Asus launches the ZenFone series in Southeast Asia
The Intel-powered Android smartphones will be available in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam.
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Originally announced at CES earlier this year, the Asus ZenFone series of Intel-powered handsets will finally make its way to the hands of consumers in Southeast Asia as early as May. Having already launched earlier in Taiwan and China, the Android smartphones will soon be available in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam.
The colorful ZenFone comes in three screen sizes -- 4-, 5- and 6-inch with different features. The 4-inch model sports swappable back covers and has a microSD card slot, while the 5-inch model has a HD display (1,280x720-pixels). The highest-end ZenFone 6 will come with a 13-megapixel camera, as well as the Asus SonicMaster audio technology.
Regardless of the specs, all ZenFone handsets will have the Asus ZenFone UI skin on top of the Android OS as well as PixelMaster, a camera enhancement that adds features such as depth-of-field effects. On the ZenFone 5 and 6, Asus has also added a low-light mode that the company claims to "significantly increase" camera performance in low-light conditions.
The ZenFone 5 will retail in Singapore for 249 Singapore dollars ($198) come May, with the ZenFone 4 and 6 to follow later. Availability for Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam was not disclosed.
In Indonesia, the ZenFone 4 will go for 1,099,000 Indonesian rupiah ($95), while the ZenFone 5 will sell for 2,099,000 Indonesian rupiah ($182) while the ZenFone 6 is the most expensive at 3,099,000 Indonesian rupiah ($269). We're checking with Asus for more information as well as availability in other parts of the world such as Europe.