Asus to launch ZenFone range of smartphones in India on July 9

NEW DELHI: Taiwanese manufacturer Asus will launch its ZenFone range of smartphones in India next month, sources have told TOI. The company will bring the ZenFone models unveiled at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) as well as Computex in the country on July 9. The biggest model in Asus's smartphone series is the ZenFone 6, which sports a 6-inch HD screen. Unveiled at CES 2014, this phablet is powered by Android 4.4 (KitKat) and has a 2GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2580 chipset under the hood. It comes in 8, 16 and 32GB storage options and supports external storage up to 64GB via microSD cards; depending on the storage, the model comes with 1 or 2GB RAM. This phablet has a 13MP camera with LED flash on the back and a 2MP camera in front. Asus ZenFone 5 unveiled at CES in January 2014 has a 5-inch screen with 720p resolution and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat) operating system. It comes with 8 or 16GB internal storage (microSD support up to 64GB) with 1 or 2GB RAM, respectively. It also comes in two processor options: 2GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2580 or 1.6GHz dual-core Atom Z2560. On the back, it has an 8MP camera with LED flash, while a 2MP camera is placed in front. The ZenFone 5 model showcased at Computex in June this year packs a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor instead of the Intel chipset. It also packs 2GB RAM and comes with 16 and 32GB storage options. The remaining features remain the same as that of its predecessor. The first-generation ZenFone 4, unveiled at CES, has a 4-inch display featuring 800x480p resolution. This model runs on Android KitKat as well and is powered by the Intel chipset dual-core 1.2GHz Atom Z2520 processor. This model features 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage and supports 64GB microSD support. It also has an 8MP camera with LED flash, but sports a VGA front camera. At Computex 2014, ZenFone 4 got a minor upgrade, featuring a relatively bigger screen (4.5-inch screen with 854x480p resolution). The remaining features and specifications remain the same. While the CES models have already hit the China market, India will be among the few markets to get the ZenFone products unveiled at Computex. Apart from the ZenFone models, Asus may also introduce the MemoPad and FonePad products it debuted globally this year at the July 9 event. It is expected that these models will be positioned in the sub-Rs 25,000 segment and aimed primarily at budget to mid-range buyers. Asus already sells its PadFone and MemoPad voice calling tablets in India, but not the ZenFone series, which was introduced globally this year only. It will face heavy competition from market leader Samsung, home-bred brands like Micromax, Lava and Xolo as well as new fan-favourite Motorola. NDTV