Asus has launched its new, affordable smartphone, the Zenfone Go, in India. It is available via e-commerce website Flipkart for Rs. 7,999. It is a dual-SIM smartphone without 4G LTE support. It has a 5-inch HD IPS display, and runs on a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6580 processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM. The device has an 8MP rear shooter with f/2.0 aperture, and a 2MP front shooter. It offers 8GB of inbuilt storage expandable upto 64GB via microSD card, and a 2070mAh battery. Asus is also offering 100GB of free Google Drive storage, for a period of two years. The newly-launched Zenfone Go, according to Asus, features an advanced antenna design that provides good network performance even in poor connectivity regions. Additionally, the phone runs on an enhanced version of ZenUI, based on Android Lollipop v5.1. The new ZenUI comes with features like ZenMotion, Trend Micro Dr. Safety, and ZenUI Instant Updates.
The pricing of the Zenfone Go puts it in competition with the Zenfone 2 Laser's base variant, priced at Rs. 9,999. The Zenfone 2 Laser comes with a 5.5-inch FHD display protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset and 2GB of RAM. The device has a 13MP rear shooter with laser-assisted autofocus and a 5MP front shooter, coupled with a 3000mAh battery. It is the only device to feature laser-assisted autofocus at its price point. Apart from the Laser, the Zenfone Go would also face competition from other devices like Lenovo A6000 Plus, Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime, and Yu Yuphoria. The lack of 4G in Asus’ newly-launched device can make things difficult, when it comes to attracting the internet-savvy youth.
As of now, Asus has a lot of Zenfones in the market, some of them build around specific feature enhancements, like the gradient-backed Zenfone 2 Deluxe, or the Zenfone Selfie. Recently, the company has announced that it has received more than 30,000 pre-orders for Zenfones, namely for the Zenfone 2 Laser, Zenfone Selfie, and Zenfone 2 Deluxe. The company is not showing any signs of giving up on its extensive Zenfone series any time soon. To cap it all, reports suggest that Asus has plans to launch up to seven Zenfones next year.