The name Panasonic is one that is better known for other electrical equipment such as TVs but they have ventured into the world of mobile phones with the Eluga handset.  As with any handset there are good and bad points, so buyers need to weigh up what they are looking for from the handset.

Overview
On the plus side, the thin design has garnered some praise from the critics, while it is also waterproof and dustproof, making it able to withstand much wear and tear.  The black plastic of the phone with the flat fascia is reminiscent of Panasonic’s TV designs.

The screen features AMOLED technology and as a result users can enjoy great quality images and sharp colours.  The screen measures 4.3 inches which is a very competitive size when compared to other smartphones on the market.

The Android operating system is the Gingerbread version, which is helped along with an additional user interface which has a number of useful features.  There are some features on the phone which can be customised and the apps drawer has some great apps that users will love.

Reviewers have picked up on the Picture Album which is so easy to use and perfect for those who upload photos regularly to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  The user interface has not wowed everybody though, as it does have a tendency to stutter occasionally but most users will find it perfectly adequate.

Camera
The camera on the handset has an impressive 8 megapixels and a good video camera function.  The user is able to change the settings to alter the number of megapixels used and the end result is a good quality image.  The only downside is that there is very little storage space so images will need to be sent on to social networking sites or email as there is not enough space to store hundreds and there is no option to expand the storage.

Connecting
On the plus side you are able to connect in a variety of ways with features such as 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi and even NFC, so you have an option no matter where you are and this is one of the saving graces of the handset.

Performance
Overall performance is fairly good if you can overlook the slight stutter in the operating system.    The phone has a dual-core processor of 1GHz which helps and there is a good battery life which is always a bonus.  Moderate users will easily get a day out of the battery.

Overall
Users that are not aiming to store a lot of music or photos will not be disappointed with this handset.

As smartphones go it is somewhat on the basic side but not bad for a user that is new to the smartphone experience.

This is a handset which looks good and strong under pressure but a few upgrades would not go amiss.  It is slightly cheaper than similar handsets, which is always a plus point, but if you want a phone that has everything, then this is perhaps not the handset for you.

Phil Turner has bought a 3 mobile iPhone 4 for his daughter and she loves it.