It was just a few days ago when Panasonic announced its intention to stage a major comeback in the mobile market with the introduction of the Eluga smartphone, a water-proof and dust-proof 4.3-inch smartphone that will be headed for Europe next month. Just to feed our passion for something new here at the Android Authority headquarters, we were really hoping to see the device in action at the MWC this week. Well, just like an answered prayer, the slender-looking Eluga was displayed today at the MWC.
Judging from the hands-on, it appears that the Eluga has got the good looks, thanks to its back edges that curve up to the screen. Even though the Eluga we saw on display today was running Android 2.3, and quite sluggishly at that, Panasonic made it clear that the device will be getting an Ice Cream Sandwich update during the summer. Notable features include a yet-to-be revealed dual-core processor, an NFC chip, an 8 megapixel camera and 8GB of storage.
But Panasonic has another surprise up its sleeve. Alongside the 4.3-inch Eluga smartphone is a 5-inch prototype of an Android 4.0 smartphone dubbed the Eluga Power. Although the prototype was found to be running an early version of Ice Cream Sandwich, it wasn’t too bad and it still packs a punch. Just a few tweaks here and there to work on the bugs and other software issues, and the Eluga Power should make it to the top of our list in no time. Are you listening Panasonic? Software matters!
Some noteworthy features of the 5-inch device are its dual-core Qualcomm S4 1.5GHz processor, a 1280 x 720 screen display , an 8 megapixel camera, 8GB of storage and a fast charging technology that can fully charge your battery in less than an hour. In case you forgot, the Eluga Power is also dust-resistant and waterproof. If all goes well for Panasonic, both the Eluga and the Eluga Power will be some of the first high-end Android smartphones designed in Japan that go on sale in the West.
And how about you? Would you buy a smartphone from Panasonic? Like what you see? Galaxy Note anyone? Is there enough here to entice you away from your Android dreamphone of choice?
