We want to reward daring design. We want to celebrate when companies take risks. The ZenFone Zoom is an incredible feat of camera design, but the crown jewel feature of this phone in many ways compromises the camera that the zoom lens is supposed to enhance.

+Practical build quality with premium materials; +Camera-centric ergonomics; +Innovative camera zoom design

We don't yet know whether the Zenfone Zoom is destined for the UK, but the continued dialogue Asus strikes up with such a standout device makes us think that it wants to be considered a serious player in the space of high-end camera phones, much like Microsoft's top Lumias and to a degree, rivals...

Impressive camera; Massive internal storage

Samsung's K Zoom, Oppo's N1 and Lenono's Vibe Shot are some of the more recent attempts to provide better user experience and improved image quality. With so many choices out there now, can Asus' newly launched ZenFone Zoom do any better?

The ASUS ZenFone Zoom is an Android smartphone that comes with a camera that's capable of 3x optical zoom. Check out how it fares when it comes to figurine photography!

I cringe every time I watch someone pinch-to-zoom on their smartphone's screen right before snapping a photo. The seemingly simple act of zooming in on an object, despite what the screen on the phone displays at the time, almost guarantees the end result will be a pixelated, garbled mess of a photo.

Your phone has been lying to you. Every time you zoom in to catch that perfect shot of that expensive hamburger, you're not actually zooming in. The software in your phone is really just cropping the image and blowing it up like Patricia Arquette in CSI: Cyber.

The Asus ZenFone Zoom has a premium price tag of Rs 37,999 which is may not go well with a lot of people as having an optical zoom is not a necessity in the phone. It terms of experimentation, Asus has done a decent job with ZenFone Zoom but there are miles to cover before they stop.

Camera; Overall design

Battery; Single SIM

Asus Zenfone Zoom is a phone known for its zoom capability and it surely dominates the market on this factor. Though it's a metal build Zenfone 2 at its core, even on the camera front (unless you use the optical zoom), the lens arrangement has surely got many smartphone makers' mind churning.

Tough and unique build; Intelligent lens arrangement; Fast and full time AF on video rec; 128GB on board storage

Heavy and pricey; Average battery backup

Zenfone Zoom is an awesome handset with impressive features however all this comes for a premium price, way too on the higher side.

Asus had been on a roll last year with its mid-range Zenfone 2-series smartphones, which includes the Zenfone 2, Zenfone Selfie and the Zenfone 2 Laser . This year the company kick-started with a sub Rs 10,000 smartphone called Zenfone Max with 5,000mAh battery, followed by a camera centric...