'When you look at the market, you see that the demand for a smartphone from ASUS is high. That’s why we chose to come to the Benelux this year with the ZenFone. The nice thing is that the phone completes the portfolio. You can now use a notebook, desktop, phone, tablet, and smartwatch from ASUS,' says Rodney Voogel.
The audience that ASUS targets with the ZenFone is between 15 and 35 years old. 'The youngest generation - young people around 15 - is not very brand loyal yet. They mainly look at the appearance, does it look cool and is there enough storage space? Then the brand is less important. An Apple user is very loyal to the brand. Therefore, we focus on the Android user in the age category where people are often willing to switch brands,' says Rodney.
'By the way, the generation between 25 and 35 has grown up with ASUS, with gaming and design. We are tapping into that with the ZenFone. A cool product at an attractive price. Very suitable for the mentioned group of people.'
For the business user
The ZenFone range consists of various smartphones, something for everyone. Rodney: 'To start with, there is the ZenFone Go for 149 euros. A phone with just that little bit more storage: 16GB instead of 8GB. That makes a difference. Furthermore, all models are dual-SIM. This means you can put a business and a private SIM card in it at the same time. Or you can put an SD and a SIM card in it. In short, it is easy to expand for every user. That is incredibly nice for the business user. No more hassle with different devices and everything via one smartphone. A huge advantage for every business user.'
'Another important point we have taken into account with the ZenFone is the battery life,' continues the managing director of ASUS. 'If you use the ZenFone Max for 199 euros, you benefit from an extra heavy battery that also allows for reversed charging and charging. Add to that the bigger brothers - the 5.2 and 5.5 inch, with a full HD screen and even more storage for 249 euros - and you have a unique range of smartphones at a very friendly price. One segment higher is the ZenFone 3 with a standard storage of 32GB.'
The flagship
Each ZenFone has its own USP. On February 23, the first three models were launched: the Go, the Max, and the ZenFone 3. 'The ZenFone AR that was presented at the most recent CES and was also present at the event needs to come to the Benelux as soon as possible. We are dependent on Google, which is largely responsible for the technology and the certification of the apps. But I can tell you that this is a step into the premium category, the flagship in the ZenFone stable,' assures Rodney.
Notably, there is a close collaboration between ASUS and the partners to position the ZenFone as perfectly as possible in the market. 'We do the marketing and sales together with BCC, Media Markt, Coolblue, and Bol.com. Two large retailers online and two offline. This way we approach the launch as broadly as possible. We work with dedicated telecom providers who have all the know-how in-house. That strengthens us enormously.'
Rodney: 'Our ambition is to become a serious player in the smartphone market. We take that very seriously. That’s why Eric Chen, the vice president of ASUS, and Eric Ou, the general manager EMEA, and the head of marketing EMEA Erik Hermanson came to the highly successful presentation on February 23. That says enough about our ambition! Internally, we are also intensively working for an optimal result. And we have every confidence in that.'
These are the new ASUS ZenFones
ASUS ZENFONE GO
CPU & chipset: Qualcomm
Snapdragon 410 MSM8916, 64-bit
Quad-core CPU, 1.0 GHz
Input: 10-point capacitive
touchscreen
Panel: 5.0'' TFT LED Backlight,
1280x720 HD
Graphics: Adreno 306
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 16GB
Weight: 150g
Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n,
Bluetooth 4.0
Network: 2G / 3G / 4G
SIM: Dual Micro SIM Dual Standby
Sensor: Accelerator, E-Compass,
Proximity sensor, Hall sensor,
Ambient light sensor
Interface: Micro USB, Head phone /
Mic-in, Micro SD (SDXC)/ Max.128GB
Front Camera: 5M
Rear Camera: 13M
Battery: 2600mAh
Dimensions: 143.7x70.85x11.25mm
Price: € 149,-
ASUS ZENFONE 3 MAX
OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
CPU & chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon
410 MSM8916, 64-bit Quad-core CPU,
1.0 GHz
Input: 10-point capacitive touchscreen
Panel: 5.5" IPS LED Backlight,
1920×1080 FHD
Graphics: Adreno 505
Memory: 3GB
Storage: 32GB
Weight: 175g
Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n,
Bluetooth 4.1
Network: 2G / 3G / 4G
SIM: Dual Micro SIM Dual Standby
Sensor: Accelerator, E-Compass,
Proximity sensor, Laser sensor, Ambient
light sensor, Fingerprint, Gyroscope
Interface: Micro USB, Head phone /
Mic-in, Micro SD (SDXC)/ Max.128GB
Front Camera: 8M
Rear Camera: 16M
Battery: 4100mAh
Dimensions: 151.4x76.24x8.3mm
Price: € 249,-
ASUS ZENFONE 3
OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
CPU & chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon
410 MSM8916, 64-bit Quad-core CPU,
1.0 GHz
Input: 10-point capacitive touchscreen
Panel: 5.2'' TFT LED Backlight,
1920x1080 FHD / 5.5'' TFT LED Backlight,
1920x1080 FHD
Graphics: Adreno 506
Memory: 3GB / 4GB
Storage: 32GB / 64GB
Weight: 144g
Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2
Network: 2G/3G/4G
SIM: Dual Micro SIM Dual Standby
Sensor: Accelerator, E-Compass, Proximity
sensor, Hall sensor, Ambient light sensor
Interface: USB-C, Head phone / Mic-in,
Micro SD (SDXC)/ Max. 2TB
Front Camera: 8M
Rear Camera: 16M
Battery: 2650mAh/3000mAh
Dimensions: 146.87x73.98x7.69mm
/152.59x77.38x7.69mm
Price: € 349,- / € 379,- / € 399,-
