by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Large Enterprise, Marketing Basics, Markets, Technology
By Krishna SinhaChaudhury,
New Delhi : With dual-camera phones fast gaining popularity in the cut-throat Indian smartphone market, ASUS recently introduced three smartphones in its Zenfone 4 selfie series in the country.
The Taiwanese company introduced a total of six smartphones — Zenfone 4, Zenfone 4 Pro, Zenfone 4 Max, Zenfone 4 Max Pro and Zenfone 4 Selfie (two variants) — in Taipei but brought only three selfie-centric devices to India.
We received Rs 14,999 Zenfone 4 Selfie (Dual-Camera) and here is what we think of it.
At 144 grams, the smartphone is impressively light and easy to operate with one hand.
It sports a unibody design with metallic finish with stripes at the top and bottom ends that give it an attractive look.
We especially liked the design language used around the camera lens that reminded us of ASUS’ trademark concentric circle design.
The 5.5-inch HD LCD display topped with 2.5D curved glass blends well with the chassis. The display is bright with decent viewing angles.
Above the display lies the LED flash, dual-camera set-up, earpiece and the proximity sensor.
The fingerprint sensor sits below the display which was pretty quick to unlock the device.
The selfie shooter of the device has a 20MP sensor (aperture of f/2.0) and an 8MP secondary sensor (aperture of f/2.4) that lets the user click decent selfies — a high point of Zenfone 4 Selfie (Dual Camera) smartphone.
The user can also select the portrait mode that adds “Bokeh” effect to the selfies.
In our opinion, the selfies taken in standard mode fared better than the wide-angle selfies.
The front shooter also features “Live Beautification” mode that lets the user add artificial beautification to their image from level 1 to 10.
The 16MP rear camera takes good images and close-up shots in proper lighting had enough detail.
The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset coupled with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage that ensures smooth everyday performance.
The device runs its custom Zen UI based atop Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system (OS).
ASUS has not bundled unnecessary pre-installed apps in the smartphone, which is a welcome change.
The 3,000mAh battery lasted a little more than 12 hours on moderate usage with 4G running on one SIM slot, on a single charge.
What does not work?
The Snapdragon 430 processor does its job well in keeping the smartphone cool and gets daily tasks done, but considering the price, we would have loved to see a Snapdragon 625 chipset in this one.
Photos taken in low-light conditions had much noise.
The sunlight legibility of the display could have been better.
Conclusion: With decent overall performance, Zenfone 4 Selfie (Dual Camera) smartphone is a competent attempt by ASUS to make a mark in the selfie smartphone race in this price range.
(Krishna SinhaChaudhury can be contacted at krishna.s@ians.in )
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Markets, Technology
By Krishna SinhaChaudhury,
New Delhi : Chinese smartphone makers Vivo and Oppo have created a strong presence in India with their selfie-focused devices such as Vivo V5 Plus and Oppo F3 Plus. Now, Taiwan-based ASUS has joined the race with Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro.
Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is the flagship model in the “Zenfone 4 Selfie” series and, the company claims, features the world’s most advanced 24MP “DuoPixel” front shooter. The device is also being touted as the world’s first to come with 4K selfie video-recording capability.
Priced at Rs 23,999, the smartphone essentially competes with the likes of Vivo V5 Plus, Gionee A1 Plus and Oppo F3 Plus.
Will the selfie bet work for ASUS? Let’s find out.
A key highlight of the smartphone is the 24MP dual-front camera set-up with a f/1.8 aperture and Sony “IMX362” dual-pixel image sensor.
The front camera is also equipped with features like Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF), Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS), 4K video recording, DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging) technology and Super Pixel technology.
There is a secondary 5MP front shooter with f/2.2, 120-degree wide angle field of view and softlight LED flash.
The selfie camera resolution is set to 12MP by default and that lets the user click photos in “portrait mode” (which adds DSLR-like blurred background effects to the images).
One can activate the 24MP DuoPixel resolution in the settings. However, switching to this mode does not let the user try “portrait mode”.
The user can click standard and wide-angle snaps for selfies and “groupfies” when DuoPixel mode is turned on. Meanwhile, the “auto”, “selfie panorama”, “beauty” and “GIF animation” features work alike in both resolutions.
The selfie camera impressed us both indoors and outdoors. The “portrait mode” produced decent selfies with enough detail.
The soft LED flash lets the user capture better selfies in low-light conditions.
Open the camera app and swipe right to further choose filters like grayscale, warm, hipster, retro, faded, nostalgic, vibrant and blush.
In our opinion, selfies clicked in the 12MP mode looked better than those shot in 24MP DuoPixel resolution. There were some loss of detail, though, in the 12MP mode.
The 16MP rear snapper with PDAF and EIS captures good images sans any over-saturation.
The 5.5-inch, full HD display is good with decent sunlight legibility. Above the display are the dual camera modules, an LED flash, earpiece and proximity sensor.
Below the screen lies home button that doubles up as fingerprint sensor and two back-lit navigation buttons.
Both the volume rockers and power key (with ASUS’ trademark concentric circles) are placed at the right side of the device. The left side houses hybrid SIM card slot.
The rear follows neat design with camera module and flash while the ASUS logo sits below it.
Like many other Android phones in the market today, the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro also has antenna bands running on the top and bottom on the rear side.
The device sports a metal unibody design with a very light form factor. We found the phone ergonomic and easy to use with one hand.
It is worth mentioning that the device runs ASUS’ own “ZenUI” based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system (OS) which comes with much less bloatware this time.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset built on 14 nanometer (nm) process powers the device. That, coupled with 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage, delivered smooth performance.
