News & Reviews:   ASUS ZenEar

The upcoming ASUS ZenFone 2 launch in Malaysia on 9 May 2015 at KL Live may well be as incredible as ASUS says it will be. While registration has been closed to 1500 lucky ZenFans, the first 100 who queue up early for the 11.00am start will win brand new ASUS ZenPower powerbanks for free. Those looking to buy the 64-bit Intel Atom powered ASUS ZenFone 2 can also get it on the same day with numerous lucky draws and activities planned for the event. In addition, each activity has awesome prizes and giveaways which include what appears to be an ASUS ZenWatch or ASUS VivoWatch, ASUS laptop and ASUS ZenFone smartphones. Cute ZenPillows will also be given away along with many other products. The recent regional launch in Indonesia saw many other accessories being sold such as the 2-colour Fusion backplates, Illusion patterned backplates, flip covers, ASUS ZenFlash, ASUS LolliFlash and ASUS ZenEar headsets. With just 2 days away from the #IncredibleZenDay stay tuned for further developments as we'll be on hand covering the action.

With the upcoming ASUS ZenFone 2 launch in Malaysia just 9 days away, it seems that we could know which models and at what pricing we'll be getting them for Malaysia. The folks at MDROID were able to get in on a dealer-only event announcing both the models and pricing. Turns out, Malaysia will be getting the 5-inch display ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE500CL for RM599 (which isn't a bad thing considering it's recent performance). Check out the full pricing which is inclusive of the 6% GST below:

• ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE500CL - 1.6GHz Z2560, 2GB RAM, 8GB storage, 5-inch 1280 x 720 HD display = RM599
• ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML - 1.8GHz Z3560, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 FHD display = RM899
• ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML - 2.3GHz Z3580, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 FHD display = RM1099
• ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML - 2.3GHz Z3580, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 FHD display = RM1299

From current teasers released by ASUS Malaysia it also appears that other ASUS accessories could also be on display and for sale come this 9 May 2015. This will likely include the ASUS ZenPower range of powerbanks along with the new ASUS ZenFone 2 2-colour Fusion and patterned Illusion covers. We also expect other accessories like the ASUS ZenFlash and Lolliflash to make an appearance along with perhaps the ASUS ZenWatch. No news on Malaysia pricing for these accessories yet though, but stay tuned as we'll be on site at the upcoming #IncredibleZenDay on 9 May 2015.

After months of build-up ASUS have launched the ASUS ZenFone 2 for the Southeast Asian region which includes Malaysia, Indonesia, Philipines, Vietnam and Thailand. We managed to catch the festivities early and ASUS made it a really big "Search for Incredible" from start till end. While local pricing and Malaysia release dates are still set for the Malaysia launch on 9 May 2015 they revealed rapidly rising rankings for mobile devices in the region, achieving number 1 or top 3 in the notebook, tablet and smartphone industries. The new ASUS ZenFone 2 in particual offers various new future proofing tech specs and features like a 64-bit Intel Atom processor, 4GB RAM, a 5.5-inch display, 4G LTE connectivity and more. They also revealed that Indonesia will be getting 4 versions from the ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE550ML 2GB RAM to the range-topping ZE551ML with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Malaysia is likely to see similar variants as well (else there may be a repeat of last year's commotion) but check out the pricing and tech specs for yourself below:

• ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE550ML - 1.8GHz Z3560, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, 5.5-inch 1280 x 720 HD display = IDR2699000 (RM756)
• ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML - 1.8GHz Z3560, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 FHD display = IDR2999000 (RM839)
• ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML - 2.3GHz Z3580, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 FHD display = IDR3999000 (RM1119)
• ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML - 2.3GHz Z3580, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 FHD display = IDR4499000 (RM1259)