Asus ZenFone budget smartphones come to the UK: Release date, price and specs

After launching elsewhere, Asus has decided to have a push on the smartphone side of things in the UK. The budget ZenFone series, consisting of three different handsets, is on their way so here's what you need to know about release dates, prices and specs. See also: Best budget smartphones 2014.

The ZonFone range of smartphones was announced at CES 2014 back in January and has since launched in various countries including India and Sweden. We haven't given them much attention but now it's the turn of Blighty.

With the affordable prices (see below), the ZenFone devices will take on a new legion of decent budget smartphones like the Motorola Moto G, EE Kestrel and Nokia Lumia 630.

Asus ZenFone 4,5,6: UK release date and price

All three ZenFone models are available to pre-order now from Asus and will also be available from retailers including Currys PC World, Argos, John Lewis, eBuyer and Very. They will then start shipping and go on sale on 1 September.

The bigger the model, the more expensive it is so the ZenFone 4 costs £99 and the ZenFone 6 will set you back £249. See below for the full pricing.

ZenFone 4: £99
ZenFone 5 8GB: £149
ZenFone 5 16GB: £179
ZenFone 5 4G LTE: £199
ZenFone 6: £249

Asus ZenFone 4,5,6: Specs

The model number, as is typical for tech products, corresponds to the screen size. They are all different in this respect but the trio of smartphones share a few things in terms of design and specs.

Each come in various colours (the ZenFone 4 has more options) and the plasic rear cover has a 'ceramic' treatment applied to it. They also use Asus' own ZenUI interface on top of Android. They also all use Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and feature a microSD card slot for adding storage.

Most run on Intel Atom processors apart from the LTE-enabled ZenFone 5 which uses a Qualcomm chip for that 4G goodness.

ZenFone 4 specs

Processor: Intel Atom Z2520, 1.2GHz Dual-Core
Display: 4in (800 x 480), 233ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Storage: 8GB eMMC, microSD card (up to 64GB)
Memory: 1GB LPDDR2 RAM
Colours: Black / White / Red / Yellow / Blue

ZenFone 5 specs

Processor: Intel Atom Z2560, 1.6GHz Dual-Core
Display: 5in (1280 x 720), 294ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Storage: 8/16GBGB eMMC, micro SD card (up to 64GB)
Memory: 1/2GB LPDDR2 RAM
Colours: Black / White / Red / Gold

ZenFone 5 4G LTE specs

Processor: Qualcomm MSM8926, 1.2GHz Quad-Core
Display: 5in (1280 x 720), 294ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Storage: 16GB eMMC, microSD card (up to 64GB)
Memory: 2GB LPDDR2 RAM
Colours: Black / White / Red / Gold

ZenFone 6 specs

Processor: Intel Atom Z2580, 2.0GHz Dual-Core
Display: 6in (1280 x 720), 245ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Storage: 16GB eMMC, microSD card (up to 64GB)
Memory: 2GB LPDDR2 RAM
Colours: Black / White / Red / Gold

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Blu Studio ushers in colorful line of cheap Android smartphones

Cheap Android smartphones are ready for purchase from Blu Studio, which is launching new affordable and unlocked smartphones for the North American market.

While the company has promised to launch Windows Phones in the near future, right now it is focusing on its Android models, which come in a number of colors and functionality for users.

The Blu Studio C Series is able to connect onto any GSM Network in the United States, which means users will be able to take the phone to any cell phone carrier and have it activated and working instantly.

"Blu is dedicated to continue bringing consumers choice in the way of unlocked smartphones, driven by the demand for affordable quality devices and the freedom of selecting their airtime provider, thus by eliminating the dependency of locked devices which the network carrier has to offer," said Samuel Ohev-Zion, CEO of BLU Products, in a media release.

"We will continue to fundamentally change the mobile industry by making great looking smartphones that can do amazing things, priced for everyone," he adds.

Blu says the goal is to show the general population that there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars for a phone.

The Studio C Series phones have large displays, a solid camera and speedy processing, giving it a leg up on other lower-end smartphones currently available. Add to that six different color options and Blu believes it has a winning product lineup.

The 4.7-inch display features HD viewing with 294 ppi pixel density, and with an 8.0-megapixel camera, including an LED Flash and full HD recording options, it allows users to take crisp photos or video while on the go.

At only $149 via Amazon.com, the phones are likely to be popular for those seeking to grab a smartphone but who don't want the more expensive Samsung or Apple options.

The smartphone sector has seen a rise in competition this summer, as Amazon launched its first smartphone model, Fire, with much praise for its ease of use and functionality. Tech Times has also reported on the LG G3 smartphone with high-end video and photo capabilities that is currently doing very well on the market ahead of the fall's Apple iPhone 6 launch.

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Cut price Android on steroids: OnePlus One – should we look gift horse in the gob?

Review The idea behind the OnePlus One is very simple: source the best components you need for a top-spec Android phone, one that’s just as good as a branded Tier One Android flagship, and sell it direct at the fraction of the price.

