Panasonic has introduced a new budget Android smartphone, the Eluga I3, in India, which joins the most popular sub-Rs. 10,000 price category. The Eluga I3 succeeds last year's Eluga I2 with significant upgrades to challenge rivals in the market.
The Panasonic Eluga series covers a wide range of smartphones in budget and premium categories. The Eluga I3 fits right in the company's extensive product portfolio to add more options for shoppers.
"With the launch of the Eluga I3, we believe we will surely address some major consumer concerns by providing them with a better viewing experience and more productivity on the go," Pankaj Rana, business head of the mobility division at Panasonic India, was quoted by the Mobile Indian as saying in a statement.
In terms of specifications, the Eluga I3 isn't entirely a unique bundle but it justifies its price tag of Rs. 9,290. The handset comes with 4G LTE and VoLTE support, and the company claims the Eluga I3 is compatible with FDD 1,800MHz (Band 3), TDD 2,300MHz (Band 40) and FDD 850MHz (Band 5).
The Eluga I3 is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 2GB RAM and offers 16GB expandable storage. It has a 2,700mAh battery and runs Android 5.1 Lollipop-based Panasonic FitHome UI. On the exterior, the Eluga I3 sports a 5.5-inch HD IPS display, a 13MP primary camera with LED flash and a 5MP front-snapper.
Panasonic Eluga I3 comes in three colours — Champagne Gold, Rose Gold, and Marine Blue — with a textured finish on the back. With these specs and price, the handset might find it hard to compete against rivals such as Lenovo K4 Note, LeEco Le 1s, Meizu M3 Note and Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, but its offline presence could be welcomed by many buyers.
"The mobile division contributed 15 percent towards overall India revenue, which we want to take to 25 percent by the end of the ongoing fiscal," Rana said. "The Eluga I3 comes at the most appropriate time when mobile internet is on the rise and there has been persistent increase in demand for larger screens and video consumption."
