Asus brings its $199 Intel Atom-powered ZenFone 2 to North America

The PadFone 2-in-1 smartphone/tablet hybrid might have been a total dud, but Asus isn't giving up in the mobile space.

Citing popularity in Asia and Europe, Asus announced on Monday it's bringing its 64-bit Intel Atom-powered ZenFone 2 Android smartphone to North America starting at $199.99.

The carrier-free (a.k.a. unlocked) ZenFone 2 runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with Asus's ZenUI "skin" on top. The phone has a 5.5-inch IPS display with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, which comes out to 403 pixels per inch.

For $199, the specs include a 1.8GHz Intel Atom 3560 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card up to 64GB). For an extra $100, you get a faster 2.3GHz Intel Atom 3580 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage Read more...