ASUS Zenfone C review: A low-budget Android smartphone

ASUS, the tech giant famous for laptops, computer accessories and gaming peripherals, also holds a portfolio in smartphones and tablets. With the launch of the Zenfone series, ASUS has managed to cater budget Android-based smartphones to the masses. Recently, ASUS launched another budget smartphone to the Zenfone lineup, the Zenfone C, which is a great smartphone for those who do not want to burn a hole in their pockets, yet want to complete the desire of a smart handheld.

The Zenfone C is a beautifully crafted Android smartphone and takes a similar design from its predecessors. Built on a small profile, the Zenfone C is very comfortable hold and use. The C sports a completely glossy front panel with a rubber-finished rear panel that sits flush with the front. The front panel sports a uses a simple protective glass with capacitive buttons for home, back and recent apps. However, the buttons are not backlit, but are built with a reflective back, which is easily visible in low light. The front panel sports a camera and an earpiece on the top, while a laser-etched holographic design is crafted on the bottom.

The rear panel, as stated earlier, comprises of a rubberized finish, sports the rear camera with a single LED flash along with a large speaker grille on the bottom. A secondary noise cancelling microphone is also provided above the camera. A chrome plated volume rocker and power button take their places on the right side, while a micro USB port resides on the bottom and a headphone jack is available at the top. The chassis on the Zenfone C is 10.9mm, while phone weighs 149g including the 2100mAh removable battery.

Moving on to the specifications, the Zenfone C is powered using an Intel Atom Z2520 chipset with two cores buzzing at 1.2GHz each. The processors are provided with 1GB of RAM and a PowerVR SGX544MP2 graphics processor. The display on the C is a 4.5-inch 480x854 pixel IPS LCD panel with a protective glass treated with an oleophobic coating to prevent fingerprints.

The primary camera features a 5MP sensor with a single LED flash, while the front camera is a 2MP. An internal storage of 4GB has been provided for various apps and data, and this storage can be expanded to 64GB using the Micro SD card slot. The Zenfone C is a dual SIM smartphone and runs on Google’s Android KitKat v4.4.2 operating system. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth v4.0. Features also include GPS and FM Radio.

The Zenfone C uses its own user interface (ZenUI) over the stock Android platform, with bright pastel-coloured icons. The user interface is pretty fluid and we did not notice any stutter or lags during usage—in fact, the user interface is smooth compared to usual Android handsets in the similar category.

The user interface may seem a little cluttered at the initial stages. However, a few hours of usage, and you can be assured that the UI will be absorbed with a positive attitude. ASUS has pushed in a few extra applications on the Zenfone C. These include apps for cloud services, audio profiling, notes, etc., and also apps such as Kindle, some games and few others.

The 5MP camera on the Zenfone C is nippy, albeit good enough for casual pics only. Taking shots in either auto, burst or different other built-in modes makes you feel as though you are using a high-end smartphone. However, the pictures captured by the device are a tad disappointing. Images are not sharp and can be used for a simple social network sharing and alike. The front camera is simply enough for casual self portraits. However, the camera user interface gives you a load of options to try out different modes while taking pictures. As long as you check out the pictures on the smartphone’s display itself, you would be able to enjoy the pictures you have taken. Transfer them to the PC and you will see images like we have put up for you below.

ASUS boasts that the display sports an IPS panel with an oleophobic coating to prevent fingerprints and smudges. However, we did notice that the display panel is a huge fingerprint magnet and will need cleaning almost every few minutes if you suffer from sweaty hands. The display is also highly reflective, causing disturbances while watching videos or using the device in broad daylight. However, the usability of the device is not affected in broad daylight, provided you turn the brightness to its highest level.

The display also suffers an issue with the viewing angle—images and videos seem to invert colours when viewed from the left while using it in landscape mode. On the audio front, we found the performance good enough. Audio from the built-in speaker is loud and clear and you will definitely have no complaints towards enjoying casual multimedia.

The experience with the Zenfone C was impressive, although the camera performance is not appreciated. Taking into consideration the price of the device, the overall smartphone is a good buy for those who need the device as a basic smartphone or for those who prefer to keep it as a secondary device to their existing one. The Zenfone is competitively priced at Rs 5,999 for the Indian market and will definitely see takers in the sub-budget segment.