The new batch of week's smartphone announcements

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BY Unknown 15:44 0

The new batch of week's smartphone announcements

The week opened with the announcement of the low-end Asus ZenFone C. It's a minor update to last year's ZenFone 4, retaining the Intel chipset with a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and 1GB of RAM. Screen size has seen a slight bump to 4.5 inches, requiring an increase in battery capacity to 2,100mAh.

Wednesday was rather eventful, with Meizu's highly-anticipated press conference. The Meizu m1 was unveiled, packing a 5-inch 720p screen and respectable hardware in a colorful body, all for $110. Camera department is where the m1 offers the most bang for its buck, offering a 13MP main sensor and a 5MP selfie snapper.

The ZTE Blade S6 is a more capable LTE-enabled 5-incher rocking a Snapdragon 615 SoC, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. A 13MP/5MP camera combo adds up to a respectable $250 midrange package.

The HTC Desire 526+G slides in between the last two, pricewise. For $170 the Taiwanese company will sell you a 4.7-inch qHD screen, a 1.7GHz octa-core processor, coupled with a single gig of RAM and 8GB of on-board storage. A 16GB version is available for a nominal price increase.

Samsung unveiled a new smartphone as well, pushing its range to even lower grounds. The entry-level Galaxy J1 packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a modest 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal memory, thankfully expandable. The new base model runs KitKat on a 4.3-inch screen.

Motorola quietly launched an LTE-enabled version of the current Moto G, dubbed Moto G 4G (2015). Offering vanilla Android experience and timely updates, the new handset offers dual-sim functionality and retains the hardware of the non-4G version.

Asus ZenFone C announced in Malaysia

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BY Unknown 14:30 0

Asus ZenFone C announced in Malaysia

Today Asus announced the latest addition to the ZenFone lineup - the ZenFone C. It is an entry-level device that the Taiwanese manufacturer has created as a replacement for the ZenFone 4. The full specs sheet for the device already surfaced online as well as a few photos of an actual unit. The new handset seems to be almost identical to the Zenfone 4 in terms of design, but with a few notable upgrades in hardware.

The new Zenfone C comes equipped with a bigger 4.5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. Under the hood there's an Intel Atom Z2520 processor, clocked at 1.2 GHz along with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage.

Cameras on the device seem mostly unchanged with a 5MP main shooter and 0.3MP front facing one, but a few touches have been made. There is now a LED flash on the device and EIS for improved low-light performance.

The battery has also gotten bigger with 2,100 mAh capacity. This is a significant improvement over the 1,600 mAh in the ZenFone 4 and should definitely boost the phone's endurance. The Android 4.4-powered budget device will be available in Malaysia early next month in black, white and red. The initial price tag is set at MYR 349 or about $97.