ASUS enters North American smartphone market with affordable powerhouse Zenfone 2

Image from DroidLife

New York: ASUS just took the wraps off its affordable flagship the Zenfone 2 in New York. Coming to the US and to Canada starting at $199 the Zenfone 2, which will come in two variant boasts Intel's 2.3GHz quad-core Z3580 chipset, 64GB of internal storage and 4GB of dual-channel RAM at the high-end ($379, off contract, Dual-SIM) which are better specs than many tablets or even notebooks in the market today. Canadians will be able to purchase the Zenfone 2 from Newegg starting tomorrow.

ASUS CEO Jonney Shih - Photo by Maarten Heilbron

A more affordable model, which will cost $249  features a 1.8GHz chipset and 2GB of RAM as well as 16GB of onboard storage (off contract, Dual-SIM) . Also on tap are a 13 megapixel camera with a bevy of special photo features and settings all of this packaged in a slightly curved body with various textures and designs. Stay tuned for more images and video coming from the event as well as specifics regarding Canadian availability.