User Reviews for Asus Zenfone 5 A501CG (8GB, 1.2GHz)

When i first bought this phone, i was very disappointed to find out you cannot switch between 2G and 3G network mode on this phone.Its always on the dual mode.nnIts particularly very bad when your home is on fringes of mobile network in your area, I rarely got 3G tower in my phone. but then i found out a way for it online.nnJust dial *#*#4636#*#*nnand select Phone information Tab,nnthen scroll down and change WCDMA Preferred to WCDMA Only.nnand you will start getting 3G tower.nPls rate this as high as possible so everybody knows about this.....

I READ A NO. OF REVIEWS BEFORE BUYING, FOUND NONE OF THEM BEING PERSPECTIVE BUILDING AND DEEP....BOUGHT THE FONE AS A CALCULATED RISK AND FOUND THAT THE FONE DELIVERS TO MY NEEDS.... HERE IS THE COMPLETE REVIEW (ALSO COMPARED WITH YUREKA) nn1. battery: drains fast...needs charging everyday unless on standby...standby with wifi on is battery prudent...u see the battery cycle improving. ALMOST SIMILAR TO YUREKA WHICH HAS SLIGHTLY BIGGER BATTERY, BUT A QUADCORE PROCESSOR AND 5.5" DISPLAY... nn2. sound: sufficently loud, contrary to wat i read before buying. might not be as loud as others, still serves the purpose of ringtones and watching videos with adequate detail. could be better. sound over headfones s really good. using JBL J56BT and Goji Headfones. YUREKA AND AZ5 HAVE SAME OUTPUT nn3. camera: slight shutter lag that was not there in 1.6GHZ model before kitkat update....fotos are clear and detailed. quality suffers in all modes in low light conditions - either too bright or too noisy or dull... pics come out to be plasticky...unreal.. though color saturation and contrasts are not altered (like yureka and redmi) front camera gives u decent enuf pics and the zen ui lets u edit selfies in the required way (YUREKA CAMERA IS NOT EVEN CLOSE) nn4. display: beats all displays in same resolution... crisp clear. but auto brightness takes time to get accustomed esp if u are previously using a fone that has higher brightness settings for normal usage. os has no snag. (YUREKA DISPLAY, THOUGH NOT AS CRISP, BEING BIGGER IS MORE APPEALING TO MY TASTES... ESP READING EBOOK/PDF// GAMING) nn5. gaming - graphics - pretty decent...dint notice heating in low - mid requirement games...dint install high end games, as i really wont use them. clash of clans, angry birds, subway surfer and shadow fight 2 run smooth. (YUREKA IS A GREAT GAMING FONE, AZ5 IS NO WAY NEAR) nn6. multitasking- idle usage after all installations and routene settings (wifi on, auto sync on, dropbox whatsapp etc. on in the background) is around 700 MB, giving u around 1300 MB free... Zenfone has boost function in the dropdown menu (no dedicated task manager, one widget only ) that does the job of killing all apps. (YUREKA S BETTER HERE CZ OF CYANOGEN MOD AND MORE CORES) nn7. UI glitches - a couple of time i experienced Wifi Glitche.. fone restarted >> previously stored wifi no longer remembered>> once unable to connect despite numerous efforts. nalso experienced a fone hang on the second day when fone was on standby....!!! really shocked...bt worked fine after restart... will try to figure out why and repost in future if i experience same kinda glitch... (YUREKA HAS MORE GLITCHES THAN ZEN UI)noverall - 9/10 score to zenUI, one short cz of the glitches. zen has really worked to deliver a UI that has some great features like letting u install apps directly on sd card, excellent keyboard [CANT DO THAT ON YUREKA ], calling/phone app, zen toolkit,etc,etc,etc.. no bloatware.... music app is well designed too... nnin sum total: anyday better than competition devices and all micromax devices. being a worldwide product, u easily get accessories and spares. i ordered a nillkin backcase, and a garmore tampered glass -both of good quality and reasonable price. (YUREKA ACCESSORIES ARENT THAT WELL AVAILABLE AS AZ5)n1. pros: great looks, good price, easy availability of standard accessories, smooth and userfriendly UI even for advanced users, decent camera for its price... good graphics and cpu (LOOKS LIKE A FONE NOT A FABLET/TABLET WHICH YUREKA IS)n2. cons: battery cud be more, wifi glitches, bottom glittering surface is grooved and gets dirty, cud be removed - really useless..makes it bulky,.. buttons cud hav been lit..(YUREKA HAS BACKLIT BUTTONS) nnEND WORDS: if u are a heavy user, go for a device with more internal storage and higher cpu speed and battery ( redmi note 4g, or yureka in this range), if u savvy great looks, better UI and a well designed machine optimum for moderate usage, go for this... its like a royal enfield...more maintainence, but more elegance and presence.. yureka and redmi notes are just pulars, only plus point being speed (also, they are not dukes any day ;)...if ur planning to use it for moderate calling, whatsapp , fb, music, some reading and browsing and a few games and useful apps, and want a UI that doesnt need 3rd party launchers like go,etc.. buy it, along with a powerful SD card (class 10 or higher) for ur songs and documents... I DINT GO FOR YUREKA CZ: 1. 5 inch display is adquate for me, fits in pockets, and is operable single-handedly... but the main reason was the flash sale model for these chinese devices...i wanted a trusted brand which wud give aftersales services.. i get wht i see ....nothing more nothing less.. (see redmi 1s and xiaomi MI3 reviews, where ppl are shouting for services and support ) nnLIKE IF IT HELPS...SO THAT OTHERS LIKE U CAN BENEFIT FROM IT TOO..!! ?

