Panasonic Eluga review

Slimline and waterproof Android smartphone

Panasonic Eluga review
The Panasonic Eluga is the brand's first Android smartphone of 2012

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Battery Life

The battery built in to the Panasonic Eluga is an integrated 1,150mAh Li-Ion one, which is pretty tiny. It's clear that Panasonic had to make some compromises to make its comeback handset so slim.

In comparison, the Sony Xperia S has a 1,750mAh power pack, and the Motorola Razr has a 1,780mAh one.

Don't expect the Panasonic Eluga to be lasting for a full day's play then - you're probably going to need to take a charger with you to work if you still want to be flinging Angry Birds into space on your commute home.

Panasonic Eluga review

Under our stress test, which involves streaming HD video from the web on a loop, the Panasonic Eluga only lasted for 213 minutes. The HTC One S, Sony Xperia S and Motorola Razr all lasted at least 100 minutes more than this.

Connectivity

On the internet front, you're looking at 2G and 3G (Baseband 850, 900, 1800 and 1900; Band 1 and Band 8; GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps and HSPA+ 21.1 Mbps) and Wi-Fi b/g/n.

You can also turn the Panasonic Eluga into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot by enabling tethering, although this will depend on your network's permissions.

Panasonic Eluga review

DLNA streaming is also an option, as is Bluetooth (2.1 + EDR) pairing. The much-hyped NFC also makes an appearance on the Panasonic Eluga, and in the box you'll find a starter card.

This enables you to perform three basic tasks - changing the home screen, firing up an app or opening a specific web page - when you flash your phone over it. It's hardly game-changing, but it is a nice little feature.

When connected to a PC via USB you get the option to mount the Panasonic Eluga as a drive, making drag-and-drop transfers easy. You can also just use the USB connection for charging.