KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — It amazes me that Malaysians are still willing to pay the black market cost of half a kidney for the latest smartphones. 

Case in point: Samsung’s latest Galaxy Note 7 which is retailing for RM3,199 and is currently banned from pretty much all major airlines for its, ahem, explosive properties.

It’s a terrible notion; this belief that the best phones must cost the Earth, which is simply not true. Not that the Note 7 isn’t a brilliant phone. It is gorgeous, with cool features such as iris recognition (fingerprints are apparently passe) and that hallmark of the Note 7 line, the stylus, which would be wasted on me. I’d probably just use it to draw whiskers on random celebrity faces. I would also like my phones not to explode, thanks.

What I’m getting at, rather, is that in this wonderful age we are spoiled for choice when it comes to phones that (don’t) cost the Earth. 

Hidden gem

At the Asus Zenfone launch a few weeks ago, there was a whole lineup of shiny, shiny phones. One of them, the Zenfone 3 Deluxe was also black market organ selling expensive but I wasn’t interested in it. What did get me interested was the "base” model, the Zenfone 3.

The Zenfone 3 lies firmly in the middle of the new Zenfone range. It doesn’t have the eye-popping megapixels of the Deluxe, nor is it the gargantuan size of the Zenfone 3 Ultra which I’m sure I could use to whack potential pickpockets with. It’s the Goldilocks' choice of the new Zenfones — sized, and priced, — just right.

What is interesting is the design choice Asus made. It’s glass all over, which is slightly terrifying for the more butterfingered among us but phone cases were invented for a reason, right? 

Made of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, it is fairly resistant to scratches but please, avoid dropping it too often because glass, being glass, will shatter eventually.

The reflective glass sheen in the back and front is certainly nice to look at. What’s not so nice is that if your hands are even the slightest bit grubby, you’ll get fingerprints all over it. 

The camera at auto settings is capable of taking very good photos, even for the more photography-challenged.

Still it is worth it when you watch video on the super glossy Full HD screen which manages to still be very viewable in daylight and at night. I much preferred it to watching video on my tiny iPhone SE screen though I prefer the iPhone for most other things.

You (can) touch this

Speaking of fingerprints, I like that it’s placed on the back within easy reach of my index fingers but the sliver-shaped sensor felt a little off for me. 

It was more accessible than the home button Touch ID on my iPhone but having tried the back sensor on the Nexus 5X, I felt the latter’s was most comfortable.

Otherwise, having played with the larger version of the Zenfone 3 (the smaller one has a 5.2-inch screen), I’m convinced 5.5-inch is the perfect size for people who love watching video or read a lot on their phones. The kind of people who don’t want or need a tablet, for instance.

Internally, the specs of the phone are solidly midrange: the Snapdragon 625 processor is fast enough for most things but I’m convinced the 4GB of RAM is one reason for the phone’s smoothness. 

There’s also 64GB of storage on the Zenfone 3 models which has also made me decide 64GB should really be the minimum on phones. Having to delete your cat photos to make space for more cat photos gets terribly old after a while.

What has me slightly torn is the Zenfone 3 UI and all the extra apps that come with it. While most of them can be removed, it’s slightly irksome when you turn on your new phone and wonder "what the heck are all these apps for?” 

All your Instagram dreams

I confess I like very little clutter on my phones and strip them of anything unnecessary besides a few nice photography apps. So, you might or might not like the interface, though people who need more help when it comes to trying to figure out what to put on their phones might like how Asus does things.

Now photography is probably one good reason, and it could be the one reason to get the phone. Three letters: O. I. S. The acronym for Optical Image Stabilisation or translated as "special tech that helps keep your pics sharp when your hands are shaky.” 

Its glossy, smooth exterior is fun to touch to the point even my cat loved rubbing up against it.

Apple only has it on the most expensive iPhone, the Plus and it’s something you also only find on the most expensive of phones.

Not only is the Zenfone 3 not expensive, it has OIS on its rear camera and special low light options for the front camera, the cameras being 16MP and 8MP respectively. 

No more shaky selfies, which makes me wonder why Instagram "influencers” aren’t stampeding for this phone.

What was slightly annoying but a standard feature on Asian-made smartphones is the "beautification” mode (you can turn it off) that seems to assume I want to look fairer with baby-soft skin in my selfies. Still it was amusing how easy it was for the Zenfone 3 to make me look fresh despite lack of sleep and no makeup.

Using the camera was fairly easy and the low light option on the front camera worked as intended: even in dim, uneven lighting, selfies still came out focused with none of the "I was so drunk when I took this” effect you usually get taking selfies in dim light. Manual options were also generous, allowing me to tweak white balance, exposure and ISO with just a few sliders.

All the value

So here’s the kicker: How much does a phone with a pretty great camera, a generous amount of storage, solid glass build cost? 

RM1,499 for the 5.2-inch version and RM1,699 for the bigger 5.5-inch model. Sure, it doesn’t have the waterproofing and fancy features the Samsung Galaxy S7 line has but for the price of one fancy Samsung, you could buy two Zenfone 3s. And not feel like you lost out at all.

I still consider the iPhone SE the best companion phone for someone who writes and documents things for a living, but as a backup phone, where I would once recommend the rather cheap Nexus 5X (retailing for less than RM1,300 for the 32GB version), I’d suggest taking a look at the Zenfone 3 range. 

The best thing is? You get to keep your kidneys.