Most of are familiar with the Panasonic brand in terms of Television’s and VCR’s, you might be surprised to learn that they also produce smart phones, one of which is the Eluga U that has been officially launched in India today that carries an interesting mix of components.
The Eluga U is powered by a Quad-Core Snapdragon 400 processor that is clocked at 1.2GHz, with an Adreno 305 GPU providing the graphics. A more than handy 2GB of RAM is on hand for multi-tasking duties, with a standard 16GB of internal storage. Micro-SD card support has been included, enabling the user to increase storage by up to 32GB. The 5-inch IPS display has a 1280 x 720 resolution that is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 one-glass-solution that combines the touch sensor and cover glass into one. Providing the juice is a 2,500 mAh Lithium-Ion battery. The uni-bodied Eluga U weighs in at 141 grams with dimensions of 141.5 x 71.3 x 7.95mm
On to the cameras and a 2MP camera front-facing camera is available for video chat, with a more than adequate 13MP AutoFocus camera on the rear that is capable of 1080p video recording @30fps. A single LED flash is also present on the rear panel.
As is common with phones released in India, Dual-SIM cards are supported, making it easier to juggle work and personal SIM-cards. The Eluga U is GSM Quadband compliant 850/900/1800/1900 along with UMTS bands 900/1200. LTE is not supported, but FM Radio with RDS, Bluetooth 4.0 A2DP and WiFi Direct support are included.
The Eluga U runs Android version 4.4.2 (Kitkat) out of the box, which isn’t always the case for a mid-range handset. So kudos to Panasonic for that. Pre-installed apps (bloatware) include Fit Home UI that enables one-handed operation of the device, Gesture Play that allows the user to draw on the screen to unlock the device and finally, Pop-I Player that is a multi-tasking video application that features Evernote, India Today, Sony LIV and the Opera Mini-Browser as its partners.
The Panasonic Eluga U’s official launch price is Rs. 18,990 (roughly $315) and can be purchased in black or white from tomorrow in India. Let us know your thoughts on the Eluga U in the comments below or at our Google Plus page.