Asus Zenfone 2 Release Date: Pricing of Popular Handset Not as 'Affordable' as Expected?

Since it was announced at the CES in Las Vegas, the Asus Zenfone 2 is already one of the most popular smartphones in the radar of Android fans, especially consumers who want a cheaper alternative to the Galaxy's, One's, and Xperia's of the market.

In a recent report, the device is already available for pre-order, which should delight Asus fans in Taiwan and neighboring countries.

However, it looks like the Asus Zenfone 2 will be priced a little higher than it was expected.

According to a report by GSM Arena, the Android-powered device can be pre-ordered from AliExpress for $300 - but that's just for the base model. In the Asus press launch in January, the lower-end Asus Zenfone 2 would only cost $200. 

Meanwhile, in the same retailer website, the high-end model will set consumers back for $440, also more expensive than what people expected. Still, it is unclear whether these will be the official prices. 

A quick trip at the retail page of the device shows that the available versions will be the 64G ones, which could mean that the $100 difference is not really a big deal due to bigger internal storage. 

The Asus Zenfone 2 was announced by the Taiwan-based manufacturer at the Consumer Electronics Show at the start of the year. The device boasts a 5.5-inch display with a Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and an Intel Atom chipset. 

The manufacturer announced two versions of the device - a lower-end model that 'only' has 2GB of RAM, paired with a 1.8GHz Intel chip. Meanwhile, the higher-end version packs a whopping 4GB of RAM and a 2.4GHz Intel Atom processor. 

In spite the difference in processing power, both versions come with Asus' usual sleek metallic finish, and a slim profile. In the camera department, the Asus Zenfone 2 handsets will offer a 13MP primary shooter at the back, and a 5MP selfie camera in front. 

The phone comes in a variety of storage options ranging from 16GB, 32GB up to 64GB of internal memory. The device also has a microSD card slot that can hold up to 64GB of expanded storage. 

The device will hit the market running on Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box, and comes with LTE connectivity.

While the change in pricing for AliExpress comes as a surprise to people expecting the Asus Zenfone 2, the pricing for the device when it becomes official could still follow the original plan.