We’d previously heard whispers of a Panasonic Android phone coming to Europe, and now the company has come up with the goods; say hello to the Panasonic Eluga, an Android-based smartphone that’s both dust-proof and waterproof.
Panasonic, who also announced 12 new HDTVs earlier today, unveiled the Eluga at its 2012 Convention, which is taking place in Hamburg, Germany.
As the Eluga is the company’s first smartphone made for the European market, Panasonic have clearly worked hard to bring us something pretty special. Topping the list of specifications is a 4.3-inch OLED display that boasts an impressive 960 x 540 resolution, offering great viewing angles, colour representation and touch response.
Android 2.3.5 is Panasonic’s choice of OS for the Eluga, which they have given a little makeover with a rather smart-looking user interface of their own. The company promises that the holy grail of updates to Android 4.0 – aka Ice Cream Sandwich – will come along this summer.
Inside we have a Dual-Core 1GHz processor, which isn’t quite in the same league as the Samsung Galaxy S II or the Galaxy Nexus, but still holds its own well. The back of the phone sports an 8-Megapixel camera, which is of course capable of capturing Full HD 1080p video.
Another stellar feature of the Eluga is DLNA, which Panasonic has used to create a simple app – Viera Smart 2.0. This little app will allow you to wirelessly play music, photos and videos on a web-connected Panasonic TV straight from the phone. The neat thing is how you do it – simply point the phone at the TV and swipe the image to the top of the screen and towards the TV, and voila.
Despite all of the tech onboard, the Eluga is Motorola RAZR-challengingly thin at just 7.8mm thick. It’s light too, weighing in at 103, which is much lighter than the likes of Apple’s iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S II.
Finally, the phone has IP57 certification, which is something normally associated with ‘tough’ phones like the Motorola Defy+. This means the handset is fully dust-proof and waterproof, which Panasonic proudly showed off at the event by dunking the phone into a fish bowl full of water and making a phone call successfully.
All in all we’re impressed with Panasonic’s first European smartphone, but what do you think?
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