Asus, judging by the success of their tablets in the mobile market, knows how to produce high-quality electronic devices. Here they pay due attention to the design of the device, its technical stuffing, while optimizing all processes to the maximum level.
It is not surprising that now the company is trying to extend its sphere of influence to a relatively new industry for itself - smartphones. This can be confirmed by both the development of the Zenfone line and the preparation for the market launch of three second-generation models of this series as a whole.
In today's review, we will talk about one of the three versions of devices that the company is preparing for its fans. Meet Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML. Reviews about the model, its characteristics, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the device, we will try to fit in this article as compactly as possible. And thus you yourself, based on the receivedinformation, you will be able to draw the appropriate conclusions. So let's get started.
Positioning
The presentation of the model took place in 2015. On this occasion, Asus held a large-scale conference, during which three models were presented at once - ZE551ML, ZE550ML, ZE500CL. The designated phones differ from each other in technical capabilities and a set of characteristics. As for appearance, all three are identical to each other.
From the said Zenfone 2 line, the smartphone that is the protagonist of our review is positioned as a flagship. The result of this is the corresponding price of the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML. The reviews that we had to analyze in preparation for writing the article state that, in general, the capabilities of the model cover its cost, and thus the phone is worth its money. Is this really so, let's make sure by reading this review.
About price and features
In order not to think and not to guess how much money is required to buy Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML (reviews characterize it as an affordable device), we immediately note that at the time the device entered the market, its price was about 350 euros. For this price, the user gets a powerful processor from Intel, an attractive design, a colorful screen, a large number of functions and technological capabilities. Does it feel like you're using something of a compromise? No, not at all. Reviews describing the work with Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML prove that the phone is made at the highest leveland fully justifies the image of the developer company. So let's start the description of our model directly.
Appearance
Traditionally, such reviews should start with the appearance of the device in question. Therefore, given this, we immediately want to note that the design of the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 32Gb phone, the reviews of which we are reviewing, received the iF Design award. Of course, few of us are at all familiar with how such prizes are awarded and what they are. Simply, this fact can be stated as recognition of the high-quality development of the company at the world level.
And we have to agree, there is something to see here. The smartphone has a special, in some ways even unique (compared to the bulk of the “bricks”) shape, which is expressed by the faceted back of the device, which is presented in one of five colors (gray, gold, red, black and white). The back cover is made of plastic, although outwardly it casts a special, metallic sheen. By the way, it gives the thin body of the smartphone (only 1.09 cm) a special elegance. By the way, the shape of the device is such that closer to the corners there is a noticeable decrease in its thickness (up to 3.9 mm).
An interesting decision of the developers is the fact of transferring all navigation elements from the sidebars. So, the key to turn on the screen has moved to the top, and the “swing” of the sound level control has moved to the back panel, directly under the camera's peephole. Describing Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 32Gb reviewsowners cannot give a definitive answer to the question of whether such a configuration of controls is convenient or not. On the one hand, the solution is unusual and, of course, innovative; on the other hand, perhaps the usual layout of these buttons on the sidebar is more convenient. This is such a kind of discussion field.
In addition to the above, there are also physical buttons under the phone screen. They include the standard "Back", "Options", "Home". Below them is an attractive shiny panel that shimmers in the light.
Display
The screen on the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 16 GB, which we managed to find extremely positive reviews, has a diagonal of 5.5 inches. This, one might say, is slightly larger than the classic size of a smartphone. Despite this fact, the device is more than comfortable in the hand.
The display operates on the basis of IPS-technology, characterized by brightness, color saturation and picture depth. The screen resolution is 1920 by 1080 pixels, which with such a physical size gives a good indicator of image density. Also with a diagonal of 5.5 ″, the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML smartphone (reviews confirm this) has excellent color reproduction when the device is tilted, the viewing angle is changed (the screen does not fade or darken). The bezels here are quite thick, but the visually dark color hides them, giving the impression of full display coverage of the front of the device.
Processor
Model Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 32Gb Ram, reviews ofwhich we are primarily interested in, operates on the basis of a processor from Intel. To be more precise, the 64-bit version of the Atom 3580 is pre-installed here - a chip with a clock speed of 2.3 GHz. It is paired with a Power VR G6430 GPU. Tests in Antutu, which we conducted at the time of writing the review, testify to the high performance of the smartphone and, accordingly, the wide possibilities for working with mobile games that absorb a large amount of resources. However, this is not scary for Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 32 GB. Feedback from people working with this device claims that the smartphone really plays even the top games at maximum settings smoothly and smoothly.
Also, the amount of RAM plays an important role in this. According to the specifications, the latter is 4 GB.
Operating system
The device, which was released, as already noted, in 2015, was preinstalled with the most current (at the time of presentation) version of the Android OS - 5.0 Lollipop. It is quite possible that the next update has now been released, during which the smartphone received the 6.0 firmware version. However, as the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 6A176RU reviews note, this is not so important in practice, since the phone still functions on the basis of an individual graphical interface from the manufacturer - ZenUI. This graphics complex has a large number of positive ratings from device owners and is generally considered a worthy solution forsmartphone. It is obvious that it differs from the “bare” Android visually and, in the matter of some menu bars, also in structure. However, even if you have never de alt with this shell, you will get used to it very quickly.
Sensors
Since the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML smartphone, which is recommended to read reviews before buying, is a fairly strong product, a powerful high-tech solution, it is not surprising that it also has a large number of recognition and reaction systems that make working with it more comfortable.
