Bought from Flipkart for 11699/- after 10% discount during Flipkart Sale during last week of June 2015. Had an issue with Sim Slot 1 where the Sim Card was NOT recognized by the device whereas SIM Slot 2 worked fine with NO 3G/4G. Used it for 5 days until the Product delivery updation from flipkart and raised a replacement claim and I've sent it back.
Prior to this return, Flipkart executive ran an app test with SMARTCHK app which is NOT available on Google play store. A link will be sent to you by SMS and you need to install it by the time the executive calls you for support. A PIN CODE will be generated by executive on the spot so as to enter the app. A series of tests will be run in 5 mins and the executive finds the results on his screen remotely and decides on the replacement.
I'VE TAKEN SCREENSHOTS OF ALL SCREENS OF THE APP SO AS TO WRITE A REVIEW. LOOK AT THE IMAGES TO ANALYSE HOW & WHAT DATA THE APP COLLECTS AND HOW FLIPKART DECIDES YOUR REPLACEMENT CLAIM!(ONLY 2 screenshots allowed to upload on to mouthshut so, uploaded ONLY 2!)
ABOUT the Device:
Storage available on a FACTORY SHIPPED PHONE: 11.31GB/16.00GB
AVAILABLE Storage: 9.31GB
Issue 1:* IF DEVICE SHOWS SIM CARD NOT AVAILABLE: How to overcome this!
Put 2 Sim cards into both the sim slots and leave the device for at least 2 to 3 hrs! Automatically the device recognizes. Later change the sim cards according to your need!
Caution: DO NOT put ONLY one SIM CARD into one of the sim slots and test. This may NOT work in this case.
Issue 2:
Some reviewers on Flipkart said battery charging takes too long 3 to 5 hrs! Here is how you could overcome this issue.
BATTERY:
- Charging time: 2:40mins for FULL CHARGE with phone switched off!(RECOMMENDED for at least 10 charging cycles for better battery backup) DO NOT go for trickle charge or other FAST battery charging modes for at least 10 to 15 cycles! Switch off and Charge the battery it EXACTLY takes 2:40 mins to charge!(Tested at least 10 times till date!)
USE ONLY Asus Charger. Used ORIGINAL Samsung Wired Charger(NOT USB kind one) to charge the battery it took 4 to 5 hrs to charge the batter to FULL on Power off mode!
Watched a movie for 2:29mins on YouTube via Wi-Fi with One bar out of 3 signal bars Battery drained by 30% at this draining anyone can watch >3 movies on average! If Wi-Fi signal is stronger you can watch 4 movies I suppose!
Talk time: 1% drained every 11 minutes. So at this drain rate it may last approximately for 18 hrs 30 mins! AT LEAST 15 hrs of talk time is guaranteed!
Standby time: UPTO 9 days. Drained 3% in 7hrs. At this drain rate it will be approx. go flat at around 230hrs~ 9 days!(Stand By Conditions: Wi-Fi switched OFF ONLY mobile network was ON and on SINGLE SIM Mode!)
System Updates:
Received 2 System Updates between 9th and 14th July 2015. NO UPDATES till date!
TIP for updation: DO NOT DOWNLOAD ALL UPDATES on apps. ONLY UPDATE FREQUENTLY USED APPS to save your device's RAM and Storage.
Issue 3: Users on Flipkart said the battery DRAINS FASTER Here is how you can overcome the issue!
Recommended APPS and SETTINGS for BEST BATTERY Performance:
- I've put the screen on Blue Light Filter Mode to save battery. This can be found by dragging the screen from top till down and click on Blue Light Filter Mode!
Click on Asus Folder and choose to open Power Saver and Click Battery Modes and Choose Ultra Saver Mode for Best Battery Performance.(Maximizes battery Life BUT DISCONNECTS from NETWORK when device is Suspended/Screen Locked/Screen Turned off!)
The BEST PART of this mode is you can STILL customise the phone apps(Clock, Phone, System update, Email, Music, Hangouts, Weather etc) to turn on and wake the system!
- Auto-Start Manager: ONLY ALLOW apps which are USEFUL for the device to run Smoothly.
A. I've Denied permission to Auto-start for all Downloaded apps EXCEPT, Battery Doctor, Truecaller, Battery Saver, Beach Sunset Wall paper!
B. In Preloaded Apps, I've allowed ONLY Clean Master!
- Clean Master: This app is a boon for battery savers. Open the app, Down bottom one can find, Home, Tools, Me.
