesn't work on ZF5?

 

[garychengjw]

can anyone run taobao app? mine keep crashing. app ver 4.5

 

[thewiseone]

Its the same for me, likewise on other android devices as well.

can anyone run taobao app? mine keep crashing. app ver 4.5

 

[thewiseone]

Asus SG is a joke! Collection due on 18th of June has been delayed. Just receive an sms with rescheduled collection on the 28th of June instead.

 

[world weary]

Same here, mine got postphoned as well