Asus ZenFone 2 Review

Way back in 1989, Asus started out as a consultancy service for motherboard manufacturers. According to industry legend, Asus got a leg up in the industry after designing a motherboard for Intel's 486 CPU without access to a processor, even fixing problems that Intel's own engineers had had.

Today, the two are still close partners, and Asus uses Intel's mobile processors in its smartphones and tablets. Last year's ZenFone 4 (Review | Pictures), ZenFone 5, and ZenFone 6 were runaway successes for Asus in India thanks primary to cutthroat pricing and dependable performance. Now, Asus has just launched a new series called ZenFone 2, and the company has been from shouting from the rooftops that the top-end variant has 4GB of RAM.

At the moment, Asus is selling the ZenFone 2 in four different variants in India: the ZE551ML (with 4GB of RAM, 64GB ROM and a 5.5-inch full-HD screen); the ZE551ML (with 4GB of RAM, 32GB ROM and a 5.5-inch full-HD screen); the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (with 2GB of RAM, 16GB ROM and 5.5-inch full-HD screen), and the ZenFone 2 ZE550ML (with 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM and 5.5-inch HD screen). To add to the confusion, both ZE551ML (4GB) models use the 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 SoC whereas the ZE551ML (2GB) and the ZE550ML are powered by the 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3560. Prices range from Rs. 12,999 to Rs. 22,999.

There are more variants of the ZenFone 2 which the company might launch later. This naming scheme will be really confusing for buyers, because the model number alone does not mean anything. The folks at Asus could easily have avoided this hotchpotch of variants.

Nomenclatures aside, Asus sent us a review unit of the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage space. We put the phone through its paces to find out if 4GB RAM actually makes any difference in real-world usage.

Xiaomi Mi 4i Review

For a company that launched its first phone in the country a little over nine months ago, Xiaomi has made quite an impact on the Indian market. While its inaugural launch, the Xiaomi Mi 3, targeted the big boys by offering specifications similar to Android flagships by Samsung, Sony, and HTC at one-third the price, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S redefined customer expectations in terms of what a sub-Rs. 6,000 smartphone could offer.

The Xiaomi formula has struck a chord with the value-conscious Indian consumer, winning the company a host of 'Mi fans'. It is now the fifth-largest smartphone vendor in the country, and India is Xiaomi's biggest overseas market, indicating how far the company has come in the relatively short time.

However, the problem with offering a great deal to consumers is that there's always a better one going around - as Xiaomi found with the launch of Mi 4. The smartphone launched in India with a price tag that was nearly 50 percent higher than Mi 3's, disappointing value-seeking Mi fans who had come to expect that Xiaomi would pull the proverbial rabbit out of the bargain hat with every big launch.

At Rs. 12,999, the Xiaomi Mi 4i is firmly in the Mi 3 territory as far as pricing it concerned. But does the smartphone have what it takes to capture the minds and market like the original smash hit from Xiaomi? Let's find out.

Design and display
The Xiaomi Mi 4i comes with a unibody design that lends it a very solid look and feel. It's built from high-quality polycarbonate which is atypical of devices at this price point. At first glance, the Mi 4i looks similar to the iPhone 5c - the multi-coloured variants certainly adding to that impression - but the matte finish and the materials used mean that in terms of look and feel the Mi 4i is closer to some of the high-end Lumia devices than the iPhone 5c.

Though the Mi 4i is slated to come in various colour options, only the white 16GB (more on that later) variant will be available at launch, which will disappoint a few potential buyers. We don't blame them since white can be a bit of a dust magnet, especially in Indian conditions. The back is not user-removable, which means your plan of buying the white model and then snapping on an aftermarket back cover of your choice will be a non-starter. You can buy one of the official shells or flip covers to give your Mi 4i a more personal look and save that back from dust and smudges.