Panasonic, after teasing its upcoming smartphone for days, has now finally made the
P81 official for the Indian market. The Panasonic P81 has been launched at Rs. 18,990.
On Monday,
NDTV Gadgets had obtained exclusive details about the Panasonic's first octa-core smartphone, the P81, ahead of its launch. The Panasonic P81 will be available in Black leatherette finish from retail stores from the third week of May with a MRP of Rs. 19,990 and a best buy price of Rs. 18,990.
The Panasonic P81 is powered by a 1.7GHz 'True Octa-Core processor' presumably from MediaTek. It comes with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of inbuilt storage, expandable by another 32GB via microSD card.
The 7.9mm-thick P81 is a dual-SIM (Micro-SIM, dual-standby) smartphone and boasts a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display. It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 aperture, a 28mm wide angle lens, and LED flash, as well as a 2-megapixel front camera. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Hotspot, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0 A2DP, Micro-USB 2.0, and FM radio with RDS.
The P81 is powered by a 2500mAh battery and, rather disappointingly, runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Panasonic's own Play Life UI on top.
Panasonic is hoping software features like Multi Play and Smart Ringer will help soften the blow of running a dated Android version. While Multi Play lets users run multiple apps side-by-side, Smart Ringer makes it easier to answer calls with a single hand.
The company is giving 'freebies worth Rs. 11,900' with the Panasonic P81. These include accessories worth Rs. 2,000 (such as a flip cover with screen guard), and free apps worth Rs. 9,900, including a Rs. 1,800 Evernote 6 month Premium subscription, free entertainment downloads from Hungama for a month, andIndia Today e-content, amongst others.
Mobiles launched in May 2014