In March 2015, Asus announced a whole line of three device models. We are talking about Zenfone 2, and its three variations share only the design concept, while the technical content of the ZE551ML, ZE550ML and ZE500CL is completely different.
The hero of our today's review will be the latest version of the ZE500CL. It is positioned as the “youngest” of the above devices, respectively, with the most modest parameters and the lowest cost. Despite this, she also has something to boast about. Don't believe? Consider the success of Asus devices in the tablet market. For some reason, there are suggestions that a similar company can achieve with smartphones, using the same approaches and relying on the same values. The same could happen with the lineup that includes the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL. Customer reviews, at least, do not rule it out.
Model concept
Let's start with the mini-characteristics of the phone, which is described today, in general. In terms of price, Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL 16Gb can be attributed tolower price class (within 10-11 thousand rubles as of the time of writing); while in terms of its characteristics and design, the model can quite adequately compete with more expensive devices. This is facilitated by the manufacturability of the smartphone, its well-coordinated work, optimized processes that occur in the device.
The phone comes in two versions, which differ in the amount of internal memory (8 and 16 GB, respectively), as well as the cost (albeit insignificant, within 1 thousand rubles). However, this should not be so important, since the device supports the operation of a MicroSD memory card, due to which you can expand the memory to 64 GB, and this is enough for a huge amount of content of any type.
To understand more about the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL (8 GB) smartphone, read our review below.
Package
Traditionally, I would like to start a more detailed description of what is included in the package along with the phone. After all, if branded and more well-known manufacturers are “modest” in this regard, then less popular developers belonging to category B and C brands, on the contrary, put various accessories in the box with the device, providing the buyer with everything necessary. And how is Asus doing in this regard?
When you open the box, the first thing you notice is the device itself - the dark sheen of its display and the glare on the side faces, painted “under the metal”. Raising the divider reveals the instructions for using the device, as well as the charger. Those whoI expected that the manufacturing company would take care of providing headphones, an additional battery or a case for the device in the basic package, we are forced to disappoint. But if you want, you can buy all this. True, the official phone, delivered “in white” participated in the review. In the course of preparation for publication, we managed to establish that headphones were also found in the set of phones that were brought into the country “gray” way.
But speaking of official sales, we can say that the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL mobile phone is sold in the “nothing more” format.
Design
Calling a smartphone a “shovel” will not work - due to the 5-inch screen, the device seems compact and habitually lies in the hand. When designing the appearance of the phone, Asus borrowed the idea of Nokia, which consists in designing the front of the device in a dark color (thus visually blurring the line between the display and the frame around it, due to which the dimensions of the first seem much larger). The back cover of the phone is somewhat rounded and made in a certain color (there are three of them: black, white and red). The plastic cover is pleasant to the touch, non-slip and looks attractive.
In terms of navigation elements, according to reviews related to Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL, the device does not show anything new: on the upper side (in the center) there is a screen lock button, the bottom panel has placed the physical navigation keys “Home”, “Back”, as well as a button to search for information. The only feature is, perhaps,the sound control key, which instead of the side face was placed on the back of the smartphone, directly under the camera. Whatever you say, this decision is original and, as practice has shown, quite justified. The phone charging port is at the bottom, while the audio jack is at the top.
The smartphone is assembled, according to the reviews written about Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL, of sufficient quality. At least in everyday use, no squeaks are felt in the panels of the device - it seems that everything sits in one piece. But it's not. The phone has a removable back cover, although the battery is non-removable. This is done in order to insert a memory card or SIM.
Screen
The five-inch display of the device operates on the basis of an IPS-matrix, which allows us to talk about the high brightness and saturation of the colors transmitted by it. The screen resolution is 720 by 1280 pixels, which gives an image density of 294 pixels per inch (a good indicator, indicating the clarity of the image).
At the top of the display is a protective glass Gorilla Glass 3, which, according to the developers, is able to withstand scratches, chips and other damage, even resulting from strong impacts of the device. Reviews describing the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL indicate that the phone has very good color reproduction: the display does not fade in the sun and retains the image even as a result of tilt and turn.
Processor
What kind of technical filling is contained in the phone,determines its further behavior - speed, reaction speed, stability and other indicators. Speaking about Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL 16Gb, we can note a rather strong Intel Atom Z2560 processor. It operates on the basis of two cores, clocked at 1.6 GHz. Paired with 2 GB of RAM, this equipment allows you to talk about the high level of smartphone performance, noting its ability to work even with bulky games without slowing down and reducing graphics quality.
If the dry numbers don't impress you, you can trust that this device is an Asus product. It becomes noticeable that the manufacturer, apparently, has optimized the processor. This can also be evidenced by the almost complete absence of heating of the smartphone in its operation, which, in turn, has a positive effect on battery consumption.
Even if you, as a user of Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL Black, do not plan to play on it, you can still be sure that the smartphone will cope with its basic tasks (like the banal switching of some less demanding applications in terms of performance).
Autonomy
We have already partially touched upon the issue of battery operation, noting that during the operation the smartphone's processor does not heat up, which already solves many difficulties in the form of rapid charge consumption. In addition, a 2500 mAh battery can provide the phone with up to 28 hours of talk time and up to 360 hours of normal device downtime. This figure is somewhat higher thanmost other Android phones in the same price range.
However, the reviews characterizing the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL smartphone indicate that everything is bad with autonomy, and the declared indicators are far from reality. Like, in fact, the phone is able to hold out for no more than 3-4 hours of video playback, after which it will be completely discharged. Unfortunately, this information was confirmed by several opinions of buyers, therefore, it is possible that Asus claims on paper not real indicators, but their goals that have no real basis.
