Panasonic Brightens Up Toughbooks

By Geoff Duncan October 17, 2006

Panasonic Brightens Up Toughbooks

Panasonic has taken the wraps off two new Toughbook models, plainly indicating it has faith in the market for ruggedized, outdoor capable portable computers for use in law enforcement, on job sites, in the field, and other harsh conditions.

Panasonic’s CF-30 notebook and CF-19 tablet PCs now come with 1.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 60 to 80 GB hard drives, 512 MB of RAM (expandable for 4 GB, and daylight-readable 1,024 by 768 pixel displays Panasonic is claiming are the brightest in the world without lowering battery life. The screen on the CF-19 tablet puts out 550 cd/m², while the CF-30 notebook sports an industry-leading 1,000 cd/m² of brightness.

“These next generation Toughbooks are the result of close collaboration between our R&D labs, engineering teams, Panasonic component divisions and, most importantly, our customers, who depend upon us to meet the needs of their business by supplying mobile devices they can rely on and trust,” said Rance Poehler, president of Panasonic Computer Solutions Company, in a statement. “Our Customers have asked us for brighter displays that can be used in any environment. Delivering a 1,000 NIT screen is a major accomplishment for Panasonic’s engineers, who are unparalleled in their ability to strike a balance between form and function in rugged devices. This is clearly the brightest LCD in any battery powered computer in the Industry today and another first for Panasonic.”

The new ToughBooks also feature all the ruggedized features customers have come to expect, including magnesium alloy bodies, water and dust resistance, and shock-mounted screens and hard drives certified to the MIL-STD-810F standard for drops, shocks, vibration, and temperature extremes. The systems also offer multiple wireless connectivity solutions—WLAN, WWAN, GPS, and Bluetooth— Trusted Platform Module v1.2, and optional fingerprint readers, and feature backward compatibility for vehicle mounting solutions developed for the previous generation of Toughbooks.

The new Toughbooks will be available in December, with the CF-30 notebook starting at $4,699 and the CF-19 starting at $4,199.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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