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The recently released ASUS smartphone zenfone 2 has hit a new price/perf benchmark point with an MSRP of $199 but mid-high range specs:
-4G LTE
-Quadcore x86 processor
-5.5 inch IPS 1080P screen with gorilla glass
-2GB of RAM
-16GB storage
-3000 mAh battery
The low price is in part because Intel has been desperately trying to get a foothold in the mobile market and likely playing contra-revenue games. Unlike past low-cost options like the oneplus phone, this phone has wide release being sold at online retailers like Amazon.
Is this setting a new standard in low-cost, high-performance phones, or is this a temporary ploy until Intel starts charging for their SoCs? Will this lead to a price war between Mediatek, Qualcomm, and Intel? All of which have already released phones this year for the North American marketplace supporting the 4G spectrum. How low-priced can these smartphones with laptop-like specs go?
Reviewed here: http://anandtech.com/show/9251/the-asus-zenfone-2-review
[Editor's Comment: Original Submission]
(Score: 2, Informative) by Wierd0n3 on Thursday May 28 2015, @08:26PM
I had two big questions after testing the ZenFone 2's display. The first was "Why does ASUS employ the use of such heavy CABC and dynamic contrast?" The second was "Why does ASUS limit the maximum brightness to around 80% of what the display is capable of?" I think these battery results answer both of them, and ASUS provided some additional information that supports it as well. The display and LED backlight on the ZenFone 2 is likely not as efficient as those on some other smartphones.
seems the atom processor isn't the biggest hog on the device.
(Score: 2) by Alfred on Thursday May 28 2015, @08:31PM
*face palm*
That was my fail. No wonder the article seemed so short, I was missing 10 pages. Thanks
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday May 28 2015, @08:40PM
The processor hasn't been the biggest hog on any phone I've ever seen. Its the screen.
4 Cores? Means nothing! 3 of them are essentially shut down 95-99% of the time and the remaining one is rigorously throttled.
There is a hell of a lot of "stare time" on phones, where you can't shut down the screen, but you need virtually zero CPU resources.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Friday May 29 2015, @01:07AM
Meh... My solution has been to just go to buy a couple of extra batteries and an external charger from Amazon or a slow boat from China. They are usually sold in sets and are about $20. I swap phones often so I do this way too often for a normal human (perhaps I am abnormal). I have had to wait about a month before this option was available as the phone was new. I have never had quality issues with the non-OEM batteries.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday May 29 2015, @02:26AM
External battery packs are pretty nice too.
I've been lucky in that my current phone gets about 18 hours with normal use. After its a couple years old, that might change.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.