Panasonic decodes Eluga

A couple of months back, Panasonic teased the world by stating that they would be entering the smartphone business and that their upcoming handset would be announced early this year. Staying true to their promise, Panasonic had officially raised the curtains on a smartphone, with a rather weird name – Eluga. Now, in an announcement, Panasonic have explained what this name stands for, which is ‘ELegant User-oriented GatewAy.’

Elegant user-oriented gateway

Apart from this the announcement, details of some of the specifications that were not known before have also been made public. Panasonic states, “The Eluga will also feature ’eco mode’, Panasonic’s unique power-saving technology which provides significant environmental benefit by shutting down non-essential features when the phone is running low on battery power.”

Speaking at the announcement of the Eluga, Toshiya Matsumura, General Manager, Head of Mobile Communications, Panasonic System Communications Europe, said, “Despite the unprecedented increase in the number of smartphone devices appearing over the last few years, we don’t believe anyone has yet managed to truly bridge the gap between style and substance. With the launch of the ELUGA, we’re aiming to prove it is possible to deliver style, function, form, and the very best underlying technology, all in a competitively-priced package."

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Though Panasonic had provided a list of specifications in their previous announcement, the brand has shed some more light on the attributes of the handset. They claim that the handset measures just 7.8mm, along the entire length of the body and with its D-shaped design, ‘It does not ruin the line of clothes.’ The eight megapixel camera lies flat on the surface of the body, so there is hardly any protrusion here.

Here is a quick glance at what to expect from the Panasonic Eluga:

• Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread
• 4.3-inch qHD OLED display with a resolution of 960 x 540
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 8 megapixel AF camera
• 8GB internal memory
• GPRS / EDGE / HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n
• Micro SIM
• Dustproof and Waterproof
• Ultra-slim D-shaped design
• 1150mAh Battery
• Dimensions are 123x62x7, 8mm
• Will be available in black or silver

Though the handset will be launched running Android Gingerbread, Google’s latest operating software Android Ice Cream Sandwich will be made available on it, by June. This handset will be first launched in Europe and will be then rolled out to the rest of the world at a later date. For more information on the Panasonic Eluga, click here.