A. Go into, "Me" -> settings -> Phone Boost -> Switch ON Auto Battery Saver& Show results.
B. In Security, Turn ON, Safe Browsing, Heuristic Engine
C. In Photo Trash, Turn On upload using Wi-Fi ONLY!
I'm skeptic about the performance of the following apps BUT analyzing it for now:
- AnTuTu Battery Saver:
I've Clicked on+ve symbol and changed the battery mode to LEVEL 3 for Higher level battery saving!
- Battery Doctor:
A. I've always put the device in Long Life mode and set a schedule to remain in log life mode from 1:30Am till 5:30 Am.
B. Down the bottom of the app you will find Save, Charge, Mode, Rank.
C. In Rank, you can click on "close" to close an apps which consume more battery after sorting them by Draining rank!
Accessories: Tempered Glass Screen Guard Leather Flip Case for 340/- Leather Flip Cover is a S type Flip Cover bought from National Market, Bangalore.
WHAT MAKES THIS DEVICE AN OUTPERFORMER based on the Hardware it has?
Downloaded AnTuTu Benchmark V5.7.1. The Results Range 0 to 60000 are as follows:
Rank Device Name Score Price
Meizu MX4(49K) 27000/-
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (48K) 40000/-
Asus Zenfone 2(46500) 11700/-
One Plus One(45000) 22000/-
HTC One M8 30000/-
Huawei Mate 7
Xiaomi Mi4
Samsung Galaxy S5
Xiaomi Mi3
Google Nexus 5(40000)
LG G3(39000)
HTC One(30000)
Xiaomi RedMi Note
Xiaomi Mi2
AnTuTu Benchmark V5.7.1. The Rankings Range 0 to 10000 are as follows:
Rank Device(Technical Name) Score
Lenovo S920(8150)
SM N900(8100)
Nexus 4(6550)
Asus Zenfone 2(6504)
GT 19100 G(5500)
GT 19500(5400)
MI3(5020)
Vivo X3S w(4800)
Nexus 5
LT26ii(3000)
Replacement Received on 11th July 2015. All above findings were done on the replacement(BRAND NEW in BOX) mobile device only.
No product is 100% perfect and Asus Zenfone 2 is no different! This is where it lags.
Most of the time at least 60% of the Ram is USED and we are left with rest 40%. THERE IS AN URGENT NEED OF A FIX from developers!
No back light LEDs for home return etc keys so you cant find your mobile in dark!
Camera Quality is Excellent in Daylight. GREAT during Nights BUT NOT EXCELLENT or OUTSTANDING! Just does the job during nights! BUT UNDOUBTEDLY NOT BAD!
Lots of bloatware No chance to disable them permanently from running. Despite being in SUPER OPTIMIZE MODE "ON" in Battery Doctor app, could NOT STOP the apps running in the back ground. You need to manually click on "optimize now" to kill the apps running in the background every now and then whenever you find time which seems hectic.
Little heavy(170 gms) Asus could have managed to cut it by 20 till 30 grams as some Huawei models with same chipset, battery etc have 30 grams less in weight!
Missing NFC(Near Filed Communication) which is quite common nowadays(YET NO Qualms)!
Developers are releasing frequent updates which seem good sign. BUT RAM consumption needs to be fixed ASA possible! Besides frequent releases, an update to STOP RESTARTING OF UNWANTED PRE-LOADED BLOATWARE APPS would be a great.
Why Asus?
There are hardly VERY FEW PREMIUM DUAL SIM mobiles with GREAT SPECIFICS in the market which are DUAL ACTIVE. This BUDGET mobile is BEST IN CLASS with DUAL ACTIVE FEATURE!
It uses RELIABLE Intel Processor where as Other BIG players use Qualcomm or any other ARM Processors as part of cost cutting measure!
None of the BIG players are offering 2GB(12000/-) 4GB ram(20000/)- in this budget range!
None of the BIG players are offering 16GB Storage for as less as 12K
None of the BIG Players are offering a screen resolution HD or Full HD(1080 x 1920 pixels) at a price range 12K and 20K.
Finally,
Rather than spending thousands of rupees on BRAND NAMES like HTC, iPhone, Samsung etc Better to spend on establishing brands like ASUS for its UNCOMPROMISING QUALITY HARDWARE specifics! This is UNDOUBTEDLY BEST VALUE FOR MONEY MOBILE IN THE MARKET and will CERTAINLY remain till end of 2015!
