Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom Official Price in the Philippines is Php 23,995, Out Now!

On Thursday night - April 6, 3017, Asus Philippines officially launched its latest flagship cameraphone via an exclusive media event held at The Penthouse (Lepanto Building) in Makati City.

Mr. George Su - Country Manager of Asus Philippines - introducing the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom.

At the gathering, the Taiwanese electronics brand introduced their latest celebrity endorser - Yassi Pressman - and finally disclosed the official pricing details and release date of the much-awaited imaging powerhouse.

Watch highlights of the official launch of Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom in the Philippines. Don't forget to subscribe to our Youtube Channel.

Starting today, Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom will be available at all Asus Concept Stores and authorized retail channels across the country with official suggested retail price of Php 23,995.

Each official retail unit will come bundled with the following cool freebies:

JBL Harman Portable Bluetooth Speaker worth Php 3,095
Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom (ZE553KL) Clear Case worth Php 699
Asus ZenEar earphones worth Php 699
Asus Limited Edition Tripod worth Php 799

As I've shared previously, for me, the most special feature of the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom is its Dual 12 MegaPixel Camera module at the back, which gives it 2.3 times optical zoom capability.

The two shooters have varying focal lengths. The main one 25mm focal length, f/1.7 aperture, and 4-axis optical image stabilization. On the other hand, the secondary optic has a wider and longer 59mm focal length and f/2.8 aperture.

Combined, these two lenses let the user to zoom in into subjects without losing clarity and - hence - allows for better framing and angles.

Asus is also particularly proud about the design and build of this model. Crafted from anodized aluminum, the sleek unibody shell gently curves down the sides and edges -- making the device a joy to hold.

Here's another incredible feature of this model: It has a notably big battery with a whopping 5,000 mAh capacity! This large pack gives the ZenFone 3 Zoom extended uptime, which in turn, gives the user peace of mind in knowing that the cameraphone will not run out of juice in the middle of the day, after just a few camera shots.

Don't you think it's amazing that despite having a 5,000 mAh battery pack, the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom measures only 7.99 at its thickest point? Believe it!

I think Asus was able to make this possible by making the battery pack wider instead of thicker.

Alright! That's it for now! Stay tuned for more TechPinas posts and features about this top-notch and feature-packed cameraphone from Asus.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)Name : Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom
Type : Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category : High-End
Dimensions : 154.3 x 77 x 7.99 mm
Weight : 170 grams
Available Colors : Navy Black, Glacier Silver, Rose Gold
Operating System : Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Zen UI 3.0
Display : 5.5 inches (~70.2% screen-to-body ratio), 1080 x 1920 pixels (~401 ppi pixel density), AMOLED, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 2.5D Curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Processor : 64-Bit Octa Core 2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A53, Adreno 506 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 chipset
RAM : 4GB RAM
Internal Storage : 64GB ROM, expandable via hybrid secondary nanoSIM slot supporting up to 256GB
Camera : Back: Dual 12 MegaPixels = (25mm, f/1.7, OIS 4-axis) + (59mm, f/2.8), Tri-Tech autofocus, 2.3x optical zoom factor, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
Front: 13 MegaPixels, f/2.0
Video Capture : 4K 30 frames per second, Full HD 1080p 30 frames per second
Audio and Video Playback : MP3, WAV, eAAC+, FLAC, MP4, H.264
Ports : USB Type C, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, EDR, 3G HSPA+; LTE Cat6
GPS : A-GPS
FM Radio : Yes
Sensors : Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity, Gyroscope, Fingerprint Scanner at the back
Network : 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 and SIM 2,
3G HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G bands LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
SIM Card Type : Dual nanoSIM
Battery : Non-removable 5,000 mAh Li-Po battery
Uptime : 42 days of standby or 6.4 hours of 4K video recording
Value-Added Features : Aluminum Alloy Shell, Big Battery, AMOLED display, Dual Camera, 2.3X optical zoom, Fingerprint Scanner, Zen UI, Thin and Light Build
Announcement :April 6, 2017
Availability : Philippines - April 2016
Price : Php 23,995 (Officially announced on April 6, 2017)

Asus Philippines Starts Taking Pre-Orders for Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom

Trusted Taiwanese electronics company Asus has just started taking pre-orders for its latest flagship Android smartphone offering, the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom, which will be officially launched in the country on April 7, 2017.

