Panasonic Eluga Mark puts the focus on security, now available in India for 11,990

Panasonic India has announced its latest smartphone, the Eluga Mark, positioning it as a security-oriented handset for young professionals and the enterprise segment. A fingerprint sensor at the back allows for an added layer of security, and Android for Work support ensures that the device is compatible on secure corporate networks.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Pankaj Rana, Business Head – Mobility Division, Panasonic India, said:

"With the growing use of smartphones for a wider range of high-risk activities such as access to cloud data and private information, mobile security is a top priority for users. This control-sensitive device, which achieves complex tasks with the press of a finger or a swipe of the thumb, is personalized for the user and protects the smartphone investment."

Powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC, the Eluga Mark features a 5.5-inch 720p display, 2GB of RAM and 16GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. The 4G LTE smartphone sports a 13MP rear camera optimized by an LED flash, 5MP front-facing camera and a 2,500mAh battery along with Android 5.1 Lollipop. The Eluga Mark comes with the FitHome user interface by Panasonic, which enables single thumb-flick access to applications on the home screen. The fingerprint sensor can also store up to eight fingerprints at a time.

Panasonic has mentioned that it launched 16 devices thus far in the country in 2015, and that it intends to launch a few more before the end of the year. The vendor has stated interest in the "Make in India" initiative for 2016, along with targeting international markets and regions with 4G-enabled devices.

The Panasonic Eluga Mark will be available in Royal Gold or Metallic Grey color variants for ₹11,990 ($180).

A Wireless USB Stick that Expands your Phone’s Storage (And a Giveaway)

What do you do when your mobile phone has limited storage and there’s no option to add an external SD card? How do you carry all your videos and documents where there’s not an iota of space left on the device? Yes, you do have cloud-based services like Dropbox or Google Drive that add virtually unlimited storage to your phone but you’ve to be connected to the Internet to access your files.

This week I’ve been testing a wireless USB stick from Sandisk that adds storage to your phones and tablets much like a regular USB drive. To get started, you plug the USB device into your laptop or desktop computer and let it charge for about an hour or two. You can also transfer the files to the stick from the computer through Windows Explorer or Finder on Mac.

Once the device is charged, you tap the little power button on the stick to turn it on. Now install the Sandisk Connect app on your mobile phone, go to WiFi settings on your phone and connect to the Wi-Fi hotspot created by the USB stick. That’s it.

The content of the USB drive can now be accessed from your mobile phone. You can stream audio and video files stored on the stick, you can browse photos, open PDF files and other documents in associated mobile apps and you can easily transfer files between the phone and the wireless drive. It is much like plugging a USB stick into your mobile phone but without the wires.

The Wi-Fi network has no security by default but you do have an option to add a password to prevent other nearby devices from connecting to the USB stick.

Unlike using cloud storage, Sandisk’s Connect USB stick requires no Internet connection (it will create a hotspot that your mobile device will connect to) and multiple devices can connect to the same USB drive over Wi-Fi. So if you are carrying an iPad and an Android phone, not only can the two devices connect to the stick simultaneously but it can be used as a temporary medium to transfer files between the iOS and Android device.

The USB stick itself is solidly built with a transparent protective casing though it is obviously heavier and looks bigger than regular USB sticks. The Sandisk mobile app does have some issues but none of them are a deal breaker. In my testing, the iPad app frequently crashed especially when reading big PDF files. The Android app would not allow me to browse the web using cellular connection while the phone was connected to USB drive over Wifi.

Sandisk Connect (Amazon, Flipkart) is compatible with both Android and iOS devices and is available in various capacities from 16GB to 128GB. If you are running out of storage space on your mobile phone and upgrading is not an option, the Connect stick is probably the easiest way to expand your phone’s existing storage.

SanDisk Connect Giveway

SanDisk India is giving away 5 units of the SanDisk Connect Wireless USB stick to @labnol readers in India. All you have to do is fill this short form to participate in the giveaway. SanDisk will announce the winners on November 30 (Monday). Good luck!