Size Compared: Panasonic Smartphone, iPhone 4S, Galaxy S II

Panasonic has announced the upcoming release of a smartphone, due to land in March 2012, with an 8-Megapixel camera and an NFC chip. We know it'll have a 4.3-inch screen, but as yet the phone's official dimensions haven't been announced.

However, knowing the phone's screen size means we can already make a few preliminary comparisons. The Samsung Galaxy S II, for example, also has 4.3" screen, but with a slightly different ratio, and the Apple iPhone 4S has a 3.5" screen.

So if we reproduce each model in scale, pixel by pixel, and at the right 4.3" size for both the Samsung and Panasonic handsets, here's what we get:

From left to right: Apple iPhone 4S, Panasonic ????, Samsung Galaxy S II

The Panasonic model would logically be longer than an iPhone 4S, but a little shorter than the Galaxy S II.

While we like the fact that the bezel has been reduced to gain space at the top of the handset, it's a shame that so much space has been used to plaster the Panasonic logo above the three touch-sensitive buttons. It seems a bit unnecessary to make the logo so conspicuous on a mobile that's aiming for high-end style. That said, it seems that the backlighting behind the logo and buttons can actually be switched off!

Now let's take a look at the profile shots in scale—these are effectively easier to simulate since we've already worked out the height of Panasonic's phone. As you can see below, it turns out that the Panasonic handset is slimmer than its rivals!

LEft to right: Apple iPhone 4S, Panasonic ????, Samsung Galaxy S II,
then sections of the three handsets pasted together

At its slimmest part, the Samsung Galaxy S II is 8.49 mm thick, which is visibly comparable with the thickest part of the Panasonic phone. So, excluding the bump on the top of the mobile, the Panasonic smartphone seems to be 8 mm thick.

If you want to see what we can expect from the Panasonic phone's 8-Megapixel camera, then take a look at the test shots we've snapped with some of the other 8-Megapixel cameraphones currently on the market.

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