yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] dexter20082001:
Initial thoughts:

I bought the 16GB model from the Asus Online Store because it was out of stock everywhere at the time. So one of the best parts of an Asus device is they allow you to move most apps to the external sdcard which is why I wanted the cheaper model. There seemed to be almost no bloatware on my phone. There were the Asus branded app, but they useful and actually provide functionality to the device. I would not call them bloatware. Upon setup my H2O 4G LTE sim card wasn't recognized and I had to reinsert it. The sim also did not autoconfigure the APN as it should have been able to do, but I fault H2O for that. It hasn't behaved slowly at all and only gets hot when playing Hearthstone. At one point while playing Hearthstone, the phone did lock up and subsequently reboot. The phone gave no warning of heat so I believe it may have been some sort of other problem. I also noticed that it had an FM radio which while gimmicky, I thought it was awesome and it works very well. The flip case is also an awesome addition because of the functionality it has.

Performance:

The SD615 seems very snappy in all normal situations. Hearthtone played far better than on any Intel powered tablet or phone I saw and I did significant research and even had it on an intel android tablet.

Camera:

The camera is very nice and the autofocus is quick even when manually focusing on an object. I attribute this to the laser obviously.

Sound:

The speaker seems to be the same old one , but in my experience it is a newer revision that gets louder and has more depth. I compared it to my friend's 64GB ZF2 and mine seemed more more loud.

Network:

I went from an iPhone 5S to this and my LTE network speed doubled. Perhaps that is a coincidence, but get excellent signal through H2O which is an AT&T MVNO

Battery:

Here is where the toss up is. The battery is 3000mah which seems nice and it is. It gets decent battery life. While using it for texting, installing apps over mobile data and using bluetooth to play music, all at the same time, not only did it work fine, but the battery drain from 10PM to 10AM (late night road trip) was only to 73%. The downside is the charge time. from 10% to 100% it takes about 3.5 hours. In theory you could use a qualcomm quick charger, but it would appear that there is more to it than just the SoC but also something in the board itself needs to be used as others have tried quick charging to no avail.

So for $199.99 it is a great buy in my eyes.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] babsk:
Sounds excellent as a single SIM device and an excellent buy which is what I figured. But it's also supposed to be a dual SIM too so I remain very curious to hear from someone who has luck getting call reception on both lines at once.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] suhridkhan:
Thanks for taking your time to write up such a nice and extensive review.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] sagematt:
Sorry, I meant to say Android M. In fact, we have an official announcement now:

http://www.asus.com/zentalk/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=55960

If you are in a region that has heavy MMS use, sure. I have yet to send a single MMS in my lifetime. I'm just talking about my own experience of course, that's not indicative of anything.

Both of your arguments for LTE on both SIMs are solid, though.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] jose makalolot:
They are "planning".

Also, ZE551KL is not on the list.

Sadly, a lot of people are using MMS for group messaging.

Posted using my phone.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] sagematt:
Nope it isn't. I mentioned it a few hours ago in another thread http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=63859291&postcount=3
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] floridaman:
Asus rep states in the comments on the newly released Laser when asked about the upgrade to M that they are working on giving the user the best experience with Lollipop 5.0. Perhaps if enough complain, they will add it to the list. But if you release a new model this late in the season you should update it, it's called doing business and keeping customers.

It really is quite laughable, people had better experiences with Kit Kat then they did with 5.0.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] dexter20082001:
It isn't on the list, but the ZE551KL has only recently been released. If the ZE550KL is getting the update then only minimal changes need to be made for the ZE551KL which are mainly the modem firmware and the screen resolution as the other model can have a SD410 or a SD615. Asus will probably release it shortly after the initial launch. This phone was extremely popular. It sold out on Newegg, Amazon, and B&H when it launched. It would be silly to expect them not to release it after that.

P.S: MMS doesn't typically use 4G LTE. It has been around since 2G and the speed achieved is more than enough for MMS. People are nit-picking between 100MS and 105MS transfer time at best which no human can really distinguish between.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] pckarma112:
That list does not include the ze551kl. Same phone that is now in stock at newegg for 199. How or why in the hell would they leave in out? Makes no sense.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] jose makalolot:
Yup, 2G is enough if it is still available. Sadly, I am always in such places that 2G doesn't exist anymore and I need 3G on that sim slot so that I can keep up with MMS.

