Panasonic Eluga review

Messaging on the Panasonic Eluga is pretty standard fare. There's no clever interlinking between Facebook messages, emails and texting - it's all kept pretty separate.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, though - it keeps things simple, and if you're concerned about data or SMS monthly usage, it makes it easier to keep track of what your fingertips have been up to.

The native Android email app should enable you to access most of the popular email services such as Yahoo or Hotmail, and the Panasonic Eluga also comes with the Gmail app already pre-installed - as is the Android way.

You can then choose how often you want your phone's inbox to sync, how many day's worth of correspondence to keep, what notifications you want and so on.

The handset's 4.3-inch screen means that writing messages is a pleasant experience, with the virtual QWERTY keyboard being a cinch to use, both in portrait or landscape mode - especially with the Swype-like tracing option that enables you to drag over the keys without any need for tapping.

There's also an autocorrect function, as well as a predictive auto-complete text option, which is a keyboard feature that we know some people hate and some people can't do without. All of these options can be switched on or off in the keyboard settings menu.

Of course, as per any Android device, you can always download and install a third-party keyboard offering if you don't like the default selection.

SMS history is presented in the familiar conversation view, albeit a basic one. There are no speech marks here, and no left and right indents - it's a standard pale blue and white banner affair, although it's still plenty clear enough what's going on and what's been said.