Asus has unveiled the ZenFone 2, a brushed-metal successor to the first ZenFone that debuted at last year's CES. We've spent a few minutes with the 5.5-inch device and can confirm it looks and feels great.

Asus has consistently thrown a few impressive announcements over the years, mostly along the affordable angle. The Zenfone 2's starting price of US$199 and the above average hardware that comes with it are head-turning, but as with all affordable smartphones, the caveat won't be known till we've...

The most headline-grabbing smartphone launch from Asus at may be the optical zoom-sporting , but the ZenFone 2 is also very worthy of attention thanks to a solid feature set and low asking price of just $200. The first win for Asus is the ZenFone 2's design.

Asus ZenFone 2 has 5.5 inch IPS display screen having 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) resolution at 403ppi. It is running on latest Lollipop OS. It is powered by Intel Atom Quad Core Processor running at 1.8/2.3GHz. It has front 5MP and rear 13MP camera.

Powerful processor; Good battery support; Good display resolution; Good camera configuration

Not user replaceable battery

World domination was surely on the mind of at least one top exec over at Asus headquarters, when the crew gathered to outline the Zenfone 2 game plan. The smartphone will be sold globally, and the stores in a few lucky countries already have their shelves well stocked.

5.5-inch IPS capacity touchscreen with 1080p resolution and 403ppi density; Gorilla Glass 3 protection; Intel Atom Z3560 chipset with a 1.8GHz quad-core processor; PowerVR G6430 GPU; 2GB of RAM; 16GB of storage and a microSD slot for further expansion; Dual-SIM; Dual Call capability; LTE Cat.4; NFC,...

No 2160p video recording; Non-removable battery despite the removable back cover; Rather large and hefty; Zenfone 2 has a confusing naming convention - not only are there several of them; but ZE551ML comes in two hardware versions

As far as design goes, there's really not much to say about the Asus ZenFone 2 ZE500CL (or any of the other handsets under the ZenFone 2 lineup for that matter) that hasn't been said on other ZenFones that we're featured here in the past.

Respectable display quality and decent viewing angles; Clean and customizable Zen UI; Android Lollipop; Laudable rear camera performance; especially in low-light; Native camera app offers tons of filters and customizations; LTE support

Thicker and heavier compared to some of its contemporaries; Outdated and power-hungry processor; Average battery life; Non-removable battery

With the ZenFone 2, Asus improves on most aspects of the Zenfone 5 except for the camera. The 4GB of RAM could come in handy if you often have multiple browser tabs open at the same time. Also, the PowerVR graphics chip is a solid performer and that is a boon for Android gamers.

Asus Zenfone 2 is one of the few squad members from the house of Taiwanese Tech Giant. This one from Asus is strong and agile enough to make its presence felt in the battleground against the likes of Xiaomi Mi4, HTC Desire 820Q and the stunning OnePlus One .

Snappy Performance; Featured Packed; 4G LTE enabled; Crisp and Vivid Screen; Fast Charging Technology; Decent Camera

No IR Blaster; Mediocre Battery Performance; Heats Up Quickly

Asus crammed more RAM into its phone than any company before, and its Intel Atom CPU smokes other midrange unlocked phones like the Alcatel Onetouch Idol 3 and OnePlus One . Its removable back plate adds both style (with additional colors and designs) and substance (with access to the microSD and...

Flagship-level performance and 4GB of RAM; Micro SD storage with two micro-SIM slots; Solid performance; Robust camera features; Just $299 unlocked

Mediocre battery life; Weak speakers; Awkward power-button placement; A bit heavy

Asus is a name that nearly everyone knows, although very few know for sure how to pronounce it . For years they have made laptops that have been popular with the general population.

Minimal skin; small deviation from stock AOSP; Good looking device; Additions see to be decoupled from the ROM and are updated through the Play Store; Amazing value for money; Fast charging

Can slow/lag at times; Average battery life; Inclusion of third party software