So earlier today, the ASUS Zenfone 2, which got a positive review from us, became official for the Southeast Asian market following a media event here in Jakarta, Indonesia.

And because we already got our hands on a unit prior to its unveiling, we spent most of the afternoon striking up conversations with company executives and Philippine-based retailers rather than taking photos and videos on the show floor. We’re glad we did, because we were able to dig up a few juicy tidbits about the Zenfone 2’s local pricing and release date after our little chat with ASUS Philippines country manager George Su.

For starters, the ASUS bigwig confirmed to us that the Zenfone 2 will have its own coming-out party in the Philippines on the week of May 15, where the price of the Android Lollipop smartphone will be revealed, as with last year’s Zenfones.

Also, four models have been confirmed for the Philippine market, which includes the top-shelf ZE551ML variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. And if you’re hoping to score a unit from official sources before the second week of May, don’t get your hopes up too high; ASUS Philippines wants the release of the Zenfone 2 to coincide with its launch event.

Oh, and the Zenfone 2 will definitely cost less in our country than in Indonesia (IDR 2,999,000 or roughly P10,250 for the ZE551ML with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage and IDR 3,999,000 or about P13,700 for the ZE551ML with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage), according to George Su.

RAMON LOPEZ’S TAKE: Here’s the TL;DR version for those of you who find the (very) short article a chore to read: The local release of the Zenfone 2 is imminent, contrary to rumors that have been circulating lately. Otherwise, why would ASUS Philippines set a tentative date for revealing everything there is to know about the highly anticipated phone? And when it finally arrives on our shores, expect the Zenfone 2 to be cheaper locally than in other regions.

ALORA UY GUERRERO’S TAKE: …so wait for it.

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• ASUS Launched ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe with 4GB RAM priced at Rs 22999
• ASUS ZenPad 7.0 tablet to launch on July 30
• ASUS Zenfone Max mid-ranger with 5.5″ screen, SD410 and HUGE 5,000mAh battery
• Windows 7 hacked to run on the ASUS ZenFone 2

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Team REVU Founded by Alora Uy Guerrero and Ramon "Monch" Lopez, REVU Philippines is the product of 42 combined years in the media trenches — long enough to see gadgets rise, platforms fall, and deadlines multiply. Between them, they've shaped content for Yahoo, T3, Techie, TV5, MEGA, GadgetMatch, and Gadgets, with a few strategic side quests in retail, PR, and marketing. We're a lean team, which means no filler and no fluff, just the stories worth telling. Between chasing kids, specs, and the perfect camera angle, we brew coffee, shoot content, play video games, watch hoops, blast our favorite bands, and somehow still hit our deadlines. REVU is our passion project, built on the belief that tech journalism should have as much style as it does substance — and preferably enough caffeine to power a small server farm.