Another good thing is the built-in FM radio that most Android smartphones give a miss these days.
What does not work?
The 3000mAh battery (with fast-charging support) disappointed despite a power efficient processor. It did not last through the day on moderate usage like browsing YouTube, running Google apps and social media use.
We also noticed that while playing games the device gets warm within just 15-20 minutes.
Conclusion: ASUS Zenfone Selfie Pro is indeed a good buy for the selfie-focused generation. Apart from delivering good selfies, there is smooth performance and premium looks that make it a strong contender in this price segment.
(Krishna SinhaChaudhury can be contacted at krishna.s@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Marketing Basics, Markets, Sales, SMEs, Technology
By Krishna SinhaChaudhury,
New Delhi : At a time when the dual-camera set-up at the rear is the buzz in the smartphone industry, how can Taiwan-based ASUS be left behind?
The newly-launched “Zenfone Zoom S” from ASUS comes with 12MP dual-camera system.
The primary camera is powered by Sony IMX 362 optics and has an f/1.7 aperture. The other camera comes with 12x “total” zoom and 2.3x “true” optical zoom — a feature which is not found even in Apple iPhone 7 Plus that features only a 2x optical zoom.
The smartphone also boasts of features such as Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS), Dual Pixel Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) and 4K video recording.
ASUS has aggressively priced Zenfone Zoom S at Rs 26,999 against the likes of Honor 8 Pro, Moto Z2 Play and OnePlus 5.
Is the new offering from ASUS all about the cameras or is there more to it? Let us find out.
What drew our attention was the phone’s slim form factor — at 7.9mm and 170g — despite housing a hefty 5,000mAh battery inside. Its nearest competitor Honor 8 Pro is tad slimmer at 7mm but weighs 184g.
Both the volume rockers and power key are placed on the right side and come with ASUS’ trademark concentric circles. The left side houses a hybrid SIM card slot.
Zenfone Zoom S has a standard 3.5-mm headphone socket, a USB Type-C port and a single speaker grille at the bottom.
Talking about its main highlight — the dual camera set-up sits almost flush in the back. There is a slight bump, though. Below the camera module is a dual-tone, dual LED flash and the laser autofocus system.
The 12MP + 12MP dual camera sensors have the same resolution, but they work differently.
The “SuperPixel” main camera has an aperture of f/1.7 and 25-mm focal length while the other sensor has an f/2.6 aperture and focal length of 59 mm.
The latter comes with 2.3x optical zoom and that is why the secondary sensor is used to optically zoom into the subject.
Both the sensors work to produce beautiful images with great detail. Zenfone Soom S managed to capture decent images in low-light conditions as well, courtesy the OIS feature.
The camera interface is fairly simple with modes like depth of field, all smiles, professional manual controls and beautification, among others.
This is also the world’s slimmest dual-camera smartphone with a massive 5,000mAh battery.
The build of Zenfone Zoom S is top notch with a metal unibody design and antenna bands running at the top and bottom on the rear side, similar to what we saw on the iPhone 7 Plus.
The 5.5-inch full-HD AMOLED display is capable of producing vivid colours. It made blacks look deep and colours pretty rich. Sunlight legibility was great, thanks to the brightness level of 500 nits.
The display is topped up with a protective layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and has 2.5D curve that renders a smooth finish to it.
The fingerprint sensor is placed on the rear of the phone and is very accurate and fast.
We managed to get almost two days of battery life on a single charge, thanks to the hefty battery.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset coupled with 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage (expandable up to 2TB via MicroSD card) enables the device handle daily tasks with ease.
The front side accommodates a 13MP selfie camera sensor with f/2.0 aperture that captures good shots.
What does not work?
ASUS is still using non-backlit keys which is an annoyance; it is time that the Taiwanese giant ditches these old-fashioned keys.
The company’s custom interface — called ZenUI 3.0 and based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat — is heavy. It is the same that was found in previous ASUS phones and has lost much of its sheen.
Lack of fast-charging support is also a bit disappointing.
Conclusion: Zenfone Zoom S is a great choice when it comes to camera performance and build quality. It is worth mentioning that the phone is not only about its cameras; its battery life makes it stand out in the crowd.
(Krishna SinhaChaudhury can be contacted at krishna.s@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Markets, Technology
New Delhi, (IANS) Taiwan-based computer hardware company ASUS and Republic of Gamers (ROG) have launched a virtual reality (VR) ready gaming graphics card that is environmentally friendly and reduces power consumption by up to 50 percent.
The Rs.60,000 (plus taxes) ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 graphic card also features ASUS Aura RGB lighting to create better illumination effects and is capable of displaying millions of colours and six different effects for a totally personalised gaming system, ASUS said in a statement.
The graphic card has “DirectCU III” cooling technology with a triple wing-blade fan designed to deliver maximum airflow for 30 percent cooler and three times (3X) quieter performance.
A VR-friendly design with two HDMI ports lets gamers always keep a VR device connected to their system for immersive gaming anytime.
The graphic card also comes with ASUS “FanConnect” technology.
When gaming, the GPU often runs hotter than the CPU, but chassis fans usually only reference CPU temperatures, resulting in inefficient system cooling.
“FanConnect” solves this issue with two 4-pin GPU-controlled headers that can be connected to system fans to provide targeted supplemental cooling for optimal thermal performance.
It also comes with “GPU Tweak II” with “XSplitGamecaster” feature for intuitive performance tweaking and instant gameplay streaming.