Camera
On the device, as you could guess from the pictures presented in the review, two cameras are installed. We can say that this is a traditional set for such devices. Of course, we are talking about the front (for “selfies”) and the main camera (the latter is located on the back of the phone). The characteristics of both are as follows: the resolution of the matrix of the main camera is 8 megapixels, while the front one has a resolution of 2 megapixels. The quality of the photos on both can be called normal when compared with other Android devices.
As user specs dedicated to Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL show, pictures on the front camera are obtained with a slightly downgraded color gamut. For example, in white areas, the photo may give off a bluish color. But this problem is not so significant - the detail of the images compensates for this shortcoming.
The main camera shoots with high quality. Of course, it cannot be compared with flagship matrices, butand there is nothing to complain about here. The flash allows you to take pictures in dark conditions, and the details in the picture can be captured using the autofocus function.
Another way to take good pictures is the presence of various modes. In particular, these are HDR, macro and auto shooting, the “maximum distance” and “low light” modes. There is the possibility of creating geotagging.
Video can be shot in 1080p.
Operating system
As already noted, the gadget works on Android OS, version 5.0 (named Lollipop). Now, obviously, users will be able to upgrade to modification 6, in which some errors of the previous generation are fixed.
It should also be noted that the model has a special ZenUI graphical shell used on Asus devices. It differs from the “naked” system by the presence of original icons, more colorful transitions, as well as a set of proprietary software. The latter include Asus Do it later, Email client, Splendid. The developer did not disdain the installation of affiliate programs such as Kindle, TripAdvisor, CleanMaster. The practice is that most people simply uninstall these programs, preferring to use their own set of applications. We've found that some reviews of the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL 16GB say the labeled UI isn't as visually appealing as pure Android. Apparently, this is a matter of taste.
Multimedia
The possibilities of the device to work with entertainment content are huge. For example, an Asus smartphoneZenfone 2 ZE500CL 16Gb is capable of playing all the most popular audio and video formats. Those that won't run in the base player can be made to play in additional programs like MX Player or VLC. You can install them, if you wish, on Google Play.
Special attention should be paid to the built-in photo editor, which received a lot of positive feedback from users. All things considered, the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL is a solid multimedia device at an affordable price.
Communication
Despite the fact that dual-SIM devices have become popular lately, the ZE500CL model does not belong to them - there is a slot for only one card. The phone is able to receive all major GSM signals, work in 2G/3G/4G networks.
In addition to these, there is also support for another standard set of communication capabilities: Bluetooth (for file sharing), GPS and GLONASS (for navigation), and, of course, support for WiFi connection to work with high-speed wireless Internet connection.
Memory
We have already mentioned that the phone has 8 or 16 GB to choose from (this information is contained in the name of the device, for example, Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL 16 GB). Also, as already mentioned, there is support for memory cards - up to 64 GB. The card slot is located under the back cover, so you should not count on the fact that you can easily take it out to download new data. Do this, especiallymove, not easy.
Accessories
Separately, I would like to characterize a set of additions to the smartphone that make working with it more convenient. Not without reason, after all, representatives of the developer company devoted a significant proportion of the time of their presentation to the issue of accessories for Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL 5.
The first category is the body elements, in particular, the back covers, which have a special, exclusive design. Due to the fact that they are painted in a color with an iridescent tint, such covers are in additional demand among those who have already purchased a smartphone.
Of course, there were some protections for Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL LTE. So, the category of covers includes interesting products of the ViewFlipCover series, which have an original round hole for viewing information about incoming calls and other updates on the smartphone screen.
The developers did not forget about autonomy, giving customers the opportunity to get a portable ZenPower battery. It, in fact, does not represent anything original - except perhaps a unique design from Asus in the form of a compact cube. The capacity of the device is 10500 mAh.
Finally, another interesting group of accessories was the accessories for taking pictures, or rather, portable flashes. They work through the opening of the charging port, they are powered, respectively, by the phone's battery. Such a flash is attached to the back of the smartphone.
It should be clarified that all accessories listed are original, designed by Asus,presented with the model at the time of her debut and therefore are now quite available for sale.
Reviews
There are a lot of recommendations about the smartphone due to its popularity. In general, of course, users praise the device, noting its advantages described above. These include, again, low cost, attractive design, good build quality of the phone. This also includes the productive Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL processor, the characteristics of its memory, multimedia capabilities, battery and other elements. However, there were some negative comments as well.
In particular, some users complain that the screen is not bright enough. They say that in sunny weather, working with the device is somewhat problematic, it is difficult to make out small text, the display lets out glare.
Another shortcoming is the lack of battery life. We have already discussed this problem above - it lies in the fact that the characteristics declared by the manufacturer do not correspond to what the device shows in practice. Obviously, one battery charge is not enough for a full day of work with a smartphone, and this causes a lot of inconvenience.
The authors of the reviews also focus the attention of the reader on the technical problems of the telephone connection. For example, they can be expressed in the fact that the device does not recognize the inserted SIM card, or in the fact that the phone strangely loses the network. It is quite difficult to explain the nature of these problems, and even the services cannot understand what is the reason.
Of course, in addition to those mentioned, there are other, smaller shortcomings, suchsuch as quiet sound in headphones, lack of backlighting of the buttons under the screen, the location of the display lock (some users find it not very convenient), and so on. Most of these ratings are subjective and may be interpreted differently.
Conclusions
Now that you have read our review of the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL 16Gb smartphone, you can draw your own conclusions. And our verdict is this: the developer company has managed to release a truly commendable model, which is not much inferior to real flagships. Perhaps it really has problems with battery life, but this is offset by the price of the phone and its functionality. Whether it is worth taking this device or not is up to you. But it should be said that thousands of satisfied customers around the world have already made this choice, and, judging by the comments, they were absolutely satisfied.
