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Setting the Standard for Low-Cost Smart Phones — New ASUS ZenFone 2

posted by martyb on Thursday May 28 2015, @07:37PM   
from the laptop-in-your-pocket dept.

Anonymous Coward writes:

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

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[Editor's Comment: Original Submission]

• $200/300 $200/300 (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @08:47PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @08:47PM (#189320)

  That's low cost?

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• Re:$200/300 Re:$200/300 (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @09:00PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @09:00PM (#189330)

  Compared to the fruit phone it is.

  Parent

  • Re:$200/300 Re:$200/300 (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @09:04PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @09:04PM (#189332)

    Blackberry?

    Parent

    • Re:$200/300 (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @09:14PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @09:14PM (#189334)

      No, the phone for fruits.

      Parent

• Re:$200/300 (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 29 2015, @05:48AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 29 2015, @05:48AM (#189523)

  > That's low cost?

  Indeed. I have a couple of nokia 520's I picked up for $20 each.
  They have 25% the RAM and 50% the storage, but they were just 10% of the cost.
  They run windows, but the GUI is fast. I'm not a big phone guy, so I don't really care that there aren't a million different spyware apps. I do wish I could root them though.

  Parent