Asus Zenfone Zoom launched in India, at Rs. 37,999

The newly launched Asus Zenfone Zoom offers a 13MP rear camera with OIS, 3X optical zoom and 12X digital zoom

Asus has just launched the much awaited Zenfone Zoom smartphone in India today. While most of the specification of Zenfone Zoom are similar to the top of line Zenfone 2, the rear camera has a completely new setup. The phone still uses a 13MP rear camera sensor, it has a different sensor made by Panasonic (instead of the Toshiba sensor in the Zenfone 2) and comes equipped with OIS (Optical Image stabilisation). Further, the phone provides 3X optical image stabilisation and 12X digital zoom. The Asus Zenfone Zoom will be available from today on Flipkart at Rs. 37,999 and  Rs. 39,999 bundled with a tripod and the Asus Zenflash accessory.

The Asus Zenfone Zoom may not have the Zenfone 2 moniker but on first glance it is easy to ascertain similarities in the design. The new phone has a similar form factor as the Zenfone 2 and to accommodate the larger camera module, the rear mounted volume keys have been moved from the back to the right edge. The power key has also been moved to the right. There's also a dedicated camera shutter key on this one.

Further, the Asus Zenfone Zoom comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD display, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4. The phone is powered by the Intel Atom Z3590 SoC and has 4GB of RAM along with 128GB internal storage. If you still need more storage, the phone does support micro-SD cards, adding up to another 128GB of storage. The 13MP rear camera sensor is designed by Panasonic and the 10 element lens system is made by Hoya glass, which is a Pentax-owned lens maker.

The phone supports 4G-LTE and comes with a single SIM slot. It has a 3000mAh battery and weighs 185 grams. The Zenfone Zoom runs on Asus’ ZenUI, which is layered on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop. It will be available in two colour, black and white.