[Media Invite] Asus Annual Zensation Launch Event @ St. Regis Hotel

Asus Annual Zensation Launch Event

Date: 29 October 2015 

Time: 10.00am to 1.00pm

John Jacon Ballrooms 1 and 2, 29 Tanglin Road, St. Regist Hotel, Level IU, Singapore 247911

Website: https://www.asus.com/sg

I was honoured to be invited to the above event for Asus' launch of full suit of products, a once-in-a-year event.

Even though the event was held in the late morning to early afternoon, I was surprised to note that the ballrooms were crowded with attendees, made up of the media and users / owners of Asus products.

There was an introduction about the various newly-launched products, some general description and details of their functionalities. Some of the products were Asus ZenWatch 2 - working like the Apple watch, but they've also partnered with Swarovski to bring about blingtastic leather straps to make the watches a fashion accessory as well.

After the talk, we mingled around with the rest of the attendees and checked out the various booths to test out the various gadgets on display.  There was the Asus Zen AiO Pro, powered by Intel's latest quad-core Core i7 Processors and can be specced up to 32 gigabyte of DDR4 RAM.

The Asus ZenBook UX305 is a small, light and low-powered laptop with an intel core M processor for optimal performance. It comes in a sleek all-aluminium body and a thin, fanless design - very compact to bring around for work or studies.

Then the Asus ZenPad 8.0 with an innovative interchangeable design to provide unique personalisation options. Performance is dubbed to be on-par with other more expensive Android tablets, powered by a 2.3GHz 64-bit Intel® Atom™ Z3580 processor and has 4 GB RAM to enable fast web surfing, smooth video playback etc.

Finally, the Zenfone 2 Laser and Zenfone Selfie, which were introduced at the ZenFestival 2015 and in my review here.

There is buffet lunch being served but I had to rush off for another engagement. The media kit comprised of information booklets and some interesting items.

Thank you Rachel from Asus for the invite to this exclusive and enriching event!

Review of Asus Zenfone Selfie handphone

After the Asus Zenfestival 2015 event (read post here), now is time to give you the lowdown on how the Zenfone Selfie works, and how awesome it really is. So, this pretty phone comes in 4 feminine colours - shellpink, Tiffany's blue, white and silver.

I chose the Tiffany's Blue Zenfone Selfie. Before delving into the simple laymen's terms of its functions, let me first introduce some technical aspects of this phone.  This amazing device blends fashion, technology and craftsmanship to allow for "seeing the perfect you", through capture of the best possible images of you and your friends, as well as the surroundings around you, to create the best memories ever.

The dimensions of this phone is 156.5mm (length) x 77.2mm (width) x 3.9mm (dimension), making it a thin phone and easy for clasps - an elegant ergonomic arc design. Despite the clear and large screens, this phone is surprisingly light, weighing at a mere 170grams.    For the operationing system, Zenfone Selfie uses ZenIU with Android 5.0 lollipop.

It has a strong battery life, and the first Asus smartphone with removable battery.  The Zenfone Selfie also comes with 32GB memory and a lifetime of 5GB Asus WebStorage.   As for display, the Zenfone Selfie has 5.5 inch full HD 1920 x 1080 display with 443ppi density, 400 nits brightness, full-screen lamination and scratch resistant Coming Gorilla Glass 4 with anti-fingerprint coating.

When making a call, you can choose to dial by number or names through an easy and organised display. You would be pleased to know that NoiseZero Talk is an amazing feature of the Zenfone Selfie that eliminates echoes and unnecessarily background noise so it makes for crystal clear speech and good conversations can be held anytime, anywhere.   SonicMaster 2.0 is incorporated into the Zenfone Selfie so as to enhance call quality, speech quality and even music playback.

The front and rear cameras of Zenfone Selfie are both 13 megapixels, giving sharp, distinctive images. The front camera embodies the top-of-its-class 13 megapixel Toshiba sensor with an 88-degree wide-angle Largan lens for the most detailed selfies of any photos of any phone in the market. Coupled with the PixelMaster 2.0, a high-end Asus' imagining performance, at both ends of the phone to get you impressive images at all times.

When the screen is turned off, a simple swipe "C" on the front of the phone brings you to the camera instantly; like a swipe of "S" brings you to Selfie camera as well.  You can also swipe "V" for dialling, "W" for browser and "e" for emailing. This convenient feature makes use of ZenMotion, granting the Zenfone Selfie the ability to recognize touchscreen and motion gestures to use them as shortcuts.

The phone also supports the Asus Glove Touch technology, so this phone may be used outdoors even in cold wintry atmosphere.

The browser is Google Chrome, a nice touch of convenience, since this is probably the most-used browser these days.

