During the Consumer Electronics Show, Taiwanese tech company ASUS showcased the first ever smartphone that sported 4 GB of RAM, its ZenFone 2. Now, pre-order sessions of the 2 GB variant have begun and although it was stated during the event that the smartphone will carry a retail price tag of $199, the smartphone has been priced higher than expected, at $299.

The 4 GB variant, which features different hardware specifications other than the amount of RAM, carries a price tag of $440. The remainder of the hardware specifications belonging to the 2 GB ZenFone 2 model will be a quad-core processor featuring a base clock speed of 1.8 GHz, while the 4 GB one will be powered by a 2.3 GHz quad-core chip. Both CPUs will be compatible with the 64 bit architecture.

In addition, the smartphone also packs a 5.5 inch IPS Panel that resonates a resolution of 1080p and is equipped with an LTE Cat 4 modem that has a maximum download and upload speed of 150 and 50 Mbps respectively. While the LTE modem is impressive, both smartphones will also be armed with an 802.11 ac wireless standard adapter, which has been incorporated to provide unprecedented wireless browsing and streaming speeds. The dual band functionality of the wireless adapter will allow the smartphone to function on the 5 GHz frequency, resulting in higher wireless performance.

The only drawback to this frequency is that it possesses a shorter wavelength, thus possessing a shorter range compared to the 2.4 GHz frequency. Thanks to its large form factor, the ZenFone 2 is able to pack a 3,000 mAh battery and will be running Google's Android Lollipop 5.0 update out of the box. It has been rumored that a 5 inch smartphone bearing lesser specifications will be released in the near future.