ASUS unveils ZenFone 2 for U.S. and Canada

ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih today introduced ZenFone 2 and the latest ZenBook models to the United States and Canada at the “Incredible Comes to New York” press event. Hosted at the sophisticated and stylish Gotham Hall in Manhattan, the event showcased a line-up of meticulously-crafted products in their North American debut and featured a stunning acrobatic dance performance creatively highlighting photography with ZenFone 2.

ZenFone 2 is the flagship ASUS smartphone designed to be an empowering luxury for everyone to enjoy. A marvel of craftsmanship and engineering, ZenFone 2 features a 13 MP camera with ASUS-exclusive PixelMaster camera technology, the brand-new ZenUI user interface, Dual-SIM, Dual-Active (DSDA) capability, and incredible performance that delivers a premium smartphone experience to users. ZenFone 2 is coming to market in the United States unlocked and contract-free, giving users freedom to enjoy the smartphone on the service provider of their choice.

“ZenFone 2 has been incredibly popular with consumers in Asia and Europe, and we are very excited to bring this empowering luxury to North America,” said Mr. Shih.

“Striking the perfect balance of beauty, functionality, and performance, ZenFone 2 embodies every aspect of the ASUS In Search of Incredible brand spirit to provide an unparalleled experience to users.”

Aicha Evans, Intel Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Communication and Devices Group, joined Mr. Shih onstage in celebration of the long-term partnership between the two companies.

“We are excited to support ASUS in bringing the popular ZenFone 2 to North America,” said Ms. Evans.

“We are proud that our long-standing relationship with ASUS continues to deliver innovation. With the ZenFone 2, people will have a great mobile experience in an affordable and sleek form factor, enabled by the 64-bit Intel Atom processor together with Intel’s LTE-Advanced XMM 7260 modem for fast and reliable cellular speeds.”

Also making an appearance at the event was digital artist and Instagram sensation Robert Jahns, who endorsed the ZenFone 2 See What Others Can’t See photography campaign, a global campaign designed to showcase the advantages of ZenFone 2’s PixelMaster camera technology.

ZenFone 2 is the new flagship smartphone in the hugely-successful ASUS ZenFone family, featuring an all-new design, 13MP PixelMaster camera, and uncompromising performance delivered by a 64-bit Intel® Atomâ„¢ Z3580 (‘Moorefield’) processor with up to 4GB RAM. An Intel LTE-Advanced modem provides ultra-fast and reliable 4G/LTE connectivity. Building on the success of ZenFone and leveraging a quarter-century of engineering accomplishments, the highly-anticipated ZenFone 2 provides a wealth of exciting new features and a refined ASUS ZenUI experience to deliver a new level of empowering luxury for everyone.

ZenFone 2 has a gorgeous, all-new design that employs iconic Zen design elements, such as a sleek, brushed-metal finish and concentric-circle detailing, and introduces new refinements, including a graceful curved case that tapers to an incredibly-thin 0.15 inch at the edges. The exclusive Ergonomic Arc design provides a comfortable, secure grip, and features an intuitively-placed volume-control key on the rear of the phone within easy reach of the user’s index finger. The 5.5-inch Full HD IPS+ screen has a large 72% screen-to-body ratio that provides a maximized viewing experience, while reducing ZenFone 2’s overall size.

ZenFone 2’s 13MP PixelMaster camera with its f/2.0 wide-aperture lens lets users quickly and easily capture beautiful, high-resolution photos with zero shutter-lag. Camera features, including Low Light mode, Backlight (Super HDR) mode, and Super Resolution mode, ensure incredible photos even in dimly lit situations. ZenFone 2 has a 3000mAh battery that provides more than enough power to get through the day, and it also features BoostMaster fast-charge technology for dramatically-reduced recharge times.

ASUS ZenFone 2 will be available in red, black, gray and silver from May 19th, 2015, costing $199 for the 2GB RAM/1.8GHz version with 16GB storage and an Intel Atom 3560 processor, or $299 for the 4GB RAM/2.3GHz version with 64GB storage, an Intel Atom 3580 processor and a BoostMaster charger.

It will be available to order from Amazon.com, B&H, Groupon.com and NewEgg.com in the US and NewEgg.ca, NCIX.com, Canada Computer and Memory Express in Canada.