Panasonic Eluga P-04D Android Phone is Tough, WaterProof and Uses a MicroSim
Panasonic released their much anticipated rugged Android Phone, the Eluga P-04D, in Japan on March 29 (release date in said country). This handset takes advantage of Panasonic’s expertise in creating super tough gadgets. The Eluga P-04D Android mobile phone is like a mini version of a Panasonic ToughBook H2 Tablet PC – guaranteed to be waterproof, shockproof and dustproof! This products was developed in partnership with NTT Docomo the same company that distributed Fujitsu F-07C, the first-ever Windows 7 OS-Powered Smartphone.
Sample Photo of the New Panasonic Eluga P-04D Android Phone Upgradeable to Android OS 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich
Despite its ruggedness that can match that of Sonim XP3300 Force, the Panasonic Eluga P-04D, is svelte and very sexy. It is very thin at 7.8 mm and only weighs a mere 103 grams. The 4.3-inch screen is a 960 x 540p capacitive OLED and it comes powered by a dual-core 1 GHz OMAP4430 processor.
Not sure yet on how much RAM will this phone have when it ships but Panasonic has so far confirmed that the Eluga P-04D will have a built-in storage of 8GB.
Just like the new iPhone 4S, this handset will also be using a MicroSIM. The Panasonic Eluga’s notable features and technical specs are: an 8 megapixel autofocus camera, NFC support which will work with NTT Docomo’s Mobile Wallet, 14.4Mbps 3G HSDPA, WiFi b/g/m, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, micro USB connector, 3.5mm headset plug and aGPS. It comes with a non-removable 1150 mAh battery.
Panasonic also gave this phone their proprietary ‘Eco Mode’ technology to help its batteries lasts longer.
NTT Docomo’s Eluga version is going to be in a very unique deep purple color. But Panasonic says the Eluga P-04D will also come in Silver and Black models when it launches in Europe next month. No official release date for the US and Canada was announced but we suspect it will be a few weeks after the European launch date
Lastly, this handset will initially ship with onboard Android OS 2.3 which will be upgraded to Android OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (which is already installed in models such as Huawei Ascend P1/P1 S and Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo L) starting Summer 2012.
