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Those who have been looking for tough and ruggedized notebooks will be glad to know that Panasonic is coming out with three Toughbook 8 notebook models - the F8, W8 and T8. 

All three notebooks with their Intel Core 2 Duo Processors are lightweight, ranging from 1.3 to 1.7 kgs courtesy of their magnesium alloy casing and chassis. Panasonic put in flexible internal connectors so the Toughbook can withstand lots of abuse.  The hard drives and LCDs are shock mounted to keep them protected.  Also, don’t worry about dumping liquids onto the keyboard because it is spill-resistant.

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Not wanting to be outdone by their competitors, Panasonic has upgraded two of its Toughbook models with the new Intel Centrino 2 chipset. These newly updated Toughbooks are the 15.4-inch CF-52 and the 13.3-inch Toughbook CF-74 and in addition to the Centrino 2 chipset they also now have Wi-Fi 802.11n connectivity.

Both machines are packed with 160GB shock-mounted hard drives, full magnesium alloy case, spill resistant keyboard and touchpad, and are mobile broadband ready for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless networks. The CF-52 also features an integrated fingerprint scanner and a DVD multi-drive, while the CF-72 boasts a durable, spill-resistant touchscreen LCD.

These upgraded Toughbooks will both be available sometime in August with retail prices starting at $1,949 for the CF-52 and $3,199 for the CF-74.

Product [Panasonic] Via [I4U]

So, it looks like the atom-based Panasonic UMPC we told you about a couple of months ago will finally be announced, that is, if some reliable sources are really reliable. And like we told you in our previous post, the Panasonic Toughbook UMPC will have Intel Centrino’s Atom platform and will also have a 5.6-inch touchscreen display, aside from a full QWERTY keyboard.

Additionally, this UMPC will sport various sockets which will be placed around its edges and will be covered with rubber hoods for an added water and dust proof features.

As this will be a pretty exciting new machine, we’re hoping that Panasonic won’t keep us waiting any longer and officially announce this Toughbook UMPC as rumored.

Via [PC World]

Panasonic has upgraded its Toughbook 19 rugged convertible tablet PC, and they have upgraded it big time. If the previously release of the Panasonic Toughbook 19 was all about durability and defying severe physical conditions, the new Toughbook 19 is more about power and processing capability.

The new Panasonic Toughbook 19 now features a Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive. Panasonic even poured in an anti-glare, anti-reflective sunlight viewable display, a backlit keyboard, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity, mobile broadband-ready (WWAN), GPS and a 2-megapixel webcam. In short, after releasing a sub-performing Toughbook 19, Panasonic is now offering the real deal, which comes in a 5.1-pound package.

Now with all those upgrades comes the biggest upgrade of all, the Panasonic Toughbook 19’s price tag shoots up to an estimated price of $3,199.

Read [Panasonic] Via [Engadget]

The latest UMPC release coming from CeBIT is the Panasonic Toughbook. Little details have been released about this Atom-based device, however we do know that it features a 5.6-inch touch screen, a QWERTY keyboard and will be running Windows Vista. The Panasonic Toughbook is not your typical UMPC, but instead has a hardedned case that is water, dust and shock resistant. It is also aimed more at the professional market as opposed to the general consumer. The Toughbook is expected to be released during the Autumn of 2008.

Via [PC Watch Japan]

Recently, Sprint has been upgrading their mobile broadband network to EV-DO Rev A, an enhancement to their existing Power Vision service.  Rev A is said to clock in with download speeds of about 450 to 800 kbps, which is quite fast for mobile.  Panasonic is staying alongside Sprint by introducing their new ToughBooks, which are compatible with Sprint’s new EV-DO Rev A network - and are also backwards compatible with Rev 0 networks (the old one).  The new W5 and T5 ToughBooks feature 12.1-inch screens and weigh around 3.5 pounds each.  The T5 is a touch-screen tablet sporting the gold-ole swivel screen display.  Both are expected to become available in January starting at $2,249.

Read [Panasonic] Via [Gizmodo]

The ultraportable Toughbook eLite W5 is now available for purchase ($2,339) in seven color options: Steel Gray, Merlot, Galaxy Black, Glacier White, Blueprint, Rosehip and the new “Crown Blue.” The eLite W5 has a 12.1inch anti-glare display, an integrated multi-drive, an 8-hour battery life, and weighs just 2.7 pounds.

The thin-and-light Toughbook eLite Y5 will be available next month for $2,569 in six colors, including Steel Gray, Galaxy Black, Skylight Blue, Firehouse Red, Deepsea, and the new “Bronze Brown.” The Y5 has a larger display at 14.1 inches, weighs only 3.4 pounds and offers up to 6-hours of battery life, depending on use conditions.

In addition to their lightweight design, both computers offer durability with magnesium alloy cases and shock mounted hard drives. The Y5 also includes a water resistant, “spill through” keyboard.The eLite W5 and Y5 are factory-tested to withstand a drop of 1’ and the shock-mounted hard drives are tested to withstand a drop of 2.5 feet. In addition, both models are tested to withstand more than 220 pounds of compression on the lid and base.

Read [Panasonic]

Panasonic has upgraded their well known Toughbook. The new rugged PC has embedded EV-DO (Verizon or Sprint), an Intel Core Duo chip, longer battery life and expanded security features. Built with a magnesium alloy case, integrated handle, spill-resistant keyboard, daylight-readable screen and battery life of approximately seven hours, the Toughbook-74 is designed to let work happen wherever it needs to. New security features, including an optional finger print scanner and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM v.1.2) security chip, help protect sensitive information.

It has an 80GB shock-mounted HDD and a standard 512MB SDRAM (DDR2), which is expandable to 4,096MB. The laptop has a 13.3” 1024 x 768 (XGA) transmissive, 460 Nit daylight-readable TFT Active Matrix Color LCD with touchscreen, is 5.95 pounds with nice dimensions: 1.7"-2.4"(H) x 12"(W) x 11.6"(D) (with handle). The Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 will be generally available in April, 2006 starting at an estimated street price of $2,999.00.

[Press Release]