In a move which marks the re-entry of Panasonic into the mobile handset market, the Japanese handset maker announced the launch of its first smartphone - the P51 – on Thursday.

Powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, the Panasonic P51 handset features a 5-inch screen; 1 GB RAM; and 8-megapixel back-side camera; a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera; the Android 4.2 ‘Jelly Bean’ operating system; and 4 GB of onboard storage capacity, which can be expanded via the microSD card slot.

Though the launch of the P51 handset from Panasonic comes at a time when Apple and Samsung smartphones are dominating the mobile-handset arena, Manish Sharma - Managing Director of Panasonic India – said in a recent statement that Panasonic cannot be deemed as a late entrant in the mobile space.

Against the backdrop of the launch of the P51 smartphone, Sharma told the reporters that the company plans to bring nine new models to the market within the next three months. These new devices will be priced in a range of between Rs.6,990 and Rs.35,000.

With regard to Panasonic’s plans in India, Sharma said: “We expect to capture 8 per cent smartphone market share in India in the first year. We plan to invest Rs.200 crore over the next 12 months to grow this category in India.”