This review took place with a Galaxy Note 4 as the comparison and some of the content is strictly opinion based on my personal preference.
Physical appearance and feel:
It is difficult for me to say how I feel about the physical appearance of this phone because I am stuck using the flip case because of its defective back and back cover. The cover is much too hard for me to get off so I use the flip case. The flip case is not easy to get off either, but it is a bit easier than the glued-shut back cover. Being forced to use this flip case rather than the case I purchased and some glass has left me with a bad impression.
I started a separate thread regarding the back cover. Had I purchased this phone, it would have gone back as defective. Someone said it would be better to have a tight cover than one that slips off too easily. I have personally never had that problem with any back cover. My Note cover comes off with ease and it never comes off on its own.
The phone feels ok, though I cannot really tell because of the flip cover. The phone is not as heavy as my Note and it is a bit smaller. The power button on the top and the volume rocker on the back are both a bit awkward. I do not like that the capacitive buttons do not illuminate. I think this was a dumb move on the part of Asus. What would have been the harm in lighting up those buttons? This is a big knock on the phone as far as I am concerned.
I am not overly impressed with the look of the phone. Even my husband, who is not crazy about the white color of my Note, thinks my Note is more attractive than the Zen. I personally love white phones.
Battery:
The battery life is good. I do charge my phones every night, so I have not let it drain to see how long it will last. It has better battery usage then my Note, which has suffered some since Lollipop. For instance, I have been using the two phones equally today. I have used 31 percent battery in five hours with my Note, with an estimated 13:50 hours remaining and 53 percent app usage. The Zen in five hours has used 27 percent battery, 53 percent app usage and 26 hours left. I am not sure how the remaining hours are so much more, but this info comes from the GSam battery app. The screen time has been the same on both, 52 minutes.
My average per complete charge battery life on the Note is 17 hours, screen on 3 hours, 33 minutes. The Zen is 22 hours, screen time 3 hours, 26 minutes.
Calling:
The calls I have made on this phone were good and mostly clear. I have HD calling with my Note and calls made to other HD calling phones are outstanding. The HD calling cannot be beat for clarity.
Display:
This display just does not pop like my Note. If I try to use “auto” it is much darker than auto on my Note. I use Vivid on the Zen but its colors are still not as nice
Photos:
The Note does a much better job with photos in all different lights. I have not played with the camera settings in the Zen, because I do not play with them with the Note. I am one who wants to rely on auto, although I realize the value in the various camera settings on both the Note and the Zen.
Downloading:
I also posted a separate thread on downloading. The downloading has been a mixed bag. Sometimes downloading is fast, sometimes not. Apps open as fast as on my Note but downloaded content does not always come up as quickly. The Zen is definitely not as reliable as the Note.
Wi-Fi:
The speeds I get through Speedtest are not as fast as they are with my Note, but my Note kicks **** on Wi-Fi. It kicks my husband’s Droid Turbo like a can down the road when it comes to Wi-Fi speeds. (He always beats me though on 4g).
Data:
This is a mixed bag as well with the Zen and T-Mobile. In my house, T-Mobile does not get 4g. Outside the house in an area where the 4g is super bad with Verizon, the Zen T-Mobile gets 20 mbps versus Verizon’s not even 1 mbps of speed. In another part of town, Verizon got 18 mbps and the T-Mobile got 3.92 mbps speed. This morning in the house, my Verizon Note on data got 7.28 mbps and the T-Mobile Zen got 2.82 mbps speed.
Bluetooth:
Bluetooth seems to work fine.
GPS:
Seems to work fine. It is even smart locked to my home location.
Price:
The price is good for this phone. It is half the price as my Note, which is why it lacks in display, camera, and overall reliability. If one is on a strict budget and not with Verizon or Sprint, this is a good phone. If one is not on a strict budget, it is still a good phone but keep looking because there are better overall phones.
Overall:
If I were buying a phone, this would not be my first choice. I tend to go for the highest end phones, so this is not a knock on this phone. It is just a personal preference.
It is not compatible with Verizon and I am a Verizon customer, making it not feasible for me to purchase this phone. That said the phone is a good value with great specs. This phone is not slow and does not lag. It is quite snappy. I would love a Verizon phone with double sim capabilities. That is a real plus with this phone. The 64 gbs of internal phone storage is also awesome.
I love the double tap to turn on the screen. I also like some other features that do not come with my Note, such as multiple users. The 100 free gbs of Google Drive was also an amazing benefit with this phone.
