1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:07,359 So, there's this hilarious typo in ASUS's PR materials for the Xen Phone 2 2 00:00:05,279 --> 00:00:13,120 that I think perfectly captures my biggest gripe with this product. I'm 3 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:14,960 sorry. Available for purchase when? Yes, 4 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:20,720 the most annoying thing about the Zen Phone 2 was the fact that it took so 5 00:00:17,279 --> 00:00:22,880 very long for ASUS to deliver the $200 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:28,640 smartphone that they showed off at CES this year. But, is the delay a big deal? 7 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:34,160 Has the competitive landscape really changed so much in three months that 8 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:39,640 it's significantly less market shaking? 9 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:39,640 I guess we'll find out. Strap in, folks. 10 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:54,719 The Corsair HX1200i power supply delivers 80 plus platinum efficiency for 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:01:00,480 quiet efficient power and Corsair link digital for advanced monitoring and 12 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:03,520 control. Click right here to learn more. 13 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:06,080 Oh, ASUS. I love those guys dearly, but 14 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:10,080 they really are a PC company at heart and it really shows through sometimes. 15 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:15,960 The Xen Phone 2 actually comes in two flavors. a 16 gig storage version with 2 16 00:01:12,479 --> 00:01:20,159 gigs of LPDDR3 RAM and an Atom 17 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:22,880 Z3560 for $200 and a 64 gig storage 18 00:01:20,159 --> 00:01:26,119 version with 4 gigs of LPDDR3 RAM and an Atom 19 00:01:24,119 --> 00:01:32,960 Z3580 for $300. I mean, RAM and storage we've seen 20 00:01:29,119 --> 00:01:36,000 before, but changing out the CPU, who 21 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:38,079 who does that with phones? Anyway, other 22 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:41,920 than those core speeds and feeds, both models of the phone are the same. 23 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:48,479 Starting at the front, we've got a 5 megapixel selfie camera, a 5.5 in 1080p 24 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:54,159 IPS display covered in Gorilla Glass 3, fixed offscreen buttons above a circular 25 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:59,680 finished metal chin. Then around the bottom, a micro USB port and microphone. 26 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:03,439 On the sides, a whole lot of nothing. At the top, a second mic for noise 27 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:08,640 cancellation, a 3 and 12 mm audio jack, and the quite disappointing lock button. 28 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:12,400 The position makes it kind of hard to press without really mushing the phone 29 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:16,640 into your finger, and the tactile response is marshmallowike, to put it 30 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:21,760 kindly. Around the back, we've got a two-tone flash next to the 13 megapixel 31 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:25,920 rear camera, volume up and down buttons that can also be used for the camera 32 00:02:23,599 --> 00:02:31,120 shutter, and a rear-facing speaker that I would describe as functional. But it's 33 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:35,040 under the brushed finished plastic backing where things actually start to 34 00:02:32,879 --> 00:02:38,400 get pretty interesting. Micro SD expansion is one feature that's been 35 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:43,519 trending towards extinction in the industry, but ASUS has gone ahead and 36 00:02:40,319 --> 00:02:45,280 included. And dual micro SIM slots, 37 00:02:43,519 --> 00:02:51,040 something pretty uncommon here in North America, are also present back here. 38 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:53,280 Very nice. Oh, and we can't really show 39 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:59,239 this, but if you were to dig in further, you'd find wireless AC and LTE chipsets, 40 00:02:56,879 --> 00:03:04,080 as well as the sorry, it's not userreplaceable, and it doesn't charge 41 00:03:01,519 --> 00:03:10,640 wirelessly, but it does support Qualcomm quick charge 3000 milliamp hour battery. 42 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:16,800 So, those are some pretty impressive specs, am I right? But what's it like to 43 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:22,000 actually hold the thing? Well, the screen isn't the best or brightest IPS 44 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:27,519 display I've ever seen, and I'm not a huge fan of the 5 and a half inch form 45 00:03:24,159 --> 00:03:30,239 factor, but I've got to give it to ASUS. 46 00:03:27,519 --> 00:03:34,480 It handles pretty well. Their reviewers guide, however one-sided its 47 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:39,080 representation of the facts might be, makes a point that I've made multiple 48 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:44,959 times about the awkwardness of a flatbacked versus a curved back device. 49 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:48,519 And other than that, physically, wow. I guess there's really not much to say. 50 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:54,319 It's a ph any phone depending on who it is you ask. 51 00:03:51,840 --> 00:04:00,080 So, let's talk the make or break of any Android device. The Android 5 52 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,599 Lollipopbased Zen UI skin. And this is 53 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:06,720 going to be a tough one here, folks, because Zen UI does some things very 54 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:10,959 right and some things very wrong and some in between. So, let's start with 55 00:04:08,319 --> 00:04:15,120 the former. Responsiveness is solid, although it should be given that the Xen 56 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:19,199 Phone 2's Atom CPU performs similarly to a Snapdragon 801. According to this 57 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:22,880 Tom's article, quick settings are customizable and available for pretty 58 00:04:21,359 --> 00:04:27,600 much any phone setting you could possibly want. And on the subject of 59 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:31,759 settings, there is some fan diddlyastic stuff buried in the settings menu. 60 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:36,000 Separate user profiles, including a kid mode that allows time limits and locks 61 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:39,759 down certain apps. some super smart do not disturb settings like ignoring a 62 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:45,520 call from someone the first time then accepting it the second since it's presumably urgent. Automatic phone call 63 00:04:43,759 --> 00:04:49,440 recording, although you'll want to check on the legality of this in your area 64 00:04:47,199 --> 