Posted using my phone.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] floridaman:
2G is barely available where I'm at in the States as well. This was a very bad design to use this type of hardware in this phone considering it is just being released. I've found a low cost company offering VoLTE in one of their low end models already and the phone was a 1/4 price of the Asus.

Asus's own rep stated on their site that the new Laser model was going to only get 5.0. They were giving the best experience of Lollipop 5.0 to their users.

If Asus intends to stay in this market they need to start listening to their customers about what they're putting out or they'll be losing people and they won't get them back. There are tons of postings all over the place stating charge $20 more, I'll be glad to pay it for an updated unit. Hopefully they'll learn when they release what actually the ZF3 is going to contain, if not with all the other companies out there blazing past them they'll disappear.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] dexter20082001:
Yes, but people were complaining about speed not coverage. They gave that very same quote about all of their ZenFone series and then gave an update list. Give it a month after they release it for the lower model ZF2L at least and then you can bash them for it. As I stated the phones themselves have nearly all the same hardware and could probably even run the same builds. You can actually view the forum posts detailing the differences and see they are quite similar. This constant trash talking about the device is getting ridiculous. What is the lower end phone you found and how much does it cost? You bought the BLU Pure XL, correct? That phone is almost 200 dollars more. They aren't in the same categories..
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] floridaman:
I did not buy the Pure XL that was another poster. Actually there are many people complaining about the 2G only on many different forums from all the world as there is no more 2G service. It has nothing to do with speed as it is used for voice/text only.

It is irrelevant that it is a similar build, so are the other models they have but are not getting the update. As I stated Asus's own rep on their own forum stated the new Laser is getting optimized for the 5.0 when specifically asked about getting the 6.0 update.

I also don't buy the lower end models of phones if there is another phone with 32 or 64 GB available. So comparing the lowest end model with a model that is higher end does not work. The blu model is only $25 higher than what I paid for the ZF2. I'm sorry you don't like customers actually being disappointed in their devices and voicing their opinion about a device they own. Yes there are many other companies out there and many offering the same features and different features for less or the same amount of money. I would highly suggest google to find them.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] dexter20082001:
You are taking this around in circles and not actually responding to what I am saying. The people complaining about 2G in this forum were originally talking about the speed. Go back through and you can find the posts. I understand there is awful coverage, but the complaint was originally about speed. Asus reps have made that same statement about all their devices when they are released (I.E ZF2, MeMoPad, ZenPad, Transformer Series, etc.). They say this whenever asked about a newly released device, but you seem to be ignoring this fact. By all means you can have an opinion, but some of the information and way you are comparing phones to this one creates an unfair comparison. For instance, BLU does make decent phones comparable in specs, but rarely have they ever released updates for their devices as they use Mediatek processors mostly which cost to get the source for. This isn't the only phone out there that has the downsides that it does. You are making it seem as though ever other phone is better without any real analysis to show that.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] pckarma112:
They just sold out again. Only amazon has stock. I hope Asus will come through. Would love mm on this phone.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] floridaman:
No, I'm talking just fine, you may just not like what I have to say. If they are complaining about speed on sim 2 which is only 2G and only voice/text, data is blocked. So yes they would have very slow speed since it can not be used for data at all. Plus if they are in an area where 2G has been shut down already, it will be completely useless for anything as I experience. I'm not just referring to just on this thread or just this forum, I go to many different forums. Either you are not understanding what they are saying or they don't understand how their phone works. Either way, 2G only is completely outdated.

I don't feel it is an unfair comparison at all, that's your opinion you feel it is. However since I'm paying for the phone looking at the different specs and seeing what is being offered at the price I am or did pay, it is most definitely a fair comparison. Asus needs to get its act together in particular with the ZF3, the only thing they've announced so far it will have usb charging.... big deal. They need to listen to their customers who many have stated either start fixing your phones with better support and stop using outdated hardware or we'll find a new company. We're all waiting, too many companies coming out with more up to date equipment in the coming year.

Asus has been absolutely horrid about updates. They promised numerous times that they were rolling out 5.1 to their devices, never did. They do roll out many firmware updates which are usually to fix the last update they rolled out. The last update killed my sd card as many others experienced. To say the least many many people complaining they no longer have 4G service if they can make a call at all on sim 1. Not good.

Nobody is saying this is the only phone out there that has its downfalls, however it is the phone or company people have so they can make comments about their product good or bad, any company should expect such it's called business.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] jose makalolot:
It's not just the speed but also the coverage. Besides, in the US, technology corresponds to speed.

The biggest issue is with Asus reps contradicting info.

