What Is It? – Do you think of your smartphone mostly as a phone? As a messaging device? As an app platform? Or maybe primarily as a camera? If you answered “camera,” then you might be interested in the Asus Zenfone Zoom, an upgrade of their popular Zenfone 2 with photography in mind. Asus (pronounced AY-soos) has added a built-in Hoya optical zoom lens to its earlier smartphone. Most smartphone cameras “zoom” digitally by expanding what the fixed lens sees and then cropping the view. Not the sharpest way to create a picture. The Zenfone Zoom has a 10 element lens to allow it to zoom up to 3x optically, for better images, and up to 12x with added digital zoom. I should point out that this lens is totally contained in the phone’s body, with only a thin circular addition on the 
back. The camera also includes image stabilization and laser auto-focus, as well as manual exposure settings. The phone takes both videos and stills, as most do. The optical zoom lens is clearly the selling point here, as the rest of the Zenfone Zoom is a middle of the road Android smartphone, with all the usual apps and features. It has an Intel processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB built-in storage plus room for more on a microSD card, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a Gorilla Glass front on a 5.5 inch HD LCD screen. It weighs about 6.5 ounces, a little more than the Zenfone 2, and that’s because of the optical lens. The case comes in black or white.
Is It 50+ Friendly? – Nothing about this smartphone is specifically for – or not for – users in our age group.
Frustration Factor? – I personally didn’t like that the power button is on the right side edge, right below the two volume buttons, that also control the optical zoom in camera mode. I pressed the power button a few times while intending to lower volume or decrease zoom.
Is It Worth It? – Adding an optical zoom lens – that doesn’t protrude – is a real accomplishment, but after that the camera is not much to write home about. The 13 MP rear camera could use a better sensor for better images. The Asus Zenfone Zoom is moderately priced, as low as $399 unlocked at Amazon.com.
Finally, here’s the Asus promotional video on the ZenFone Zoom:
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