Panasonic launches quad-core P51 with 5-inch display for Rs 26,990

Panasonic India has launched its P51 smartphone - a first in the series of smartphones that mark its entry into the mobile phone segment in India. The smartphone has been priced at Rs 26,990 and will be available by next week in stores.

The Panasonic P51 smartphone sports a sleek design and brings HD experience to a 5-inch screen, with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. The smartphone is powered by a quad-core MediaTek 1.2GHz processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). The P51 comes with a magnetic flip-cover stylus. This Wi-Fi enabled device also sports an 8MP camera (auto focus with flash) and a 1.3MP 720p HD front camera. The smartphone sports a unibody design and has a 8.5mm waistline and weighs 135g.

Sports a 5-inch display

Here're the specs of the Panasonic P51 at a glance -

5-inch IPS HD display with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels
Dual-SIM; HSPA+
Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi802.11b/g/n, GPS
GSM Quad band (850/ 900/1800/1900 MHz), UMTS (900/2100 MHz)
8MP camera (Auto Focus with Flash), 1.3MP 720p sub camera
1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage + memory expandable upto 32GB

Panasonic smartphone will come equipped with features like easy-to-use, ultra-responsive touch displays that allow users to check their social network updates, read SMS’s, check calendar, and answer/reject/mute calls. Pre-loaded in the smartphone is a card-scanning app, a card reader and the WeChat IM app.

This phone will be available across national retail chain stores, multi-brand outlets and distributors across India from May onwards.

When Panasonic unveiled its first smartphone for India, the quad-core P51, most eyebrows were raised at its launch price of Rs 26,990. Obviously, the slew of quad-core phones available for under Rs 15,000 has spoilt the Indian smartphone consumer, but there’s no reason to scoff at Panasonic’s sticker. Indeed, you will find that the price is nothing but a good ol' marketing tactic.

The good news is that the Panasonic P51’s price fell sharply in the week of its launch and right now it can be bought for Rs 22,390, as we have reported. We reckon this particular smartphone will soon be available for even less as it stays on shelves for a month or so. It will only serve to make the phone more attractive to potential buyers. So why did Panasonic even launch it at such a ‘high’ price? The answer is two-fold and it has more to do with positioning of the brand than the product itself.

A stylish-looking phone

Firstly, the Japanese electronics giant has plans to introduce smartphones in all price brackets and their portfolio for India will include phones that are priced between Rs 6,990 in the low-end and Rs 35,000 at the high end of the spectrum. This means that with their first phone the company had to lay down a marker on which to base the price of future products. Launching the P51 under Rs 20,000 would have marked Panasonic as just another low-cost player in the smartphone market and their subsequent high-end phones would be regarded as over-priced.

With the launch price of the P51, the company has ensured that it will be seen as playing on the same field as Samsung, Sony, LG, and HTC. That also means it will be positioned slightly ahead of Micromax, Karbonn and any number of other Indian manufacturers.

Worth the buy?

Secondly, (and let’s not make any bones about it) the P51 looks far more impressive than a similarly-specced Micromax or Karbonn smartphone. In terms of fit and finish, the unibody design is a far cry from the ill-fitting chassis we have seen over the past year or so in many Indian-made phones. It ticks the right boxes when it comes to specs and is well-designed, so we can even say the premium in the price department is justified, in a way.

Panasonic would have hoped to make a healthy margin from the sales of the first batch, thanks to the high price. Whether sales have been healthy or not, only a few more weeks in the market will tell. We think that Panasonic has played this one intelligently and being far removed from the low-cost field allows them breathing room and gives them a slight aspirational edge. With more and more low-cost players entering the Indian market, it’s a welcome change to see a company taking an interest in branding rather than indulging in reckless price wars.

Comparison: Samsung Galaxy Grand Vs Panasonic P51

While Samsung is a veteran leader, Panasonic is looking to enter the market with exciting devices.

Samsung is a well known name in the Indian smartphone arena and has been around for quite some time now. Panasonic, on the other hand is a well known brand in the consumer electronics segment but when it comes to smartphone, the Japan-based company is an unknown entity in the country.

This is one of the reasons why Panasonic's smartphone entry into India felt like a quick decision to grab some share out of the market pie. But according to the company, the plan was put in place last year and their entry has been well thought out. The company launched its first P51 smartphone earlier this month and by the looks of it, the brand will be targeting the market with myriad smartphones ranging between Rs 6,990 and Rs 35,000. The P51 launched at around Rs 26,000 is now selling in the market for Rs 22,390 and it this price point with its specs that makes this phone an interesting alternative to Galaxy Grand from Samsung. Let's take a closer look at how the newbie on one hand and the popular on another fare when match-up in terms of specs and hardware.

Brand	Samsung Galaxy Grand	Panasonic P51
Price	Rs 19,500 (current)	Rs 22,390 (current)
Display	12.7-cm (5-inch), 800x480p	12.7-cm (5-inch), 1280x720p
OS	Android 4.1 Jelly Bean	Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Processor	1.2 GHz dual-core	1.2 GHz quad-core
RAM	1 GB	1 GB
Camera	8 MP (rear) + 2 MP (front)	8 MP (rear) + 1.3 MP (front)
Dual-SIM	Yes	Yes
Stylus	No	Yes
Battery	2,100 mAh	2,500 mAh

While one would have to give to Panasonic for being pro-active with its strategy, (price cut from Rs 26,000 to Rs 22,000 is huge and that too in first month) and the phone may be slightly pricey than the Grand, overall the phone is equipped enough to compete with the Korean major. Only time will tell whether the market accepts the brand or not.