Posted using my phone.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] babsk:
I am the one with the Pure XL. I had a Zenfone2 and very much can endorse that my problem with 2G was lack of reception, period. As in unusable for phone calls in certain areas for me. I am not talking data, not talking speeds or anything, just the ability to even get a mere signal to make a phone call. Completely unusable in my case on the second SIM slot and even went through the bother of getting a second phone sent to me and going through their tech support to troubleshoot the problem, and going through three different SIM card changes even until someone on the carrier forum pointed out that my issue was unresolvable because it was obviously the lack of 2G. My carrier finally acknowledged it was the likely cause too but weeks had gone by so return window was gone. Thankfully Amazon was understanding. I explained all of this to Asus. That's what they need to be looking at. I liked the phone and would have kept it but couldn't as I have two lines and it was unusable.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] dexter20082001:
I understand the coverage problem, but many were making a big deal about the speed and the speed alone. I understand the lack of 2G coverage is a problem, but I was addressing the fact that MMS wont be better with a higher speed like some others were debating. Your statement assumes I am not in the US and has no validation. I was born in Ohio and live in Arizona. Technology is a broad term and does not always relate to speed.

---------- Post added at 08:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:24 PM ----------

The Asus phones are in a lower category than other devices so their features will not be as vast. At the price you pay for their device, you get more features and a higher chance of updates. Comparing this to other phones is an unfair comparison due to the price point.Again this is where you are ignoring what I am actually saying to you and merely repeating yourself. I have no problem with your opinions, but to be making the claims that you have, you need to look at the evidence and not discount evidence against your claim which is what you are doing. So unless you intend to acknowledge my points and counter them with additional information or concede to them, we can not carry on this conversation and it would be useless to do so.

---------- Post added at 08:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 PM ----------

Thank you. I could not remember who had the phone. I was using it to make a point that the phones were different and shouldn't really be put in the same category. The BLU Pure XL just happened to be the one I remembered at the time.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] babsk:
No problem at all. The Pure XL is different from the Laser for example yes. More comparable to the higher end ZF2. The 2G was the main concern I was discussing and had my interest still in terms of whether people with a Laser are having any luck getting call reception on only 2G with a second phone line, even though I don't have a Laser myself. Just curious after the experience I had. I was sorry the ZF2 didn't work out, but I do really like my Pure XL and it's working out well for me so I'm happy and I like the bigger screen size. I do also duly note that I am aware Blu is not known for their timely software updates. I have to just see how that one will go.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] floridaman:
I have acknowledged your so called claims and you just keep ignoring what is being stated because it doesn't fit your narrative. Sorry about that for you.

You keep saying speed which has been addressed numerous times, yet you keep repeating it. Perhaps you should be more clear on what you mean by speed. Speed is relative and is determined by many factors. I don't have an issue with speed aside of sim 2 which is useless. And I haven't been in an area with limited coverage, so I don't have an issue of poor reception. I also don't load my phone down with tons of apps either. So when people complain or you want answers about speed, perhaps asking where they are, what they have on their phones and what exactly they are discussing would merit an answer before repeating the same mantra of speed that clearly has been addressed and discussed. Further, it is also clear in the laser as well as in the ZF2 that the continued use of 5.0 which is known to be buggy by any measure on all devices that Google itself admits. So if you want answer to your speed question you keep insisting wasn't answered, perhaps you should be clear on what you mean by speed and what exactly you are referring too, as clearly none of the answers you received have satisfied you.

You may want to check the price/specs with the laser or any Asus cell phone for that matter versus other phones out on the market, as I stated Google can help you do that. Do their phones have some good points, absolutely however when taken into the account the hardware they are using, poor support, horrid customer service and the amount of money they are charging......... Sorry, they have a lot of work to do.

The fact you refuse to actually do some searches yourself and look at what is out there doesn't negate the fact there aren't other companies out there building the same or better phones around the same price point. The Laser wasn't that much less than the ZF2, in fact it is the same price for the lower memory model of the ZF2 with less of the features. So yes you can even compare the two models. Frankly Asus should have priced the Laser considerably less if it didn't want to be compared to the other models itself puts out, let alone other companies.

