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yalanand
@hm very true. This mobile can be used for industrial and military purposes. I ...
yalanand
This smartphone is really differnt from other smartphones that are available in ...
Panasonic's waterproof Android Eluga smartphone unveiled
Sylvie Barak
2/22/2012 4:06 PM EST
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Panasonic has unveiled a new ultra-thin, waterproof, Android smartphone called Eluga, which works with the firm’s Smart Viera TVs and uses Panasonic’s display technology.
The move seems to be part of a wider Panasonic strategy for what it’s calling a “smart lifestyle” integrating several of the company’s products.
“We believe the market lacks a range of phones that successfully mixes beauty, high-quality engineering, and the most advanced lifestyle-enhancing technologies,” said Panasonic European CEO Laurent Abadie at the Hamburg launch of the smartphone.
The 3.6 ounce Eluga runs on a dual core 1GHz OMAP 4430 processor from Texas Instruments Inc., sports a 4.3-inch QHD (960x540) screen, 8GB of internal memory, boasts Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and can be immersed in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes.
The phone has an eight-megapixel camera with an advanced imaging sensor pulled in from Panasonic’s LUMIX line of digital cameras, as well as a “swipe and share” feature which allows users to 'toss' pictures from the phone to a Panasonic HDTV, or upload it to a cloud service. The technology will also allow users to stream movies from the phone to their TV wirelessly.
Rather disappointingly, the Eluga will apparently run Android 2.3 Gingerbread at launch, but Panasonic has vowed to upgrade the device to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich by the summer.
The phone will be on display at next week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and talk of an upcoming 5-inch model has already begun.
Panasonic certainly seems to be stepping up its game in the mobile phone market, with Abadie stating the firm planned to sell 1.5 million handsets by March 2013.
Currently, Panasonic’s main market for phones is Japan, but the company is seeking to expand its influence in Europe.
“As consumer demand for mobile phones – especially smartphones – continues to grow and mature in Europe, we believe the market lacks a range of phones that successfully mixes beauty, high-quality engineering, and the most advanced lifestyle-enhancing technologies,” said Abadie.
By tying together smartphones, tablets and TV sets, Panasonic is following in Samsung’s footsteps and taking the much talked about concept of the “connected home” that one step further towards a mainstream reality.
No U.S. release date was announced, but the phone will be out in the U.K. in early April, priced at a steep £449 ($700).
The move seems to be part of a wider Panasonic strategy for what it’s calling a “smart lifestyle” integrating several of the company’s products.
“We believe the market lacks a range of phones that successfully mixes beauty, high-quality engineering, and the most advanced lifestyle-enhancing technologies,” said Panasonic European CEO Laurent Abadie at the Hamburg launch of the smartphone.
The 3.6 ounce Eluga runs on a dual core 1GHz OMAP 4430 processor from Texas Instruments Inc., sports a 4.3-inch QHD (960x540) screen, 8GB of internal memory, boasts Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and can be immersed in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes.
The phone has an eight-megapixel camera with an advanced imaging sensor pulled in from Panasonic’s LUMIX line of digital cameras, as well as a “swipe and share” feature which allows users to 'toss' pictures from the phone to a Panasonic HDTV, or upload it to a cloud service. The technology will also allow users to stream movies from the phone to their TV wirelessly.Rather disappointingly, the Eluga will apparently run Android 2.3 Gingerbread at launch, but Panasonic has vowed to upgrade the device to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich by the summer.
The phone will be on display at next week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and talk of an upcoming 5-inch model has already begun.
Panasonic certainly seems to be stepping up its game in the mobile phone market, with Abadie stating the firm planned to sell 1.5 million handsets by March 2013.
Currently, Panasonic’s main market for phones is Japan, but the company is seeking to expand its influence in Europe.
“As consumer demand for mobile phones – especially smartphones – continues to grow and mature in Europe, we believe the market lacks a range of phones that successfully mixes beauty, high-quality engineering, and the most advanced lifestyle-enhancing technologies,” said Abadie.
By tying together smartphones, tablets and TV sets, Panasonic is following in Samsung’s footsteps and taking the much talked about concept of the “connected home” that one step further towards a mainstream reality.
No U.S. release date was announced, but the phone will be out in the U.K. in early April, priced at a steep £449 ($700).
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hm
2/22/2012 8:14 PM EST
Is this IP66 or IP68 rated phone? This may be suitable for industrial and Military use.
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yalanand
3/5/2012 2:19 AM EST
@hm very true. This mobile can be used for industrial and military purposes. I think this can also be used for underwater photography. 8MP camera will give us pretty good resolution.
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eewiz
2/23/2012 12:14 AM EST
Good work. Now people wont miss their smartphones while swimming and bathing. haha :)
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SylvieBarak
2/23/2012 12:26 PM EST
I think it's more for people who frequently drop their phones in the sink or toilet by accident! This story from NPR made me chuckle... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98132244
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docdivakar
2/24/2012 3:35 PM EST
More than the 'use case' you described above, I think the use is more genuine & required for tropical 'rainy' climates. A good majority of the people in developing economies commute using two wheelers and manage to answer their mobiles at the same time in all weather conditions!
MP Divakar
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elctrnx_lyf
2/23/2012 12:13 PM EST
I never know panasonic makes mobile phones. This phone looks really awesome. Will this be able to bring panasonic any profits. Looking forward to see this phone in indian marrket soon.
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pixies
2/23/2012 3:20 PM EST
This is common for many Japanese and Korean companies. All companies are trying to make everything from camera to TV to cell phones, and form huge and unmanageable conglomerates. I am nor sure it is a good business model.
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Jon Fields
2/23/2012 5:25 PM EST
Nothing disappointing about Android 2.3.6. 4.0 is a buggy disaster if you stray from Google's applications.
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DrQuine
2/25/2012 1:48 PM EST
Waterproofing a phone provides a basic feature that is worth more than most of the bells and whistles being added these days. Well done. Current phones have water sensors that void the warranty when they get wet in an accident(drop, spill, swim).
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yalanand
3/5/2012 2:16 AM EST
This smartphone is really differnt from other smartphones that are available in the market. Kudos to Panasonic for designing this. Just curious to know if touchscreen works properly if the screen becomes wet ? Because the mobile I use currently (Samsung Galax) stops responding when screen becomes wet.
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