News & Reviews:   ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE550CL

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.

Currently the only smartphone in the world with 4GB RAM remains the ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML. Featuring a 64-bit 2.3-GHZ quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor and high-end PowerVR Rogue G6430 graphics, quite a lot of people have been interested to see how it performs on the benchmarks. This was on top of earlier benchmarks with the ZenFone 2 ZE550CL which earlier scored 50000+ on AnTuTu. Thankfully, someone has come out with a number of benchmarks and unboxing photos. Unfortunately, it seems to be lower with a score of 47434. However, there could be a reason for this as other benchmarks like 3DMark and Geekbench report very high scores. We assume that the AnTuTu benchmark needs to be updated to run 4GB of RAM tests first before the true potential of the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML can be drawn out. Since Geekbench 3 is already cross platform it doesn't need to be optimized, resulting in a 912 single-core score and 2946 multi-core score places it on par with theSamsung Galaxy Note 3 and beating the Samsung Galaxy S5. We'll know more when we get a turn at the ASUS ZenFone 2 smartphones, so please wait patiently for the expected release in April 2015.