The Japanese brand Panasonic has been launching a slew of devices ever since its re-entry in the Indian market last year. But with its latest offering, the P81, the company is going to the next level by trying to offer feature-packed performance at an attractive pricing. Here’s a quick review of the Panasonic P81

1. Panasonic
P81
Review in pictures

2. It’s big!! Yet lightweight
• Really big because of large
5.5-inch display
• However, it’s quite
lightweight making for very
comfortable handling
• Standard design at the front
and in terms of ports or
buttons
• But the capacitive home key
at the center opens Google
Now with a single tap and
recent apps with double
tap, unlike the usual
implementation

3. Following Samsung’s footprints in the design
department
• Features a leatherette
rear panel adding to looks
and grip
• Prying open the cover
exposes a pair of SIM card
slots and a microSD card
slot
• The battery is also user-
replaceable
• Bundled along with the
device is a protective flip
cover and a screen guard

4. Not full HD this, but still a beautiful large
display
• Catering to the phablet segment, the device features a
huge 5.5-inch display
• With 720p resolution, pixel density count might be lower,
but the display is really nice
• Easily viewable under direct sunlight

5. Loaded snapper in terms of pure specs and
features…
• A 13-megapixel shooter at the
rear
• LED flash available for assisting
in poor lighting conditions
• Custom camera app offers a
simplistic interface and loaded
feature set
• Provides options to modify
scene mode, adjust ISO,
saturation, etc.
• Alongside normal image, also
lets you capture HDR,
panorama or GIF images
• For video recording, it can
shoot 1080p video at 30fps

6. … but not in the terms of quality
• Results in below average
images
• Images lack detail and
colours also seem
oversaturated
• Low-light shots are also
not up to the mark
• A 2-megapixel camera at
the front can be used for
video calling and clicking
selfies.

7. ‘Play More’ with Panasonic’s take on Android
• Runs dated Android 4.2.2
Jelly Bean
• Right from the lockscreen
and home screen to the
dialler and other default
apps, Panasonic has used a
custom interface
• Play More theme manager
gives options to change
wallpaper, animation, font
and ringtones
• Several useful options in
customised apps like dialler
and messages

8. It doesn’t end there…
• With Gesture Play, you can
unlock your device by
drawing a u-shaped gesture
• Ability to define more
gestures for opening an app
via the lockscreen, although
there’s a considerable delay
in the execution
• Multi Play shows two apps
on the same screen
• However, very limited
number of apps like
browser, messages, etc.
support this mode

9. Freebies galore
• With the device, users also get
premium subscriptions for
apps and content
• Six-months premium
subscription for the popular
note-taking app Evernote
• Three-month membership of
India Today digital magazines
• Ability to download magazines
and comics worth Rs 5,000
with the Readwhere app
• 30-day subscription to
download unlimited songs via
the Hungama app

10. The roaring power of eight cores with a bit of
hotness quotient
• The device really shines in the performance aspect
• Powered by the MediaTek MT6592 octa-core chipset with
a clock speed of 1.7GHz
• Supplemented by a gigabyte of RAM
• No signs of slowdown no matter what we threw at it
• However, it gets hot after 15 to 20 minutes of gameplay

11. Storage can suffice for your usual needs
• Packed with 8GB built-
in memory
• Approximately 5.34GB
is user-accessible
• Can be further
extended up to 32GB
with the use of a
microSD card
• Unfortunately, there’s
no support for USB On-
the-Go

12. Your all-day companion thanks to good
battery life
• Sips juice from a
2,500mAh battery
• Can get you through an
entire working day with
the regular usage
• Gave decent results of
little less than eight
hours playback for a
720p video in our test
• The Power Saver app
helps in extending the
battery life, when
needed

13. At a glance
• 5.5-inch, 1,280 x 720 pixels
(267 ppi)
• 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek
MT6592 processor
• Mali 450 GPU
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB onboard storage with
microSD slot
• 13MP primary camera with
flash, 2MP front camera
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• 2,500mAh battery
• 3G (supported on the first SIM
slot), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS

14. -
• Heats up quickly
• Average camera
Pros and cons
+
• Lightweight and
good handling
• Good display
• Lag-free
performance
• Bundled freebies

15. ~ Rs 17,000
(online price)
Pricing and verdict
“With the P81, Panasonic has taken the right step and
priced it well considering its specifications. Even
though it faces huge competition from performance-
oriented devices in this price segment, its phablet-sized
display, good design and bundled freebies act as a
differentiator in its favour”