NEW DELHI: With such interesting proposition, it is little wonder why they haven’t been consistent in the market. It is something like they release something a month ago, and then they went missing for 6 months without a word. Then out comes the next release. This cycle has been going for quite some time now, and perhaps it is time for Panasonic to do something about it.
Having a 152.3 x 76.4 x 8 mm (6.00 x 3.01 x 0.31 in) measurement and weighing a cool 147 g (5.19 oz), the Eluga Icon is indeed of the slim and lightweight category.
Featuring a 5.5-inch HD IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 720 x 1280 pixels or ~267 ppi pixel density, it is nice to know that it has a large screen even though without a Full HD resolution to boot. With the IPS technology, you can easily share the large screen with a friend or two and still have the good-looking images without it being washed out.
Powering up the Eluga Icon is an Octa-core 1.5 GHz processor with 2GB RAM. Surely it allows you to run most of the apps and games without any hiccups. Due to the large screen and that screen resolution, you will still be able to play high-end games since it won’t be so taxing on the smartphone.
Camera-wise, it comes with a 13MP-8MP camera combination that is something that is totally unexpected. Not from Panasonic anyway. Therefore, you can say for the kind of price that you will be paying, you are getting more than the rest. Prepare the social media as you will be looking to take lots and lots of pictures with the Eluga Icon.
With 16GB of internal storage that can be further expanded to an additional 32GB via the microSD slot, you will find lots of space to work on.
Another strong point for the smartphone is its rather huge Li-Ion 3500 mAh battery. Anything above 3000 mAh for these kinds of specs already ensures that it would be able to last you for at least a day. Two days or more seems possible as well if you are not a heavy user.
Perhaps the only downside for the Eluga Icon is that it is still stuck on Android KitKat 4.4.2. I personally don’t think that Panasonic will be updating the OS anytime soon, so if you can live with this prospect; then you will be fine. But you will be missing out on a lot of new features and functions that the latest Lollipop OS has to offer.
It is also worth noting that it comes equipped with dual sim capability and 4G LTE connectivity that further adds value to the device.
The thing about Panasonic is that it has been missing out on a lot of fun, especially with its start-stop-start-stop release. With a not very well known branding in the smartphone industry, the Eluga Icon could miss out on having more sales as the name is not prominent enough. The fact is, it has a great smartphone that is only bogged down by its dated software. Other than that, even the price is very tempting for just about anyone to pick up the smartphone right away. Sadly its reputation is a little bit lacking.
The Panasonic Eluga Icon is available for approximately $169 USD and is only available in black.
