we’re dealing here with a 4.3 inch OLED that relies on an ultra slim D-shaped design, that reminds me a lot of the Samsung Omnia 7. This slim Android smartphone will have a very small bezel and it will come with qHD display resolution and NFC technology. Europe will be used as a first step to reach the global market and phones will come to the US as well. Panasonic wants to sel about 9 million units outside of Japan by the end of March 2016.

The company aims at selling 1.5 million phones in Europe in the next fiscal year. The lineup of the company will be expanded, as the brand gets ready to compete with fellow countrymen Sony, that will drop the Sony Ericsson branding and develop handsets simply known as Sony. Will Panasonic succeed in making a dent in the rivals’ Android market share? We’ll just have to wait and see…

This move to ship products internationally means we’ll have a new landmark when it comes to be best Android cameraphone around. Reuters and Nikkei are claiming that Panasonic has plans to expand to the global market, not only Japan. The European market is targeted for 2012 and a partnership with a “major telecommunications firm” is mentioned, maybe referring to France Telecom/Orange or Vodafone.

T-Mobile is always an option, as well as Telefonica/O2. With a partner like this, Panasonic can easily enter any of the markets it wants and give us 16 megapixel smartphones with great cameras, great displays and great multimedia abilities. Plus, this is the way they will also bring the ToughPad tablets to the EU.

Available in Japan and marketed as the best cameraphone ever, this handset comes with a 13.2 megapixel camera, Mobile Venus Engine technology and a Xenon flash. There’s also a 4 inch qHD display on board (540 x 960 pixels). a dual core TI 1GHz CPU (OMAP4430) and support for HSPA+ connectivity, reaching up to 21Mbps in download speed.

There’s also WiFi on board, a microSD card slot, Bluetooth and Android, plus the usual features for a Japanese phone: waterproof body, digital TV tuner and e-wallet feature. We’re anxiously waiting for an export of the handset to outside of Japan, but that may never happen…

This is an Android 2.3 Gingerbread model, that’s shown in action in the video below. It comes with a 4.3 inch touchscreen, mobile TV services and a customization interface, with a portion that reminds me of Sony Ericsson’s TimeScape. The keyboard of the device can be adjusted in size, making it easier to use with a single hand.

I have to say that this can be easily considered an Xperia clone and in the meantime Panasonic complains that the US market is too competitive for them, so that’s why they stick to the Japanese one… Well, first they should launch an innovative product, and then complain about sales, not go out with an Xperia copy.

The Lumix Phone was shown at DoCoMo’s CEATEC booth, but it was locked in a plexiglass case, so it was not available for hands on fun. As you can see, this cameraphone is a slider, with a numeric keypad and quite a bunch of physical keys on its front side, below the display. Color options for the Lumix handset include pink, blue, gold and black.

In case you’re wondering, the phone measures 17.7mm in thickness, weighs 146 grams and it features a 3.3 inch VGA display. Here’s a short eye-on video of the device, provided by Engadget:

If you’re wondering about the specs, the first Lumix cameraphone will feature the above-mentioned CMOS sensor, plus a 3.3 inch LCD display, mounted on a 146 gram body. The device’s large sensor will make the phone a bit bulky, so it’ll be 17.7mm in thickness. Panasonic’s product is expected to go live next week during CEATEC 2010, taking place in Tokyo.

Surprisingly enough, the last design trait of this handset is the strangest one: Panasonic claims that it sports a folding mechanism, so we’re dealing with a clamshell here! Pretty impressive, right?

Unit sales have decreased dramatically (30% less last year), maybe because of the depression or maybe because of the aging population. Among the companies considering an expansion outside Japan’s borders we must mention NEC and Panasonic, who are willing to export their best phones.

In NEC’s case this is a comeback, since the company used to sell products internationally, but stopped doing so in 2006. Now, the manufacturer wants to enter the European market in Q3 or Q4 2010 and they have big plans: 1 million phones sold in the first 12 months. If the devices created by NEC look anything like the one above (NEC 931N), the European public will surely like them.

This phone comes with a rotating 3 inch touchscreen display, an 8 megapixel camera and a 54Mbps connection. Panasonic is also set to follow the same path, because of the local shrinking sales, but we haven’t seen any announcements from them yet.

[via mobilecrunch]