Japanese electronics giant Panasonic has pretty much been absent from the Indian smartphone market this year, having only launched a few devices in the past couple of months. However, the company is still quite active in the budget segment, which is one of the fastest emerging smartphone segment. The brand’s latest device in the sub-Rs 10,000 range is the Panasonic P55 Novo, which impresses the users with a triple LED flash and universal remote capabilities.
The Panasonic P55 Novo competes against several devices in the sub-Rs 10k arena from domestic and Chinese manufacturers. However, what about the competition from the brand’s own older devices like the Panasonic Eluga S, which is a November 2014 offering with splendid selfie-centric features. If you happen to own an Eluga S and looking to upgrade to the Nova 55, or just want to know how the P55 Novo and Eluga S do stack against each other, have a look on this comparison.
Panasonic P55 Novo vs Eluga S: battle of the budget Android phablets
Design
Talking about the design first, the Panasonic Eluga S is lighter, slimmer and much compact than the P55 Novo with a 7.9mm waistline and 155 grams weight. The phone comes with a premium-looking leather-like rear panel. The Panasonic P55 Novo measures 8.1mm around the waist and weighs 164 grams. This one also doesn’t compromises with the design as it offers a fabric-textured back.
Display and OS
The Panasonic Eluga S offers a 5-inch display bearing a resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels, resulting into a decent pixel density of 294ppi for decent media viewing experience with high colour reproductions. The Panasonic P55 Novo on the other hand offers a slightly bigger 5.3-inch screen with the same display resolution, but offers slightly lesser pixel density of 277ppi. Both smartphones run Android 4.4 KitKat with the brand’s own custom Fit Home user interface on top that offers some gesture control features.
Configuration
Coming to the performance, the Panasonic Eluga S and P55 Novo, both smartphones are powered by octa-core 1.4GHz MediaTek MT6592M processors, further supported by 1GB of RAM and Mali 450 MP4 GPUs. So, performance wise, both smartphones offer similar experience, at least on the paper. Storage capacity on both is similar – 8GB of inbuilt storage, further expandable up to 32GB via microSD cards.
Camera
For self-portraits and video-calling, the Panasonic P55 Novo and Eluga S, both smartphones offer 5-megapixel front-facing snappers. However, the P55 Novo offers better selfies under low light conditions as it offers a single-LED flash accompanying the front camera. The Eluga S offers an 8MP rear camera with autofocus and an LED flash. The P55 Nova offers better overall photography experience with a 13MP rear snapper with autofocus and a triple-LED flash, one of the rare features found in the phones in its range.
Connectivity and Battery
In terms of connectivity, the Panasonic P55 Novo and Eluga S, both offer dual-SIM slots, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, micro-USB, and GPS. The Eluga S utilises a 2,100mAh battery, while the P55 Novo is fuelled by a much bigger 2,500mAh battery.
Conclusion
The Panasonic Eluga S and P55 Novo, both are excellent budget Android KitKat-powered smartphones from the brand in India. The Eluga S is for the users who like small devices, while the P55 Novo is for those with bigger hands. These are officially priced around Rs 10,000, but are available for as little as Rs 8,000 from the e-commerce websites. So, if you don’t find much difference between a 5-inch and 5.3-inch display, the P55 Novo is certainly is a decent choice with better camera features and bigger battery than the Eluga S. In addition, it also offers universal remote capabilities which lets you control your home appliances via the Peel Smart remote application.