OnePlus One Android smartphone

Chuck out the overhead of a multi-billion dollar marketing budget, which means no £25 spiff to the spotty kid at PhonesNotArf, and no cruft own-brand software, and just integrate top quality parts in a decent design.

The price – an eye-catching £269 – may be too good to last; the phone is apparently being sold at cost.

Looks the part and plays nice too

It’s a great way for an unknown brand to make a splash in the marketplace. The phone itself is fine – I’ve been using a One for three weeks and I can’t really find a major fault with it. The problem is that the sketchy OnePlus operation doesn’t seem to be geared up for production or support.

OnePlus presents itself as a startup, however, according to this report, alleged company documentation suggests OPPO Electronics Corp is the sole shareholder. Also, the device bears an uncanny resemblance to OPPO phones. More of that in a moment.

Freedom, one of the themes, and home screen customisation

OnePlus “Founder” and CEO Peter Lau is an ex-OPPO staffer. OPPO itself is owned by BBK Electronics, which is unknown outside China and Russia.

Whatever the true story, the cost-cutting over support has already caused some disquiet.

So what’s it like?

It’s a sizeable phone made manageable by a clever design, giving you a very good battery life. The price is obviously the showstopper here. £269 buys you a phone with a full 5.5-inch HD screen, 64GB of storage and 3GB of RAM, and a 3100mAh non-removable battery. There’s no sign of compromise anywhere: 13Mp Sony camera module, Snapdragon 801 quad core CPU, and dual speakers. You can quibble about the absence of a microSD card slot, or FM radio, but at this price, 64GB is a steal.

The grippy back panel is evident on the black model

The One’s thoughtful design makes it immediately likeable. Like the HTC and LG flagships, the back is tapered to lessen the clunkiness of the large, full HD (1080 x 1920) display. As with this year’s best designs, it minimises the bezels, so the 5.5-inch display goes almost right to the horizontal edges.

I particularly appreciated the grippy, sandpaper-effect back panel. This is the most comfortable "flagship" I can remember for a while. (Samsung’s faux leather Galaxy S5 feels grippy enough, but looks clunky and amateurish in comparison).

The camera features a 13Mp Sony Exmor sensor

The One’s back panel can be swapped for another using different colours or even different materials – a wooden back plate will be available. Swapping covers isn’t something you’d want to do very often, though, as it’s hard to get off, and somewhat nerve-racking. It’s lighter than the 162g weight suggests, and blind tests against Nokia’s clunky new Lumia 630 weren’t kind to the Lumia.

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Android, China make strong showing in smartphones

Android-based devices made a strong showing in the worldwide shipment of smartphones during the second quarter of 2014, capturing 85 per cent of nearly 300 million units shipped. Three brands from China made it among the top six smartphone players.

"Global smartphone shipments grew 27 per cent annually from 233 million units in Q2 2013 to 295.2 million in Q2 2014," said Linda Sui, director at consulting firm Strategy Analytics. "Global smartphone growth in the current quarter is at its lowest level for five years, and there are wide variations by region. For example, Africa and Asia are booming, while North America and Europe are maturing."

Following this trend, Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi showed improved shipments with Huawei reaching 6.8 per cent of the smartphone market and Xiaomi taking 5.4 per cent. Strategy Analytics director Woody Oh called Xiaomi "the star performer" for rising to fifth place among smartphone leaders for the first time.

popular in the Chinese market and it [sells] millions of them every quarter through its extensive online and operator channels," he said. "Xiaomi's next step is to target the international market in Asia and Europe, where it will have to invest big money to familiarise western consumers with its unfamiliar brand name."

Huawei, meanwhile, shipped 34.27 million smartphones for a 62 per cent year-over-year growth rate. Officials attribute the company's third place among handset vendors to its Ascend smartphone series with LTE, which have led to "success in the mid-to high-end market."

While Samsung dominated the smartphone market with 74.5 million units this quarter, Strategy Analytics analysts noted a slight drop in shipments from 2013. The company faces tough competition from Apple in higher-tier phones and from Huawei at the lower end. Should Chinese companies and other Android-based devices continue to sell well, the OS paradigm could change completely.

Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston said:

Like the PC market, Android is on the verge of turning smartphone platforms into a one-horse race. Its low-cost services and user-friendly software remain wildly attractive to hardware makers, operators and consumers worldwide. Rival OS vendors are going to have to do something revolutionary to overturn Android's huge lead in smartphone shipments. Apple's push into the big-screen phablet market and Firefox's expansion into the ultra-low-cost smartphone market later this year are the only major threats to Android's continued growth at this stage.

Android's gain comes at the expense of every major rival platform, with BlackBerry holding on to just one per cent of the global smartphone market and Apple's iOS losing one point of share due to a lack of presence in low-tier phones. Likewise, Microsoft's Windows Phone share fell two per cent globally.