Panasonic, so far well known for its rugged ToughBooks and also for its ToughPad Android tablet, is returning into the European mobile phone market with the upcoming launch of the the Eluga - an ultra-slim, high specification waterproof smartphone for the style conscious. The Eluga - whose name stems from the phrase "elegant user-oriented gateway" - weighs in at just 103 g, making it one of the lightest Android smartphones in Europe. As well as being waterproof, the Eluga packs a 4.3" with a display comprising 66% of the phone's body, thanks to its super-thin frame. With a 7.8 mm profile along the entire length of the phone, the Eluga's features an 8 megapixel camera.

Powered by a 1 GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4430 CPU, the Eluga is initially released with Android 2.3.5/Gingerbread which is said to be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich later. The device has 8 GB internal flash memory and the 4.3" capacitive OLED qHD has a resolution of 960 x 540 pixel. At a size of 123x62.0x7.8 mm, the Eluga supports the international standard IP57 to be water and dustproof, which protects the phone for up to a depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes in water. Furthermore the phone features NFC.

Swipe and Share allows users to wirelessly "throw" pictures from their phone to a TV or cloud service, or stream movies from their phone to a TV. The VieraRemote app also enables the phone to be used as a remote control for other electronic devices in the home (such as a Viera TV, Diga Blu-ray player and recorder, home cinema system, or digital still camera).

The Eluga will also feature "eco mode", Panasonic's unique power-saving technology which provides significant environmental benefit by shutting down non-essential features when the phone is running low on battery power.

The Eluga will be available in black and silver from anytime Q2-2012.

Cheers ~ Arne