For example, these include light and proximity sensors, compass, built-in gyroscope. These modules are standard and can be found on many smartphones; on the ZE551ML, they are also supplemented by a magnetometer and a large number of supported navigation systems (GLONASS, GPS, SBAS, BDS, QZSS).
Camera
Smartphone, as it has become customary, is equipped with two cameras located on the front and rear panels. The latter (which can also be called the main one) has a matrix resolution of 13 megapixels. Paired with Asus' unique PixelMaster image stabilization and focusing system, this camera is capable of capturing high-quality images in any light conditions. The presence of 5 lenses also contributes to this.
Special attention deserves a shooting mode called HDR. The essence of its action is to take several (3-5) shots at a time, using different lighting settings. After that, the system connects the receivedimages in such a way that in the end the user receives the highest quality photo. The HDR mode is nothing new or unique, and you can find it on many devices besides the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 32Gb Gold (reviews of any other model in the same class will confirm this). The presence of a flash also helps to take cool photos at night.
Customer reviews note that the front camera (the one that is used to create a selfie) also takes good photos. Considering the built-in software image stabilization system, as well as the resolution of the matrix of 5 megapixels, we can safely say that this is true.
Battery
The battery built into any smartphone directly determines the duration of the operation of a particular device. In the case of the ZE551ML, the battery has a capacity of 3000 mAh, which is quite a good indicator for a smartphone. For example, some 7-inch tablets are offered with batteries of this level and have excellent battery life.
Speaking of this model, I would also like to mention the special fast charging function. It is described superficially on the promo page of the phone, which indicates that using this option (it is called Asus BoostMaster), the smartphone is able to gain about 60% of the charge in just 39 minutes.
Communication
For more convenient communication, the phone supports two SIM cards. They are located in special slots directly above the battery. The network formats supported by the device can be calledthe classic ones are GSM communication, as well as work in 2G / 3G / 4G networks (this can be judged by the name Asus Zenfone 2 32Gb ZE551ML LTE). Reviews of information about some failures or malfunctions when working with the network, as is often the case in budget smartphones, are not noted. Therefore, we can conclude that the communication modules of the phone are stable.
In addition to these options, support for working with other Bluetooth devices (or a wireless headset) is also available here. To establish a connection to the wireless Internet, the phone has a Wi-Fi access function.
Accessories
It is noteworthy that during the presentation of the described device, accessories for it were also demonstrated. These include, for example, a flip case that protects the phone from impact. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that its front part has a rounded hole designed to view information on the display. Original design, quality materials make it a great addition to Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 32Gb Silver.
Reviews also report a photo accessory - a specialized Zenflash flash. It is compact, works with minimal battery consumption, but has increased brightness. With its help, the user has the opportunity to take colorful photos even in dark rooms.
Another interesting addition to a smartphone could be a portable charger. In essence, this is an analogue of Powerbank, developed exclusively for the Zenfone line. Its capacity allows you to fully charge the device twice while on the road for example.
Reviews
In the course of writing the review, we managed to find several reviews on this device. They are mostly positive: people who bought a smartphone are satisfied with its service and leave the best ratings for ZE551ML. In particular, they note the same advantages that we wrote about earlier: a colorful display, a powerful camera, a fast processor and a capacious battery. Design and good ergonomics can also be attributed to the list of advantages that the model has.
As for the negative aspects of the device, they can be identified just with the help of reviews. This is exactly what we did as part of writing the article - we began to look for information about what specifically does not suit smartphone users.
One of the drawbacks is common to Android devices. It's about the battery. Despite the fact that it is quite capacious and, as a result, should, in theory, provide the phone with the ability to work for a long time, the reviews say the opposite. They note that a smartphone is not always able to work as much as required, so an accessory like ZenPower with its 10,500 mAh will come in handy.
The second point I would like to pay attention to is the placement of the camera eye. We were able to identify reviews that indicate that the glass of the main camera is highly susceptible to external factors. In particular, when you put the phone on the back, the glass comes into contact with the surface of a table or other object, and as a result, scratches form on it. Only a defensive one can deal with thiscase. Probably, the developers could fix this problem by simply sinking the camera into the same level with the body.
Even in the reviews, the imbalance in the weight of the model is noted. In particular, this refers to the problem that the top of the phone is heavier than its lower part, which is why the device tends to fall out of the hand during a conversation. Extra precautions are needed to avoid this.
Among users who criticize the model, there were also many who mention the original shape of the phone as its disadvantage. Like, because of its unevenness, putting a smartphone on a flat hard surface is somewhat problematic, since it is not stable enough.
Of course, any phone can have many shortcomings. Some of them are really relevant, while others may be far-fetched. Therefore, we recommend that you do not fully trust such information, but check how the phone is in your hand, and is it really that it is so inconvenient to call it.
Conclusions about the device
Asus' model is really attractive. At an affordable price, this smartphone offers the buyer much more than some even more recognizable and expensive models. This is an indicator that the manufacturer Asus obviously deserves special attention to each device.
Therefore, given the negative and positive reviews we found about the phone, as well as once again looking at the characteristics of the device, we can conclude that this model is the optimal, golden mean between top devices and affordable ones,but less productive gadgets.
Our smartphone Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 32Gb, reviews of which you now know, can be called reliable, well-assembled, functional and attractive in appearance. This is our final verdict on the device.
