Toughbooks are known for being designed to withstand the most punishing users and environments, and the new Toughbook CF-33 appears to be a fitting new member of the line. Panasonic introduced the machine at Mobile World Congress 2017 and Microsoft highlighted the new machine in a post on its Windows blog.
The Toughbook CF-33 is a tablet with a detachable keyboard, sporting a 12-inch display with a very Microsoft Surface-like 3:2 aspect ratio that provides more vertical screen real estate. The display’s resolution is QHD (2,160 x 1,440), which works out to a relatively sharp 216 pixels per inch and it offers an extremely bright panel at 1200 nits so it can work well under bright sunlight.
Of course, the display is also a 10-point touchscreen, and Panasonic implemented technology that works with gloves, and the IP55 digitizer pen fully supports Windows Ink. The tablet portion weighs 1.527 kg by itself, and the entire machine when assembled weighs 2.761kg.
Other specifications include seventh-generation Intel Core processor, 2-megapixel webcam up front and 8MP rear camera with Windows Hello support, and a 4G LTE option. Connectivity is provided by USB 3.0, HDMI, ethernet, and headset ports and a microSD card reader. Finally, the Toughbook CF-33 has twin hot-swappable batteries to enable long battery life without the need to shut down when plugging in a fresh battery.
Panasonic hasn’t yet published all of the specifications for the U.S. market, but the Toughbook CF-33 is expected to arrive in May priced at $4,099 for the tablet and keyboard combination and $3,499 for the tablet by itself. The machine will arrive in Europe sometime in the second quarter of 2017 for 3,552 euros for the combination and 2,992 euros for just the tablet.
