Panasonic has announced that it will be expanding its smartphone business to the European market in March 2012. The company also plans to see overseas smartphone sales to reach nine million units in fiscal year 2016, ending March 31, 2016, using Europe as a stepping stone to the global market.
Panasonic has also revealed a new smartphone model which will be launched globally. The name has not be revealed as of yet, but a few specs of the device are as follows:
- An ultra-slim D-shaped design for easy portability
- Slim bezel with high viewing quality Quarter HD (QHD) 4.3-inch large organic light emitting diode (OLED) screen
- Waterproof and dustproof for ease of handling
The three capacitive buttons suggest the handset will run Android, but which version will it be running? Ice Cream Sandwich, please?
Panasonic wants to expand its lineup by using this as a reference model and aims at selling of 1.5 million smartphones in Europe next fiscal year. Furthermore, in fiscal year 2016, Panasonic targets global sales of 15 million units, including nine million in Europe, Asia, China, and the United States and six million in Japan (of which five million are smartphones).