Panasonic P31 smartphone launched for Rs 11,990; Lava's Iris 503e available for Rs 6,749

Panasonic has further expanded its 'P' series of smartphones with the launch of P31, a 5 inch device dedicated to the phablet category. The smartphone will be available to consumers in India from the second week of March 2014, at the best price of Rs 11, 990. In addition, Lava has also quietly launched a somewhat downgraded version of its IRIS 503 smartphone. Christened IRIS 503e, the device is available for Rs 6,749 (almost Rs 1,200 cheaper than its predecessor).

Here is a look at the specifications of the devices.

Panasonic P31 for Rs 11,990

The smartphone sports a 5 inch FWVGA touchscreen display (480x854 pixel resolution) and runs on the Android 4.2 operating system with Play Life user interface (UI). It is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and has 1GB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 4GB that can be further expanded up to 32GB with a microSD card.

Panasonic P31 has an 8 MP autofocus rear camera with LED Flash that can also record full HD (1080p) videos at 30 frames per second, as well as a front facing VGA camera for video calling. On the connectivity front, the device has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, 3G, as well as a microUSB port and a microSD card slot. The company has provided a 2,000 mAh battery in the device, which it claims will provide up to 9 hours of talk time and 600 hours of standby time.

It comes with dual-SIM support (with dual-stand by), FM Radio with RDS, and GPS (with A-GPS support), and will be available in pure white and bluish black colours. The company has also added a number of new features in the UI that include Gesture Play, Pop-i Player, Music café and Ultimate Saver. Panasonic also introduced a 'Heat-Sink' design based feature for maintaining device temperature through controlled heat dissipation.

The device will compete with the likes of Karbonn Titanium S5 Plus (Rs 9,872), Micromax Canvas Doodle A111 (Rs 8,108), and Xolo Q1000 Opus (Rs 8,900), among others.

Lava Iris 503e for Rs 6,749

Part of Lava's IRIS series, the IRIS 503e sports a 5 inch FWVGA capacitive touchscreen display (480x854 pixel resolution) and runs on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and has 512MB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 4GB that can be further expanded an additional 32 GB with a microSD card.

The device has a 3 MP fixed focus rear camera with LED Flash and 8X digital zoom that can also record videos, as well as a 1.3 MP front facing camera for video calling. On the connectivity front, the device Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, as well as a microUSB port and a microSD card slot. It also comes with GPS, FM radio, and dual-SIM support (with dual standby).

The dimensions of the device are 143.2mm x 73.3mm x 10.45mm and its weight is 175 gm. Lava has provided a 2,000 mAh battery in the device that it claims will provide up to 7 hours of talk time. It will be available in black colour. The company has also pre-loaded a number of applications and games in the device that include Assassins Creed, CricketFever, Facebook, Lava care, Lava Zone, Fusion, Saavn, To Do, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, Opera mini, and OLX.