Asus Zenfone 2 released, with up to 4GB of RAM costs less than $300

The Asus Zenfone 2 which was announced earlier this year at CES, was released today in its home country of Taiwan. The handset will be offered in a range of different models with hardware and pricing varying on each device.

The base model of the Asus Zenfone 2 comes with a 5 inch 720p display and costs the equivalent of just $158 without any subsidies. Meanwhile the top most model features a 5.5 inch 1080p display, 32GB of storage, a whopping 4GB of RAM and costs only the equivalent of USD 285. This is actually a decent asking price for such a capable device.

• ZE551ML (5.5″, 1080p display, 4GB RAM, 32GB) – 8990 NT$ (~US $285)
• ZE551ML (5.5″, 1080p display, 2GB RAM, 32GB) – 6990 NT$ (~US $221)
• ZE550ML (5.5″, 720p display, 2GB RAM, 16GB) – 5990 NT$ (~US $190)
• ZE550CL (5″, 720p display, 2GB RAM, 16GB) – 4990 NT$ (~US $158)

This month, the Zenfone 2 models will travel to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and France, while next month they will be rolled out to India, Italy and Southeast Asia, while Brazil can expect it in June. While the above mentioned prices are meant for the Taiwanese market, we can expect the handset to cost a bit higher the further it goes to the western markets.

Asus expects to turn a profit from the smartphone division this year, with a forecast of 17 million handsets shipped. The Zenfone 2 in question will be made by Pegatron, a total of 500,000 units have been ordered for March, then a million next month, and these can be scaled up to 3 million units a month if there is sufficient demand for the new handsets.

source - WOT | Digitimes