Asus finally releases the ridiculously thin Zenfone Zoom, with its 3x optical zoom

[Wireless News]

http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/GpjTInWZkF8m.AtkbDwQ4Q--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9ODY7cT03NTt3PT EzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/digital_trends_973/a8698aac2aecc8d3a37df80db6e71b7f (http://news.yahoo.com/asus-finally-releases-ridiculously-thin-124333159.html)It has been nearly a year since we first lusted over the ZenFone Zoom from Asus, and it’s finally ready to go on sale, but many of us will have trouble actually buying one. It’s not prohibitively expensive, or saddled with a OnePlus-style invitation system or anything; it’s just only been announced in Taiwan. Why should this bother you? Because it’s a camera phone like no camera phone before it. The ZenFone Zoom comes with that rarest of features on a smartphone: An optical zoom to accompany its 13-megapixel camera. This isn’t a regular optical zoom either, it’s a completely new system that moves horizontally, rather than extending out like the tech used in the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom. Related: Read our hands-on report with the ZenFone Zoom right here This means the phone is much, much slimmer. The aluminum body measures 5.5mm at its thinnest point extending out to a touch under 12mm, due to the camera lens and zoom mechanism being stored inside a Lumia-style camera hump. In addition to offering a 3x zoom feature, the camera has optical image stabilisation, a 10-mirror, four-piece camera lens produced by Hoya, laser autofocus, and a color temperature flash unit. While the camera is the ZenFone Zoom’s standout feature, Asus hasn’t glossed over the rest, giving the phone a strong specification list. The screen measures 5.5-inches and has a 1080p resolution, while a 2.5GHz Intel Z3590 processor with 4GB of RAM provides the power. A 3000mAh battery with fast-charging — Asus says 60-percent capacity is reached in just under 40 minutes — makes best use of the internal space. Android 5.0 Lollipop is installed with Asus ZenUI, there’s a choice of 64GB or 128GB internal memory, a MicroSD card slot, plus the phone is sold in either black or white color schemes. Related: Read our review of the Asus ZenFone 2 here The ZenFone Zoom will go on sale in Taiwan before the end of December, and will cost the equivalent of around $430 or $490, depending on the amount of storage space chosen. Considering the camera technology, that’s a reasonable price. Will the ZenFone Zoom get a release around the world? We’ll have to wait and see, and we’ll keep you updated with all the news right here. Also watch: ASUS N Series Laptops get Skylake CPUs Please enable Javascript to watch this video



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