GADGET
GIZMO REVIEW Panasonic Eluga Icon
Panasonic has been slowly and
steadily increasing their smartphone portfolio since launch. They have been
focused on the sub `15,000 segment and the latest addition to their smartphone
range is the Panasonic Eluga Icon -a phablet that competes with the likes of
Yureka Plus, Redmi Note, Lenovo K3 Note and Huawei Honor 4X.
The first thing you notice about the
Icon is that it feels light for the size. At 147 grams, it is lighter compared
to other 5.5-inch phones. The phone doesn't score much in terms of looks -it
has a simple unibody design with a nice matte finish on the rear panel. On the
left side is the SIM and microSD slot while the right side has the power,
volume button and second SIM slot. The SIM and microSD slot are covered by
flaps that feel flimsy when open -if not closed properly , they feel like they
might break off easily . Another issue is that the rear camera unit is
protruding out and hence prone to scratches when kept on a flat surface.
It has a 5.5-inch IPS display with a
resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The screen is sharp with rich colours and good
brightness levels. You also get a helpful colour temperature adjustment option
and a night mode with three software colour filters (red, black, yellow). Under
the screen are the three touch sensitive Android buttons for home, menu and
back that respond well. The issue is that these buttons are not backlit
(strange for the price).
Panasonic has taken care of a common
issue with this phone -battery life. The Eluga Icon comes with a massive
3,500mAh battery despite the slim and light frame. With normal usage including
camera, multimedia playback, calls, social networking, two email accounts,
constant 3GWiFi connectivity and 60% screen brightness, the phone regularly
lasted us two full days.
Hardware includes a 64-bit 1.5Ghz
octa core Mediatek MT6752 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage and a microSD slot
(up to 32GB supported). You get 4G support thanks to the Mediatek MT6752 along
with WiFi and Bluetooth for connectivity . In our usage, the phone worked well
for day-to-day usage as well as for gaming. There were no visible frame drops
in Shadowgun but we saw random frame drops in NOVA 3. The good part was that
even after gaming for 20 minutes, the phone did not overheat -it stayed under
40-degrees C as reported by AnTuTu.
It comes with Panasonic's new Icon
user interface that shows all icons and widgets on home panels (there's no app
drawer). There is folder support, gesture support, auto call answer, flip to
mute, lossless high quality Bluetooth audio mode, smart dial and in-car
Bluetooth auto call answer features. You can even edit the status bar icons and
customize the volume keys to control music playback as well as long press the
back key to close running apps. In addition to all this, the interface provides
multiple options for the launcher including transition effects, wallpaper
scrolling, screen icon layout option and the option to auto arrange icons by
shaking the device. Overall, we feel that the new user interface is rich with
features and works well.However, it is based on Android 4.4. We hope Panasonic
releases an Android 5.0 update soon.
Camera interface also has its share
of tweaks.You have face detection, continuous shot mode as well as the option
to control the camera with your voice. There are full manual controls with
options to adjust exposure, contrast, brightness, white balance and ISO.
Shooting modes include HDR, face beauty, panorama and a PIP (picture in
picture) mode. Image quality is excellent -sharp details, natural colour and
minimal noise. In low light, noise levels increase substantially but the
results were still good enough to be viewed on the phone or shared online. The
front 8MP camera is good for selfies if there is ample light around you. Audio
output is another strong suit of the Eluga Icon -the loudspeaker as well as the
in-ear voice speaker is loud and clear.
Overall, we feel that the Panasonic
Eluga Icon is a worthy competitor in its price range. It does not have a full
HD display like some other phones, but it makes up for that with stellar
battery life. For a slightly lower price, you can look at the Yu Yureka Plus
that has a full HD display, better cameras, similar specifications but comes
with a 2,500mAh battery that lasts about one day .
karan.bajaj
ET19AUG15
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