I had a nv56z, zenfone 5, and (still keeping) a fonepad note 6 fhd (or whatever the official name)
No issues whatsoever.
Sold off the laptop, gave away the zenfone 5 (to mom in law, still doing ok though) and still using the fonepad.
Different people, different experience, I guess.

Judging from the responses here, maybe we should change the title of this thread to "delusion" instead of "discussion"

Well
Like I said, we intended for discussion, but end up thread was more appropriate toe be called delusion
Rightly or wrongly, we were not anticipating such prices from Asus.
In my mind, if they wanted to produce "high-end high-priced" product, then they should have created a new line and leave the zenfone to cater for mid-priced products.
Oh wait.... Didn't they already try it before?

4/64 is already more than enough for me. but like you, at the price they're going for, I'd rather look at other options (the xiaomi camp looks interesting). at the very least, I will postpone my purchase and wait until prices drop.

This post has been edited by abu.shofwan: Aug 9 2016, 11:14 AM

As previous owner of Zenfone 5 and current user of Fonepad Note, I can testify their track record of software updates. I remember being excited to receive the upgrade to KitKat (ZF5 was originally JB), just weeks after buying.
then later on it was upgraded to Lollipop.

But still, I consider their pricing to be over what they are worth. at 1499, it's darn too close with Mi 5 (SD820, cat 12 LTE, etc. - granted it's only 3/32 though). My expected price was 1200-1300 - so I'll wait to see if they will drop to this level. I can wait, anyway... who knows, maybe will get bonus later and be able to buy note 7 instead (sorry la, for me no Zenfone Deluxe can beat Note 7 at the same price).

any of you guys have experience buying from ipmart?? the zenfone 3 ZE520KL is rm1337 there... much better price than 1499... or anyone have info on better deals?

To put your argument in context, I guess you are comparing it to A57 (used in SD 808 and 810, to name a few) and A72 (SD 820 anyone?), which are currently available and in use. A53 being the low-end of the three. Right? I mean, you can argue SD625 is just a dye-shrink of SD615 (and by extension, SD616 and SD617) with a newer Adreno GPU.
However, in my opinion, unless you intend to run heavy apps/games, A53s are more than capable to get you through at least for the next two years (which is roughly the time I upgrade my phone again - or maybe less). So, for a lot of people, there is no need to go higher than this to run their facebook/twitter/whatsapp and the occasional games.
Unfortunately, though, the ZF3 price is too close to Mi5, which is using 4xA72. So why not get the A72 instead, right? I mean, I am very much considering the Mi5 right now - ever since Asus Malaysia confirmed their pricing anyway.

yup, my bad. it's using kryo, Qualcomm's custom designed armv8-A...

Went to "hands-on" a ZE520 unit on saturday. I kinda agree with our local reviewer (i think it was soyacincau, or was it pokde) - it felt premium enough.
It's still a shame that it costs too close to a "flagship" SD820 unit (i.e. the Mi5).
The ZE550 on the other hand, is too close to OnePlus 3...

Be that as it may... and i don't intend to add fuel to the argument of "crappy"
But if the price difference between a SD625 phone and a SD820 phone is insignificant, would you not choose the latter?
Right now, all I know is that ZE520 with its SD625 is priced 1499 while Mi5 is 1549 - too close for my comfort...
Sure, the MI5 lacks SD-card slot. But to be honest, the same argument of SD625 being sufficient is there for me - my 16GB Acer E700 with its 8GB sd-card is still having almost 10GB free (5.75 on the phone memory)... and this phone is 1.5 yr used already, without having reset/reformatted once.
So, all in all, Mi5 is very much the better choice for me.
But since I don't have to buy now, I'll just wait for prices to drop... Maybe I'll end up with ZE520, maybe there's a better choice down the road... who knows.

Got link? cant seem to find it... can only find Zenfone 2 at almost that same price...

I'd prefer non edge version, personally... But between those two, I'd still go with Samsung

If the truth hurts, wait till you get poor sales...
Anyway, while I do think that Asus' Zenfone 3 lineup are great, their achilles' heel appear to be the awful price here in Malaysia.

Hence, I am holding on to my money for now
Who knows, by the time ZF3 price come down there will be more interesting phones

Yeah, comments there generally mirror those made here : dissatisfied n disappointed

I support your point, completely...
despite only having 4GB ram and 64GB rom, the Note 7 comes with a stylus/pen, is water resistant, have one of the best camera to boot, best screen of this moment, and the list goes on.
Not to mention, the support by third party accessory makers... Samsung Note series is just better supported compared with ZF series (even back from the popular ZF-5's era)

This is not a problem in itself. I put tempered glass anyway, even if I'd bought the zf3.
Does anyone leave their screen naked anymore nowadays?

Well, your call.
Although...
My e700 is also a nudist... In a sense... Got a flip case though, so she's still covered.
I see also my friend's s6 edge got the fancy transparent flip case, no SP also.
But point is, we can always cover the screen's glass.

I, on the other hand, am waiting patiently for prices to descend to more appropriate level...

This post has been edited by abu.shofwan: Aug 27 2016, 02:14 AM

Well.... Actually
I'm waiting for the official pricing to descend to appropriate level. I mean, before discount and stuff.
I don't keep two eyes on the market, but if ZF3 got discounts most likely its competitors also got discounts.