I'm just finding it interesting you're so invested and upset in what people are saying about the phones they purchased or may have purchased from Asus. Since this also the Asus forum on their phones, yes you will find people saying good things and bad things about Asus phones here. Should they be discussing phones about companies they don't have?
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] babsk:
I do agree that tech support was clueless with me on my ZF2. And they started to talk in circles when I told them that I had a product that was impossible to work and expected them to do something about a refund and they said it was the retailer who I was of course out of the return time window with. Part of the extended length was Asus support takes like two days to get back to you too and I had multiple contacts with them.Thankfully Amazon knew I had been through a major effort, getting a refurbished phone sent to me by Asus as a replacement, going to AT&T and replacing SIM cards and so forth. I explained everything and they granted me an exception. Asus did not take any responsibility really. I was hoping they might learn that skipping 2G matters for the future even with this Laser model but certainly with a higher end model like a ZF3 upcoming or whatever as I can attest to not having been able to make or receive calls due to the 2G issue.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] floridaman:
You've seen all the postings I'm sure about their lack of support and acknowledging a problem or defect with their phones. This is one of the reasons I buy through Amazon, being a prime member I just send it back. Doesn't cost me for shipping, though in some cases I may pay a few dollars more, but its worth it for no aggravation later. The first phone I received was supposed to be the US version but they sent me the WW version, back it went. I've seen postings where people have bought directly off of Asus only to be sent the wrong phone and Asus refuses to send the correct model.

I agree with you as well, their reps are either very unknowledgeable about the products they are selling or they just outright lie when asked a question. I'm not really sure which it is, perhaps a bit of both. Several of us have asked questions about the Laser and received different answers on the same question which doesn't square with what their advertisement states and their specs of the phone state. I took what they were saying when I asked questions only once on the ZF2 and got burned.

Even on this thread a supposed Asus rep responded, when called out that it contradicts he/she disappears never to be heard from again. So which is the truth?
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] babsk:
Exactly why I have Amazon Prime. Thank goodness I got my money back and was able to return the refurbished replacement that Asus sent me to boot which I paid $25 processing for.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] babsk:
Now, I do still have a question: has anyone out there used the Laser as a dual SIM and not had 2G be a stumbling block for you? I'm referring to people using the second SIM for phone calls like I do. Is 2G still in use with any area well enough where people can get phone reception? The 2G slot of course was the problem I had with my ZF2. I'm good on the phone I have now. But I really do wonder, is anyone using these Asus phones as dual SIM or not?
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] dexter20082001:
I am not upset with the comments. I am upset that there is no fact behind some of these comments. You never addressed speed until the last comment. There were people saying that 2G would make MMS slow and I was pointing out how silly that was. Then you and others responded with negatives of the coverage which I agree with, but was not the point. You keep mentioning to google phones as if you assume I didn't. I kept track of phones and their specs since June of this year so could compare them and get the one I wanted for the right price. These phones you speak of that are so much better than this one cost much more or have far worse trade offs. So please if you want to keep saying that then give me a specific phone that blows it out of the water for the same price. I have no problem with people no liking the phone, but if you are going to say that I would like to hear actual logical reasons with proof behind it. Not just "This phone sucks. They better get their stuff together. There are so many better phones out there." What about the phone really makes it awful compared to the others? How is Asus any worse about their phone than Alcatel or BLU (or any others who make off contract unlocked devices)? What are these better phones and are they fair comparisons to make? You shouldn't compare a $200 phone to an $800 phone just as you shouldn't compare a Prius to a Lamborghini. All I am asking for is for you to actually back up what your saying as people come here for info and to help decide on a product, but you seem to want to make it a personal attack where you are so much better and have so much more knowledge than I. We know nothing about one another so it doesn't do anyone good to make judgments like that. I am done bickering over this so have a wonderful day. If you wish to actually further the conversation with your reasoning rather than countering me with personal attack then that is great.

---------- Post added at 04:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:55 PM ----------

I can't speak personally about reception using dual sim but I can give you insight on just 2G coverage. T-Mobile has better 2G coverage from what I understand as AT&T is upgrading their old 2G towers to 3G/4G and 4G LTE. I use H2O Wireless (an AT&T) mvno. In Arizona and throughout most the way to California I maintained at least 2 bars of service, except when in the middle of nowhere. If you like once I am back in my home state of Ohio I can test some purely 2G coverage? Hopefully that helps some. I don't know how it differs when using 2 sims, but in theory they should behave the same regardless.
[Zenfone 2 Laser General] babsk:
Thanks. Genuinely interested. As you can see, my carrier is AT&T. I'm just curious. But yeah, those of us with AT&T seem to be the affected ones. I have heard the same as floridaman about the end of 2G by 2016 for AT&T. But if you could test purely 2G that would be cool-thanks.