Panasonic Eluga – overview
The Gingerbread-toting Panasonic Eluga is a refreshing handset which sets itself apart from the competition with a uniquely elegant waterproof design. However, its paltry 1,150mAh non-removeable battery and flash-less camera leave little to be desired in the specs department, on paper at least. Read on for our hands on impressions....
Power has a very rectangular form, reminding us of LG's new handsets like the L line and the 4X HD. However, the phone is also pretty thin, so it doesn't feel like a brick in your hand. As we said, the Panasonic Eluga Power sports a gigantic 5” display with HD resolution, and indeed, the pixel density is very good – so everything looks pretty clean on this screen.
The handset is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, so it should be snappy enough when it comes out. We say it “should”, because the unit that we tested here at MWC was no where near being finished.
An interesting aspect about the Eluga Power is that it's waterproof, so it should withstand submerging in water, although we wouldn't advise you to do that. Finally, we are totally taken by surprise by the approach that Panasonic has taken with the positioning of the physical power/lock and volume keys, which are found on the back of the phone. We can't really say how convenient or inconvenient this would be, though, so we'll rather wait for a retail unit to arrive at our office, before drawing conclusion.
As we said, software-wise the phone was pretty much stock Android 4 ICS, but it was clearly unfinished, so that's remains as another mystery around the Eluga Power – whether it'll have some personalization or not. However, the normal Panasonic Eluga does have a personalized interface (although it was still running Gingerbread), so a custom UI shouldn't be out of the question. Unfortunately, neither pricing, nor availability are still announced for this device, so we'll have to wait some more before we know when we'll be able to play with a thin and ruggedized Android smartphone.
Panasonic Eluga – design and build
The Panasonic Eluga's extreme sturdiness meant that not a single creak could be coaxed out of it during our flex test, and its round-tapered edges, thin profile and minimalistic front make for a very good looking handset. Our only grip was the slightly awkward placement of the power and volume buttons on the rear curved edge and the small battery capacity which was the sacrifice made for such a thin body.
Panasonic Eluga – screen
The 960x540 resolution in the Panasonic Eluga's 4.3inQHD OLED display may not be the highest we've seen here at Barcelona, but icons still looked razor sharp to our eyes with rich deep blacks and vivid colours being represented in abundance.
Panasonic Eluga – performance
The dual-core 1Ghz processor found in the Panasonic Eluga showed signs of struggling during the skinned Gingerbread homescreen transitions which was disappointing. We're told that the phone will be chowing down on Ice Cream Sandwich in the Summer, whose increase in hardware optimisation should hopefully increase performance.
Panasonic Eluga – camera
The Panasonic Eluga's 8MP camera took clear, well-defined pictures, though we didn't get a chance to test it out in low lighting conditions. That's just as well really, as it lacks and kind of flash, rendering in rather obsolete in the current camera phone market. Video recording was very smooth and clear at least, with clear and fluid recording and playback.
Panasonic Eluga – first impressions
Specs wise the Panasonic Eluga won't set anything ablaze, especially with a flash-less camera and pithy battery life. But if you take in to account the solid build quality and the future Ice Cream Sandwich improvements then the Eluga begins to look more and more attractive as a very unique mid-high range smartphone for the fashion-conscious gadgeteers out there.
From:www.pcauthority.com
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