14 DAY TRIAL // As expected, Asus has decided to take on the North American smartphone market and announced that its latest high-end device, the Zenfone 2, would be available in the United States beginning May 19.
According to Asus, two versions of the Zenfone 2 will be available in the country. The 4GB model will be priced at $299, while the 2GB version costs only $199 outright.
Both Asus Zenfone 2 models will be available for purchase starting tomorrow at major retailers like Amazon, B&H Photo, Groupon and Newegg, both online and at brick and mortar stores.
Depending on which version of Zenfone 2 customers decide to purchase, they will get a more or less powerful smartphone.
The most expensive of the two comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution and features Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating.
The higher version comes with better CPU and more memory
On the inside, the handset packs a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor, a PowerVR G6430 graphics processing unit, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory.
The smartphone also boasts a 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back, which features autofocus, dual-LED flash, face detection, panorama and full HD (1080p) video recording, while in the front there's a secondary 5-megapixel camera for video calls and selfies.
The cheaper Asus Zenfone 2 comes with similar specs with the exception of CPU and amount of memory. The $199 smartphone packs a 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3560 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory.
Both versions of Zenfone 2 feature microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 64GB), as well as non-removable 3,000 mAh battery that has yet to be rated by the manufacturer.
In the same piece of news, Asus confirmed that the Zenfone 2 will be launched in Canada on May 19 as well, but prices will start at $249 CAD.