As yet, the company has not disclosed the official suggested retail price of the handset but I'm personally expecting it to go for around Php 20,000 to Php 25,000 given its technical specifications and main selling points. But again, that's just my own guesstimate.

Despite sharing very little official information about the product, Asus has nonetheless already listed down the bundled freebies for those who will pre-order the device, which include a JBL Harman Portable Bluetooth Speaker worth Php 3,095, Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom (ZE553KL) Clear Case worth Php 699, Asus ZenEar earphones worth Php 699, and Asus Limited Edition Tripod worth Php 799.

A true top-of-the-line cameraphone, the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom sports a Dual 12 MegaPixels f/1.7 rear camera set-up with Tri-Tech autofocus and optical image stabilization.

This imaging module gives the handset 2.3 times lossless optical zoom capability, which is really handy in a lot of situations -- especially when you want flexibility in better framing your photos.

Clad in anodized aluminum, the slim and sleek Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom is also equipped with a 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display underneath 2.5D Curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5, a 13 MegaPixels f/2.0 front cam with Beauty Mode for selfies, 4K video recorder, Dual SIM Dual Standby Capability, 4G LTE support, Fingerprint Scanner, and a massive non-removable 5,000 mAh battery pack that delivers greatly extended uptime with regular use.

Underneath its shell, this smartphone runs its ZenUI-skinned Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with a 64-Bit Octa Core 2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 and Adreno 506 GPU based Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 chipset, has 4GB of RAM, and comes with 64GB of expandable storage.

For those who are interested in this stunning cameraphone, you may head on over to http://zenfone3zoomph.com/ to sign up your interest and to make sure that at least one unit will be reserved for you during this model's PH launch.

OPPO 5X Teaser for MWC 2017 Reflects Brand's Focus on Imaging

I've just received an email from our friends at OPPO Philippines regarding at least one of the products that the Chinese handset maker will be unveiling at Mobile World Congress happening later this month at Barcelona, Spain.

The message includes the teaser image above, which shows what appears to be the alphanumeric character '5X'.

According to the company, this is about their new technology called the ‘5x’ project that will allow OPPO’s smartphone cameras to capture images with unprecedented clarity.

"OPPO’s relentless pursuit of perfection without compromise has given birth to a remarkable technological breakthrough that will change how the world perceives smartphone photography. We chose MWC to unveil the ‘5x’ technology in the belief that we can inspire the industry to aim higher, and continue to create pioneering products that give amazing experiences for consumers," shared OPPO Vice President and Managing Director of International Mobile Business, Sky Li.

OPPO made no further mention about the specifics of the 5X project so your guess is as good as mine as to what it's actually all about. Personally, I think it's 5X optical zoom capability, which is really exciting.

At this point, however, what I know for sure is that this entire stance from OPPO reflects the brand's focus on great mobile imaging. The truth is, tn recent years, OPPO has been constantly working on delivering amazing smartphone photography through its innovative and user-oriented technology and products. To quote the company:

• * OPPO’s Ulike 2 model was the first smartphone to offer pre-installed beautication feature, which has become a standard configuration in almost every Android phone today. The beautification feature has since evolved to Beautify 4.0, which instantly evens out the skintone and highlights the good facial features of the user in selfies.
• * In 2016, OPPO introduced the camera-focused F-series. The second phone in the ‘Selfie Expert’ series, the F1 Plus, was the first OPPO device to sport a 16 megapixel front-facing camera.
• * In that same year, OPPO Mobile partnered with Sony to co-develop the 1/2.8-inch IMX398 sensor for the OPPO R9s to allow outstanding focusing speed, noise reduction, and low-light performance.

All of these stellar research and development efforts from the company - matched with great marketing strategies - have indeed born fruit for OPPO Mobile, especially here in the Philippines. Based on GFK's 2016 research, OPPO has managed to become the second most prolific seller of smartphones in this market less than 6 months since starting formal operations.