Panasonic may be pulling out of the European market, barely after they got back into it. There was an ambitious plan by the Japanese corporation to return to the mobile game after introducing the Eluga (see our hands-on) at Mobile World Congress. Panasonic had hoped for for 1.5 million units to be sold this year and then to build up on year-on-year.
Panasonic's plan didn't really take off after the Eluga -- which didn't really get a proper release -- produced lackluster sales. Panasonic appears to be cutting their losses now and pulling from Europe altogether. No word yet on what they'll do in other markets, but Panasonic's mobile strategy isn't looking promising at the moment.
Source: The Verge
Reader comments
Panasonic may be leaving the European mobile market
I still think the name was the culprit... who wants to own a phone whose name sounds like a whale?
That's too bad, I wanted them to succeed. Panasonic is a quiet company that puts out a lot of high quality products.
+1 for Panasonic quality.
All those high quality Panasonic batteries in my TV remotes, that last for a week or two.
Those are very high quality, especially with their light weight design that helps them fly really far when I chunk them.
Hahaha
Nothing shocking here, too many companies trying to jump into Android. If a known phone manufacturer like HTC is struggling how is a company like Panasonic suppose to have a chance. Hell they could have slapped iOS onto a Panasonic phone and nobody would have bought the Eluga.
This is really a bummer, but you could see it coming when the ELUGA didn't launch across Europe like it was supposed to. I had to track one down in Germany. It's a really nice phone with one of the sleekest designs I've ever seen. I was holding out hope that one day Panasonic would try to enter the American market with their phones, but now that hope is looking pretty dim. Hope they change their minds and refocus for future phones. They make really nice stuff and it's a shame to see them pull back on the mobile side of things.
It has Gingerbread, and those capacitives are too close together, there was no saving it.