Physical appearance and feel:
It is difficult for me to say how I feel about the physical appearance of this phone because I am stuck using the flip case because of its defective back and back cover. The cover is much too hard for me to get off so I use the flip case. The flip case is not easy to get off either, but it is a bit easier than the glued-shut back cover. Being forced to use this flip case rather than the case I purchased and some glass has left me with a bad impression.
I started a separate thread regarding the back cover. Had I purchased this phone, it would have gone back as defective. Someone said it would be better to have a tight cover than one that slips off too easily. I have personally never had that problem with any back cover. My Note cover comes off with ease and it never comes off on its own.
The phone feels ok, though I cannot really tell because of the flip cover. The phone is not as heavy as my Note and it is a bit smaller. The power button on the top and the volume rocker on the back are both a bit awkward. I do not like that the capacitive buttons do not illuminate. I think this was a dumb move on the part of Asus. What would have been the harm in lighting up those buttons? This is a big knock on the phone as far as I am concerned.
I am not overly impressed with the look of the phone. Even my husband, who is not crazy about the white color of my Note, thinks my Note is more attractive than the Zen. I personally love white phones.
Battery:
The battery life is good. I do charge my phones every night, so I have not let it drain to see how long it will last. It has better battery usage then my Note, which has suffered some since Lollipop. For instance, I have been using the two phones equally today. I have used 31 percent battery in five hours with my Note, with an estimated 13:50 hours remaining and 53 percent app usage. The Zen in five hours has used 27 percent battery, 53 percent app usage and 26 hours left. I am not sure how the remaining hours are so much more, but this info comes from the GSam battery app. The screen time has been the same on both, 52 minutes.
My average per complete charge battery life on the Note is 17 hours, screen on 3 hours, 33 minutes. The Zen is 22 hours, screen time 3 hours, 26 minutes.
Calling:
The calls I have made on this phone were good and mostly clear. I have HD calling with my Note and calls made to other HD calling phones are outstanding. The HD calling cannot be beat for clarity.
Display:
This display just does not pop like my Note. If I try to use “auto” it is much darker than auto on my Note. I use Vivid on the Zen but its colors are still not as nice
Photos:
The Note does a much better job with photos in all different lights. I have not played with the camera settings in the Zen, because I do not play with them with the Note. I am one who wants to rely on auto, although I realize the value in the various camera settings on both the Note and the Zen.
Downloading:
I also posted a separate thread on downloading. The downloading has been a mixed bag. Sometimes downloading is fast, sometimes not. Apps open as fast as on my Note but downloaded content does not always come up as quickly. The Zen is definitely not as reliable as the Note.
Wi-Fi:
The speeds I get through Speedtest are not as fast as they are with my Note, but my Note kicks **** on Wi-Fi. It kicks my husband’s Droid Turbo like a can down the road when it comes to Wi-Fi speeds. (He always beats me though on 4g).
Data:
This is a mixed bag as well with the Zen and T-Mobile. In my house, T-Mobile does not get 4g. Outside the house in an area where the 4g is super bad with Verizon, the Zen T-Mobile gets 20 mbps versus Verizon’s not even 1 mbps of speed. In another part of town, Verizon got 18 mbps and the T-Mobile got 3.92 mbps speed. This morning in the house, my Verizon Note on data got 7.28 mbps and the T-Mobile Zen got 2.82 mbps speed.
Bluetooth:
Bluetooth seems to work fine.
GPS:
Seems to work fine. It is even smart locked to my home location.
Price:
The price is good for this phone. It is half the price as my Note, which is why it lacks in display, camera, and overall reliability. If one is on a strict budget and not with Verizon or Sprint, this is a good phone. If one is not on a strict budget, it is still a good phone but keep looking because there are better overall phones.
Overall:
If I were buying a phone, this would not be my first choice. I tend to go for the highest end phones, so this is not a knock on this phone. It is just a personal preference.
It is not compatible with Verizon and I am a Verizon customer, making it not feasible for me to purchase this phone. That said the phone is a good value with great specs. This phone is not slow and does not lag. It is quite snappy. I would love a Verizon phone with double sim capabilities. That is a real plus with this phone. The 64 gbs of internal phone storage is also awesome.
I love the double tap to turn on the screen. I also like some other features that do not come with my Note, such as multiple users. The 100 free gbs of Google Drive was also an amazing benefit with this phone.
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