00:04:53,360 before activating it. The auto start manager that lets you force apps to wait 65 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:58,160 for your permission to launch and do anything in the background. customizable 66 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:04,479 gestures like double tap to wake and sleep and double volume tap to wake to 67 00:05:01,919 --> 00:05:08,639 camera and even the ability to tweak the saturation and color temperature of your 68 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:14,080 display or save your screenshots as a PNG instead of a JPEG. I mean, who even 69 00:05:10,639 --> 00:05:16,720 thinks of that? But for every yin, there 70 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:20,160 is a yang. For every up there is a down. And for all the positive things I found 71 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:25,280 about Zenui, there were definitely some others that irked me. First up in real 72 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:30,160 talk time, ASUS, what is up with the incredible number of pre-installed apps? 73 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:33,919 I mean, some of them, like flashlight, I guess we need, but everyone else just 74 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:39,600 does this through the quick toggle directly. So, I don't get why it needs to launch an app on the Zen phone, too. 75 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:44,320 And some of these things are just inexcusable. What the chuffing hell is 76 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:49,039 Zen Circle? Are you a social network company now, ASUS? Why is the fact that 77 00:05:46,639 --> 00:05:54,160 it comes with trend micro nonsense on it considered a selling point in the 78 00:05:51,039 --> 00:05:56,320 reviewer's guide? Even Samsung has 79 00:05:54,160 --> 00:06:01,840 finally figured this out. If a feature is useless to 99% of your users, make it 80 00:05:59,039 --> 00:06:06,240 an optional download. Don't pack your device full of junk that nobody cares 81 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:11,120 about. Which leads to complaint number two, the overall polish. The ASUS 82 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:15,280 launcher wasn't configured with notification access by default, causing 83 00:06:13,199 --> 00:06:20,479 my lock screen to never display my new alerts. The app that lets you use your 84 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:25,039 phone on the desktop, actually super handy, very cool, but also kind of 85 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:29,840 janky. The phone actually locked up outright twice on me during the time I 86 00:06:27,199 --> 00:06:34,400 was using it, including a startling full power off while I was writing an email 87 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:37,840 with 15% battery showing on the meter. And then when I went to turn it back on, 88 00:06:35,759 --> 00:06:41,199 it told me the battery was dead. And on the subject of battery life, I've 89 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:45,440 confirmed with ASUS that I'm running the latest firmware, but I haven't been able 90 00:06:43,039 --> 00:06:50,639 to get past 8:00 PM without topping up the battery. Now, in their defense, I am 91 00:06:48,319 --> 00:06:56,000 a bit of a power user. All the radios on all the time is my policy. I got like 92 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:58,880 smartwatches and stuff, but with a 3,000 93 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:03,599 milliamp hour battery capacity, I should be easily making it through the day. So, 94 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:08,560 I suspect software, whether it's one of my usual apps that disagrees with Zenui 95 00:07:06,479 --> 00:07:12,400 or some of the stupid bloat that ASUS preloaded, I think there's something 96 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:17,360 stealthily draining battery in the background. But unfortunately, my usual 97 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:21,440 battery meter apps are not picking up on it. So, I'll try and post in the video 98 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:26,160 description when and if I figure out what it is. Which leads to the other 99 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:32,080 make or break smartphone feature these days, the camera. I'm torn on this one, 100 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:37,039 too. On the one hand, the manual mode is great for camera geeks and using the 101 00:07:34,479 --> 00:07:42,000 super resolution like multi-exposure merging mode and the low light four 102 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:47,039 pixels acting as one for higher sensitivity modes result in some 103 00:07:44,639 --> 00:07:52,160 shockingly good photos, albeit with a higher processing time cost and or a 104 00:07:49,759 --> 00:07:57,120 lower resolution cost in both ideally lit and poorly lit situations. On the 105 00:07:55,120 --> 00:08:02,639 other hand, while the Toshiba sensor behind the f2.0 lens might be okay. It's 106 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:07,199 not very featurerich with a max video resolution of 1080p and no slow-mo 107 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:12,879 support whatsoever. It lacks optical image stabilization. The camera launches 108 00:08:09,919 --> 00:08:18,720 quite slowly. And the auto photo mode, the one most people will usually use, is 109 00:08:15,599 --> 00:08:21,039 just not very good with smeary noise 110 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:25,199 reduction processing artifacts eliminating a lot of the detail from 111 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:29,879 even photos that are taken under pretty good conditions. 112 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:35,919 But this is a $200 smartphone off contract for the 113 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,760 base model. And even for the $300 one, 114 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:42,800 you get more than a token increase in storage with CPU and RAM upgrades being 115 00:08:40,719 --> 00:08:46,880 thrown in along with a quadrupling of your storage. Not to mention that ASUS 116 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:51,440 has committed to allowing bootloadader unlocking. And the thing even includes a 117 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:56,120 quick charger, something HTC couldn't be bothered to do on a smartphone that 118 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:59,120 costs over twice as much. So, here's the 119 00:08:56,120 --> 00:09:02,480 conclusion. While it's not perfect at 120 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:04,560 the price, the bottom line is ASUS, 121 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:08,560 you're going to have a lot of to clean up when the Xen Phone 2 is done kicking 122 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:13,440 all the ass it's going to kick out there in the market. And you can quote that on 123 00:09:10,399 --> 00:09:15,519 the box if you want to. Speaking of 124 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:20,080 kicking a lot of ass, Crunchyroll is the site created by anime fans for anime 125 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:24,160 fans. 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