GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL Review Panasonic Eluga U
Too costly compared to
Xiaomi Mi 3
Price: Rs 18,990
Rating: 4/5
Specs: 5-inch IPS display (1280 x 720 pixels), 1.2Ghz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, microSD slot (up to 32GB supported), 13MP primary camera, 2MP front camera, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, Android 4.4, 2,500mAh battery, 141 grams
Pros: Stylish, slim, lightweight, UI optimized for one hand usage, good performance, fantastic battery life
..
Cons: Shutter lag in camera, inconvenient power button placement, no backlit buttons
India is Panasonic's headquarters for their mobile handset business. That's the main reason why Panasonic's new smartphones are launched first in India. After their P and T series of smartphones, Panasonic has launched its premium range of devices with the Eluga series in India. The Eluga U is the first smartphone in this range.
Panasonic has paid a lot of attention to detail to make the Eluga U look and feel like a premium product. The slim 8mm unibody design has a unique printed texture glass back (Panasonic calls it anti-shatter crystal) that makes the phone look elegant and stylish. There is just a single flap on the side that hides the microSD slot and dual SIM slots. On the right side are volume and power button. The power button is placed on the top right corner - - quite difficult to reach when using the phone with one hand.
The front has a high-quality 5-inch IPS display with the usual touch sensitive Android buttons below it. The buttons for home, back and menu are not backlit and this might prove to be a problem when using the phone in the dark.
Rating: 4/5
Specs: 5-inch IPS display (1280 x 720 pixels), 1.2Ghz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, microSD slot (up to 32GB supported), 13MP primary camera, 2MP front camera, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, Android 4.4, 2,500mAh battery, 141 grams
Pros: Stylish, slim, lightweight, UI optimized for one hand usage, good performance, fantastic battery life
..
Cons: Shutter lag in camera, inconvenient power button placement, no backlit buttons
India is Panasonic's headquarters for their mobile handset business. That's the main reason why Panasonic's new smartphones are launched first in India. After their P and T series of smartphones, Panasonic has launched its premium range of devices with the Eluga series in India. The Eluga U is the first smartphone in this range.
Panasonic has paid a lot of attention to detail to make the Eluga U look and feel like a premium product. The slim 8mm unibody design has a unique printed texture glass back (Panasonic calls it anti-shatter crystal) that makes the phone look elegant and stylish. There is just a single flap on the side that hides the microSD slot and dual SIM slots. On the right side are volume and power button. The power button is placed on the top right corner - - quite difficult to reach when using the phone with one hand.
The front has a high-quality 5-inch IPS display with the usual touch sensitive Android buttons below it. The buttons for home, back and menu are not backlit and this might prove to be a problem when using the phone in the dark.
Day-to-day performance of the
smartphone is great thanks to the quad core Snapdragon 400 processor and 2GB
RAM - there is no visible lag unless you try to play a game with more than 7-8
apps running in the background. The FitHome user interface introduced by
Panasonic is great for one hand use. It has a setting that brings up the app
drawer like a pop-up box in the lower half of the screen - so you can easily
launch apps without having to reach across the large screen. If for some reason
you don't like this, you can always switch to the default KitKat launcher from
settings - an option we hope more manufacturers start to offer.
The 13MP primary camera takes excellent photographs and videos - bright colours, good details and low noise. The problem is that there's a lot of shutter lag - roughly a 1-2 second delay between pressing the shutter button and the image getting saved. If you don't keep the phone still, you'll get a lot of blurred images. We're hoping this gets corrected in a software update since the device software is really new.
Audio output from both external and voice call speaker is loud and clear. One of the highlights of the Eluga U is its battery life. The 2,500mAh battery consistently lasted us a day and a half.
The Eluga U proves to be a good performer in all departments, but seems too costly compared to the Xiaomi Mi 3. The Mi 3 offers better hardware and camera for a lower price. Seeing that the Mi 3 is not easily available, consider the Alcatel Idol X+ for Rs 16,999 - it has a full HD display and includes a facter octa core processor.
By Karan Bajaj, ET 140807
The 13MP primary camera takes excellent photographs and videos - bright colours, good details and low noise. The problem is that there's a lot of shutter lag - roughly a 1-2 second delay between pressing the shutter button and the image getting saved. If you don't keep the phone still, you'll get a lot of blurred images. We're hoping this gets corrected in a software update since the device software is really new.
Audio output from both external and voice call speaker is loud and clear. One of the highlights of the Eluga U is its battery life. The 2,500mAh battery consistently lasted us a day and a half.
The Eluga U proves to be a good performer in all departments, but seems too costly compared to the Xiaomi Mi 3. The Mi 3 offers better hardware and camera for a lower price. Seeing that the Mi 3 is not easily available, consider the Alcatel Idol X+ for Rs 16,999 - it has a full HD display and includes a facter octa core processor.
By Karan Bajaj, ET 140807
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