Panasonic Eluga - Multimedia and Connectivity

The era of the fully connected home isn't quite here yet, but the Panasonic Eluga brings it a step closer. It offers a DLNA media streaming interface, tailored for use with the Panasonic Viera Connect service, built into many Panny TVs. With it, television content can be streamed from TV to phone and vice versa. With decent native video codec support and 8GB of internal memory, the Eluga has the power to double up as a decent home media player.


The Panasonic bonuses don't end there. The Eluga can be used as a remote control for a number of the manufacturer's devices, from Blu-ray players to surround sound systems, something the corporation's European Chief Executive and Chairman Laurent Abadie says makes the phone the “centrepiece that will connect all Panasonic devices”.


The phone is also NFC ready. Near-field communication technology isn't much use yet but will one day let you pay for things with your mobile - assuming the economy holds out that long.



Verdict

The Panasonic Eluga marks an impressive return to the smartphone market for the manufacturer. It's a sleek-yet-rugged Android phone that is waterproof, dustproof and light with some reasonable specs to boot. It's not the fastest or brimming with pixels, but owners of Panasonic TVs will love the Eluga's multimedia capabilities.