Samsung created the ridiculously huge smartphone category with the 5.3 inch Galaxy Note, and it looks like competitors are quick to catch up. LG has the 5 inch Vu, Viewsonic has the ViewPhone 5e, and now it’s Panasonic’s turn to announce their difficult to hold creation: the Eluga Power. It’s going to come with a 5 inch 720p HD screen, dual core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm S4 processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, NFC, an 8 megapixel camera, and it’s also going to have a “fast charge” battery that can hit 50% in less than 30 minutes. Other than that … there’s nothing special. It’s 9.6 mm thin, which is kind of big these days, but 5 inches? Look, we understand that some people would love a device this big, but we can’t help but think that the trend of “bigger is better” needs to die. The Samsung Galaxy S II scared a lot of people when it was announced because it came with a 4.3 inch screen. Less than a year later the 4.65 inch Galaxy Nexus was announced. Ask most tech journalists how they feel about that and they’ll all say the same thing, that 4 inches is the sweet spot, and it’s why they hold a spot for the Nexus S in their heart.
Size aside, what’s interesting here is that Panasonic is finally going to make their devices available outside of Japan. The Eluga brand name may be a bit hard to pronounce and spell, but no one actually expected these guys to get it right straight out of the gate. It’s going to take time for these guys to create devices tailored for the European market, and things are going to get really interesting when you walk into a store and see Panasonic phones lined up next to Nokia devices.
What do you think, is 5 inches too big or do you have a thyroid problem and think this thing is the best invention since sliced bread?
[Image Credit: Engadget]