Asus ZenFone 4: 4-inch WVGA LCD, 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Atom, Android 4.3, 5MP camera

Asus has announced a new series of budget-friendly smartphones—the Zenfone—starting with three screen sizes. The smallest of them is the Asus ZenFone 4, a “great-value” smartphone with a dual-core Intel Atom processor and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

The launch of this new smartphone series means a new hardware design. Like its bigger brothers, the Asus ZenFone 4 features a simplistic body made of plastic material, with zesty color variants to choose from. The concentric circles design that Asus often uses for its devices is present at the bottom of the phone’s front face. There’s also the new user interface called the ZenUI, along with the company’s custom apps for email, e-book reading, and photo browsing.

Asus ZenFone 4 Specs

• Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, Asus ZenUI
• 4-inch TFT LCD (480×800 WVGA), ~233ppi
• 1.2GHz dual core Intel Atom Z2520 processor
• PowerVR SGX 544MP2
• 1GB RAM
• 4GB internal storage
• microSD support up to 64GB
• 5-megapixel main camera, without LED flash
• 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• 3G, HSPA+
• Bluetooth
• GPS, A-GPS
• Dimensions: 124.4 x 61.4 x 11.2-6.3mm
• Weight: 115g
• 1170mAh battery

Internal specs-wise, there’s nothing really remarkable to bring home about the Asus ZenFone 4. Early hands-on reviews do mention that the handset runs smoothly under normal circumstances, though, but it’s safe to assume its basic processor will lag under resource-intensive apps and games. Only 4GB of internal storage (with even less actual free space for user consumption) is available, so it won’t take long before a microSD card is needed. Its rear camera lacks a LED flash and therefore won’t suffice in low-light settings.

As per the company’s press release, the ZenFone 4 availability varies by territory. No pricing information has been announced for the Philippines, although this smartphone is reported to sell for just $99.

[Source: Asus]