Panasonic Colors Up Toughbook eLites

Panasonic brightens up its Toughbook eLites, offering the rugged units in 11 colors.

Panasonic may not be pushing out the specs on its Toughbook eLite line of rugged portable computers, but it’s aiming to make them more appealing to non-geek, fashion-concerned crowd by offering the Y5 and W5 systems in eleven colors.

"Color is an intrinsic ingredient to the success of all products being developed today," said Tod Schulman, vice president of Pantone Fashion and Home Division, in a statement. "Companies should always stay a little ahead of their customers and anticipate the newness that will grab their attention."

The Toughbook eLite W5 ultraportables will be available in seven colors—steel grey, merlot, galaxy black, glacier white, blueprint, rosehip, and the new "crown blue," which Pantone says conveys "independence and creativity." The eLite W5s sport a 12.1-inch LCD display, Core Solo processors, 8 hours of battery life, and a total weight of just 2.7 pounds; suggested price i $2,399.

Panasonic’s eLite Y5 will ship in six colors next month, including steel grey, galaxy black, skylight blue, firehouse red, deepsea, and the new "bronze brown," which Pantone "created to embody comfort and sensibility." The Y5 sports a 14.1-inch display, Core Duo processor, up to six hours of battery life, and a weight of only 3.4 pounds; prices will start at $2,569.

Both Toughbook models are tested to withstand a 1-foot drop, and the shock-mounted hard drives are tested to withstand falls up up to 2.5 feet; both models can handle up to 220 pounds of compression on the lid and base.