The Asus Zenfone 2 could be the alternative everyone's been waiting for. Then again, the Lenovo A7000 could give it a run for its mid-range market money.
It's the Asus Zenfone 2 versus the Lenovo A7000.
Both phones came out March, and are within the same price range. The Lenovo A7000 is available for about US$170, while the Asus Zenfone 2 could be had anywhere from $190 to $370.
Cheaper does not necessarily mean it's better, does it?
The Asus Zenfone 2 - Specs
The newest smartphone from Taiwanese multinational electronics company Asus has specs to be proud of. The Asus Zenfone 2 has two models, the ZE550ML and the ZE551ML. The Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML has 2 RAM variants: a 2GB and a 4GB model, as well as 3 internal storage variants: a 16GB, a 32GB, and a 64GB model.
The 4GB RAM model has an Intel Atom Z3580 chipset powered by a quad-core 2.3GHz CPU and a PowerVR G6430 GPU. The 2GB RAM model, on the other hand, has an Intel Atom Z3560 chipset with a quad-core 1.8GHz CPU and the same GPU as its counterpart. Both are have expandable storage of up to 64GB via microSD.
Aside from having the same GPU, all the other parts are the same as well. It's a 152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9mm, 170g unit with dual micro-SIM dual stand-by support.
The Asus Zenfone 2 also has Android 5.0 Lollipop OS, a 5.5-inch (1080 x 1920 pixels) IPS capacitive touchscreen display, a 13MP main camera and a 5MP front camera. It has a non-removable 3,000 mAh Li-Po battery.
Meanwhile, the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE550ML has the same specs as the ZE551ML's 2GB RAM-16GB Storage variant.
The Lenovo A7000
On the other hand, the Chinese multinational company's offering is not about to be left behind. The Lenovo A7000 has some pretty decent specs to show off as well.
It has a slightly lower W x H x D dimension of 152.6 x 76.2 x 8mm, and is lighter at 140g with micro-SIM dual stand-by support. The unit has a 5.5-inch IPS capacitive touchscreen display, with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, and a removable 2900 mAh battery.
The Lenovo A7000 has the Android 5.0 Lollipop OS as well, which in turn is powered by a Mediatek MT6752m chipset containing an octa-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU and a Mali-T760MP2 GPU. It has an internal storage of 8GB, expandable up to 32GB via microSD, and 2GB RAM. The Lenovo A7000 also has an 8MP main camera and a 5MP front camera.
It is also the first phone to feature the surround sound technology, Dolby Atmos.
The Verdict
According to a review of the Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML, it actually gives the competition a run for their money. With a pretty decent set of specs and mid-range pricing, it beats out devices HTC Desire 820Q, Lenovo S90 Sisley, and Xiaomi Mi 4 -- all of which are within the same price range, both in the hardware and the software department.
The Lenovo A7000 has similar raves as well, especially with its removable battery (seen by many as letting smartphone users have more freedom in troubleshooting and accessorizing their phones) and Dolby Atmos being its major selling points.
Specs-wise, the Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE550ML and ZE551ML 2GB variant) gets a very slim margin in a win over the Lenovo A7000. It all depends whether the small difference in price and specs would matter to the buyer. Time will tell which one will beat out the other, as dependability, durability, and vendor support come into play.
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