When Panasonic announced the original ELUGA for the European smartphone market, we were a little underwhelmed. Today the ELUGA gets a new, awkwardly-capitalized older brother, the ELUGA power. True to its name, the device is considerably more powerful than its predecessor. Which is good, because this series needs all the help it can get.

Here's the rundown on the new hardware:

• A 1280x720 HD, 5.0 inch LCD screen with a 9.6mm thin frame.
• Slim form factor – 136x70x9.6mm.
• Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0.
• International standard IP57 water and dustproofing.
• NFC – allowing for contactless payment and data transfer.
• Main camera with 8MP autofocus and 1080p Full HD video recording, including auto scene recognition and 8x digital zoom, as well as a front-facing camera.
• Superfast charging – 50% charge takes just 30 minutes, and 80% takes 57 minutes (provided it starts charging from a 10% charged status).
• 8GB of internal memory, with Micro SD Card Slot supporting a further 32GB.

On paper, the device hits all the important high notes. It's even sporting Qualcomm's drool-worthy Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor. Not to mention whatever "IP57 water and dustproofing" is. Still, after seeing what Panasonic did with TI's dual-core processor, we're hesitant to use the word "exciting" to describe this device until we can see it in action.