Over the years, I have generally used several smartphones for my travels and one of them is the Asus Zenfone 5 which is powered by an Intel Atom processor.
I'll be honest with you as I rarely do any product reviews but after using the Zenfone with the Intel processor, I realised that the whole system was smoother and faster compared to my previous other smartphones.
For me, as I am most of the time on the road, the most important element in a smartphone is the processor speed, ram, camera, storage and operating system and trust me, I have tried all sorts over the years where when I started using the Intel-powered Asus Zenfone, it was all packaged in one nice smartphone.
In this article, you will also see photos taken from the Zenfone and NOT edited at all. I only resized them for this article to show you the real colours.
 |
| Auto Mode on the Asus Zenfone - The Flea Market at The Curve in Petaling Jaya |
 |
| Playing with the Depth of Field Mode |
Taking photos, updating my social media statuses, reading my emails and of course, playing my games when I'm at the airport on during the flight are all very important for my travels so you can imagine what kind of smartphone I require.
Well, you should know, when the iPhone originally hit the market back in June 2007, I got my unit flown into Malaysia in July 2007, 3 weeks after it was launched in the US and I was probably one of the first few Malaysians or even travellers to use this smartphone where friends laughed at me over the sheer size and the use of touching your fingers on the screen.
So much has changed since I used my iPhone 1 for almost 4 years before switching to an Android-based system and I found that this was more suitable for my travels and work.
Anyway, cutting a long story short, my experience with the Asus Zenfone 5 sort of changed my perception of smartphone processors.
 |
| Indoor photo in a cafe, taken with the Asus Zenfone on standard mode |
Yes, we've heard about the Qualcomm, Kirin, MediaTek, Exynos and Snapdragons processors who claim to be just as powerful but then again, how can someone go wrong with an Intel processor who has been in the market for decades now.
So, as an old-world internet user, the Intel brand itself had credibility I could trust as I also work from an Intel Core i7 laptop when I travel.
Processing power is the root of all gadgets and to me, this cannot be sacrificed when I am on the road travelling. I always need something reliable to go with me hence the Asus Zenfone 5 and my Sony Vaio Core i7 are two important components of my trips.
 |
| Low light conditions with auto mode photo taking inside a store |
Again, the 1.5GHz Dual-Core Intel Atom Z2560 is simply amazing when it comes to processing power. I never did really have any issues to date when using it.
Photo taking is fast and easy, the built-in effects are incredible while the best part is the Dual Sim function where I can easily slot in another SIM card when I travel overseas.
The 8GB internal storage is more than enough for one trip as I don't really use the highest resolution for my photos, plus I do not snap away at just about anything.
Most of my photos are taken for my Instagram and other social media sharing and the 2GB Ram is perfect for all my applications to be running simultaneously.
 |
| The outdoor scene on auto mode for the Asus Zenfone 5 |
Conclusion
Right now, I am looking forward to upcoming Asus Zenfone models that are to be released where I am told that one of them will carry a 4GM Ram which is simply awesome!
You can also check out my other smartphone reviews as over the years I have done quite a few.
Well, I can only wait for it to be launched and wonder how much it would cost me and most important - what kind of Intel Processor it will be running on and if there will be more upgrades.