At first I would like to say Im a geek and im too much into tech and all so this review is heavynThis phone is great in terms of features. ZenUI is great. No lags while using the phone. Playstore crashes sometimes, unnecessary apps like weather, cloud storage and all take up some RAM ,Weather app cant be disabled.Out of 2 Gb RAM 600-700 mb is consumed already. Screen is great to look at, colors,sharpness etc , camera is good as well.n It has FM radio too.nNow coming the major issues which may change your decision to buy this phone.nHaving a 5 inch display,2gb of RAM, powerful graphics processor and a powerful cpu(intel atom[used in laptops mostly]) 2110 mah battery seems too less for this phone.nAlthough ASUS has managed to make this work by battery saver which works great only when youre not using the internet. Once you connect to wifi or 3g the battery drains at whooping rate of 1% per minute! The same happens when you play games.nComing the second con which again is may change your mindnIt has intel "x86" based processor, most of the apps made for android are designed to work in ARM based CPU(snapdragon processors or other ones to be specific). Many apps do work though.nTo make it clear, GTA San Andreas game was not designed for x86 CPU in the android version so the game crashes when you try to open it.Similarly you may face problems with other apps.nMaximum apps do work so not much of an issue for now.(Like various messengers,video players etc)nI tried playing GTA Vice City, it worked smoothly but as I said battery is not that great for gaming.nI still gave 4 stars because the phone isnt that terrible,nexcept from the battery everything else is great.nPROSnGreat display qualitynSmooth interfacenCamera works great(low ligh mode and all)nbattery standby is amazing(no drop in battery % after locking the screen)nInternet speed is amazing while using 3GnBuild qualitynLooksnScratch resistant screennReading mode in builtnMatte finish at back for good gripnnConsnBATTERY!!nPhone Volume levels are little low for listening to music on speaker.nFor ringtones and notification tones it is finenNotification led is way to dim. Cannot notice until you go near the phone and the notification colors are limited to green,red,orange onlynVery big in size its like 6 inch phablet with 5 inch screen.nNo backlit keys which is irritating to use at nightnnASUS must solve some problems in their update. battery life can be increased by removing useless apps and clocking cpu etcnARM emulation should be enabled for applicationsnNotification led brightness can be increased by tweaking voltage of LEDnOn screen navigation buttons can be enabled if ASUS works on it.nnIf these problems are solved this phone would be a hit in the market.nAt last I would say get this phone only if youre not a geek user like me and youre not into 24 hrs internet surfing or chatting.For general usage like calls,messages,music,watching videos,very lite browsing and whatsapp and very little amount of gaming get this phone because its dead cheap for these specs.nAlthough I am disappointed at ASUS for providing such great specs with such a terrible battery.

i have been looking up for 8 GB version since last 20 days and its still unavailable while 16 GB is available all the time. I guess its just a strategy to sell 16 GB version more because both the phone have same features except of memory at the cost diffrence of 3000 bucks. Disaappointed.

i have been looking up for 8 GB version since last 20 days and its still unavailable while 16 GB is available all the time. I guess its just a strategy to sell 16 GB version more because both the phone have same features except of memory at the cost diffrence of 3000 bucks. Disaappointed.