I'm okay with splurging a lot of money on essential gear but one thing I cannot get myself to do is buy an expensive phone. The things I look for in a phone are a decent camera, good screen to view images/videos well and a capability to handle both email, at least 4 to 5 social media apps and few travel apps. A good battery life is a bonus but with all the power banks these days, that's not really a need but merely a want.

I bought my first smartphone only 3 years ago, for a long time I refused to spend any more than 10k on a phone. Even when I finally bought an decently expensive one, it was only because I got a super discount + an exchange offer. So I still had paid less than 12k for a 20k phone. Now you know how stingy I am when it comes to spending money on smartphones. To me, that money is well spent on a flight ticket.

So when my existing phone started giving up, I was desperately fighting the urge to spend a fortune on one of the many latest smartphones that pack a punch but are way out of my budget. And that's why I jumped at the opportunity to review the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser because of the price point, impressive specs, excellent reviews and great camera - for all under 10k!

I've been a happy user of the phone for a little more than 2 months now(so it's no shallow review) and here's why I'm loving it and can fully recommend it.

1. Great Cameras - A 13MP Primary Camera and a 5MP Secondary Camera
A good camera is one of the first features I look for in a new smartphone. Wish I had this camera with me in Turkey where I was posting quick updates on my 3 week hike along the Lycian Way. The laser focus is really quick and helps a lot by making the camera very responsive. I tried taking plenty of pictures through the train recently in Switzerland and was quite happy with how fast the camera was able to focus on the scene outside and not on the glass window. With 13MP resolution, the images are of excellent quality. The only complain I have is that the camera doesn't handle dynamic range very well, sunset and sunrise shots can get a bit dull despite using HDR mode but even DSLRs can't handle dynamic ranges well at times, so I'm alright with this minor issue. Also, considering the price, it might be too much to ask for.

Winter in Interlaken, Switzerland. Shot on Asus Zenfone 2 Laser. Edited on Lightroom 4

And as much as I seem to hate Selfies, I'm slowly warming up to them after using the Zenfone 2 Laser's 5MP secondary camera. I'm also rather annoyed by the beautification feature, because we all are beautiful as we are and all that, but I have to admit, selfies look really good with a bit of blush and skin softening features applied. If it's any consolation, I'm only talking about group selfies here. I'm still not into selfies, as yet! ;)

2. Innovative Features to add flavor to your Photography
When iPhone 5s brought the slo-mo feature to mobiles, I was crushed thinking I'd never get to use it because there's no way I'd spend a fortune on an iPhone. But hey, what do you know, Asus Zenfone 2 Laser has it! That along with GIF making ability and Timelapse mode makes this score very very high in my book.

Handheld shot, GIFs are so much fun!

3. Absolutely brilliant battery life
I'll admit it, I'm a lazy person. Even when I know the battery is dying, I won't go to a plug point that's barely 3 feet away from me. So you can only imagine my joy when the battery starts crying in red saying "15%" yet somehow lasts all night long to only come down to like 9%! On any given day, I use Wi-Fi or Mobile Internet all the time, take few calls and use at least 3 social media apps continuously along with plenty of web browsing. One charge lasts me about 24hours while doing all this. Also, I've noticed the battery charges pretty quickly and this can come handy while traveling where you get a an hour or so to charge at a restaurant or cafe. The 3000 mAh Li-Polymer battery seems like a brilliant workhorse maintaining significant charge despite the huge 5.5" HD display screen!

4. Lovely ergonomics
Before getting the phone, I had read that the phone is tad bit too large. I was apprehensive about getting an even larger phone than what I had but once I got it, my fears were allayed. I instantly fell in love with the glamorous red back cover and then noticed how lightweight it was despite looking so huge. Not having much metal contributes to this I guess, but the plastic doesn't look cheap at all.  The Corning Gorilla Glass 4 adds much stability and scratch/drop resistance although the screen becomes smudgy quite fast. The elegant curved back cover fits perfectly in the palm of my hand. Overall the phone rates pretty high on looks department.

This red is really cool!

5. The below 10k price point!
Here's the clincher though. Shell some bucks and you get all these features in any high end phone but the only reason I can't shut up about this phone is because of the price. If I weren't offered this phone for review, I would've happily bought this phone myself.

P.S - I was given the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser for review but opinions are mine after using the phone for 2 months.