Airtel's aggressive marketing strategy for 4G has spurred handset makers to pump out new, 4G-compatible phones in rather quick succession. The latest launch is the Panasonic Eluga Icon which supports 4G and features a sizeable battery, which is always welcome.
At Rs. 12,399 on Amazon, this phone aims to compete with the Lenovo K3 Note (Review | Pictures), Redmi Note 4G (Review | Pictures) and even the Motorola Moto G (Gen 3) (Review). Panasonic boasts of heavy software optimisations and a long battery life in the Eluga Icon. How this actually translates in the real world is what we're about to find out.
The Panasonic Eluga Icon measures 7.95mm in depth and weighs around 147g, which are both respectable. The slate-coloured phone (also available in gold) looks good without being flashy thanks to the matte finish. This also helps it be a bit resistant to scratches or minor dings from everyday use. The phone does get a bit slippery, however, and there isn't much in terms of grip on the sides either.
The fit and finish of the chassis is quite excellent. Edges are smooth and beveled at places making the phone comfortable to hold. The power button and volume rocker are placed mid-way on the right so it's easier to reach when you hold it. The Eluga Icon is a dual-SIM phone which accepts Micro-SIMs through slots placed on either sides of the unit. Rather than needing a pin to eject them, there are flaps which can be popped open by simply pressing down on a nub. Around the back, we have the 13-megapixel camera module along with the single-LED flash. The camera module bulges a bit which can cause unwanted scratches over time. There's a mono speaker grille down at the bottom. The headphone socket and Micro -USB port take their usual spots at the top and bottom respectively.
The Eluga Icon is powered by a 64-bit MediaTek MT6752 SoC with eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores. We have the Mali-T760 on the GPU front, as well as 2GB of system RAM. Other specifications include 16GB of storage that's expandable by 32GB, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, FM Radio, and USB OTG. The MediaTek SoC also has an embedded 4G LTE modem which supports band 40 for India. The 3500mAh battery is one of the highlights of the phone, for a rated 19hrs of talk time.
The software is where things get a bit disappointing. For starters, you get Android KitKat 4.4.4 out-of-the-box and there's no mention on Panasonic's website about a future upgrade to Lollipop. Panasonic has also heavily skinned KitKat with their ICON UI. This is a bit unnecessary, to be honest, and not the most user-friendly. Thankfully, apps do come pre-organised in folders so it's not too difficult finding them. Apart from the usual suspects, Panasonic also bundles some apps that you might actually use, including a file manager, Truecaller, Saavn, Clean Master, Paytm, WPS Office and Amazon.
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