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Asus has announced its ZenFone 2 Laser smartphone, the latest model in its ZenFone lineup, featuring a 5.5-inch 1080p Full HD display, 16GB or 32GB of built-in storage, and dual SIM slots for travelers.
The ZenFone 2 Laser, which was unveiled Nov. 2, also includes an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor that consists of a quad-core 1.7GHz ARM Cortex A53 CPU and a quad-core 1.0GHz ARM Cortex A53 CPU, Adreno 405 graphics, 3GB of memory and an SDXC memory card slot that holds cards of up to 128GB.
The smartphone, which will be available in November, is priced at $199 for a 16GB model and $249 for a 32GB model.
The phone’s touch-screen display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and can be operated even while wearing gloves, according to Asus.
Also built into the handset is an auto-focus, 13-megapixel PixelMaster rear-facing main camera that has a wide-angle F/2.0 lens built with five elements, as well as dual LED flash that helps the camera capture images in low light. Plus, the phone has a 5-megapixel, F/2.0 wide-angle front-facing camera and is capable of Full HD video recording and playback.
The dual active SIM slots in the ZenFone 2 Laser allow users to maintain simultaneous connectivity to two cellular networks, essentially consolidating two phone lines into a single device. Also included is selectable LTE data connectivity that enables users to switch which SIM card is used for data through the Android settings, which is a useful feature for international travelers.
The phone features a removable 3,000mAh high-capacity battery, which can be easily replaced with a spare battery (not included) when needed if access to charging is not immediately available.
The ZenFone 2 Laser, which runs on Android 5.0, will be sold through Newegg and the Asus Store.
The handset can be used on GSM networks including AT&T, T-Mobile, Straight Talk, Walmart Family Mobile, MetroPCS, Simple Mobile, Brightspot, Net10, h20 Wireless, Cricket Wireless and other carriers.
The device, which only comes in silver, is 6 inches tall, 3.04 inches wide and 0.43 inches thick, while weighing 6 ounces.