For privacy, there are PIN-enabled options to keep your messags and contacts separate and secure from prying eyes.   SnapView allows for independent spaces for work and personal life, so that you can manage both aspects of your life effectively yet distinctively (without having to carry two phones).

For family use, the amazing Zenfone Selfie comes with an easy mode as well, so that members of the family who are not familiar with smartphones may continue to use the good, basic features of the phone.  The icons in this mode are larger, so that even the elderly members of the family can see them easily; and they are presented with the common, basic functions such as phone, messages, contacts, calender and calculators etc to enjoy.

If you have kids, this is the perfect phone to entertain them with, but with stringent control. Firstly, you can select the exact functions your kids may use - such as games and camera only.  So that when you hand the phone over to them for temporary use, they are only able to access the selected programs. On top of that, you can set a timer (i.e. one hour, 2 hours) so that once time is up, they will have to relinquish their grip on the phone and go do their homework, or nap, etc.

As if that is not enough, the price for this awesome phone is a mere SGD$379.00 - complete with all the awesome technology, features and functions packaged in!  Well, my introduction of the phone is also my review; I explored all the said functions above and am currently making really good use of it for work and personal purposes.  Asus amazes us with this new creation for sure, and I am glad that I got to learn of it.

[Event] Asus ZenFestival 2015: Launch of Zenfone Selfie

ZenFestival Singapore 2015

14 October 2015, commencing 6.15pm

30 Victoria Street, Chijmes Hall, Singapore 187996

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asus.sg

I was honoured to be invited to the Asus ZenFestival 2015 at Chijmes Hall, where I'd not only get to cover the event, but also experience the new Zenfone Selfie and its amazing functions too! This would be the perfect night to convert the mindsets of people regarding this brand of phone, and it instantly dawned on me that Asus is much more than just a brand for computers and laptops.   Upon registration, we were being given a lanyard and pass.

The hall was beautifully set up for the event. From the drinks counter to the various booths strewn around the spacious hall, most of the gadgets were set out to invoke curiousity and then impress the attendees. Invited guests included the media, current users and partners.

Since this was the highlight of the evening's event, I shall start with this section - the Zenfone Selfie, the amazing phone that focuses on selfies photography! There are 4 feminine shades to choose from - shellpink, Tiffany's blue, silver and white. It allows for the best selfies because of the 13 megapixels PixelMaster cameras, dual-LED Real Tone flash, ultra fast laser focus and ZenMotion S-swipe to shoot.

There is also the Real-time Beautification Mode that applies instant photo-editing to turn every selfie shot into a stunning picture of perfection. We had fun sharpening chins, applying blusher effects etc with the camera. Finally, the 64-bit power gives the perfect balance of multimedia performance and battery efficiency.

Besides the comprehensive range of applications in the Asus Zenfone Selfie, and the brilliant selfie functions, this phone is also very family-oriented.   This depicts the Simple Mode, where the functions are significantly-reduced, showing only the more commonly-used features such as phone, messaging, contacts, clock, calendar, calculator, camera, gallery and settings. The icons are also magnified in this mode, making it extremely easy for basic or elderly users.

The Kids' Mode also piqued my interest greatly - parents can now leave their phones in the care of their young children and not have to worry about the kids clicking into unsuitable application icons, and damaging the phone in the meantime.  Simply select this mode, then you get to decide on the exact applications they can see, for instance, a certain game or their favorite show, to keep them entertained. The major wow-factor is that you can set a time limit to the selected application, i.e. 3 hours for Game 1. Once the time is up, the kids will not be able to continue using that partifcular app.

The PixelMaster booth were testimonial to the sharp and clear effects of photography images, beautifully toned to give the best colors possibly.

Across the room was another fascinating counter - showcasing the Zenfone 2 Laser, another wonderful product that comes with a stunning handphone case in metallic blue. Zenfone Go was being exhibited here as well.

Some accessories being featured included the ZenPower (powerbanks), available in attractive colours.to suit different users; and the LolliFlash etc.

This was where some of the guys did their racing during one of the intermissions, to win prizes as well as have some thrills.

Next up, Asus' Corporate Vice-President, Mr. Benson Lin did a presentation of this newly-launched Zenfone series and their advantages.

He was joined by Michelle Chong, Zenny and some attendees after that, where the use of Zenfone Selfie was being further demonistrated.

Throughout the night, there were drinks, finger food and canapes being served by a polite and affable crew staff.

Finally, the night concluded with a doorgift of Zenny audio cable-controlled selfie stick, a rather generous and thoughtful gift from Asus- thank you so much!

I brought home a Tiffany's Blue Zenfone Selfie to use. Keep a lookout for my review coming up soon, as well as details on specs and pricing about this amazing creation of a phone!

Thank you Originally US for the invite!