Laptops Arena

Panasonic announced that its Toughbook 30 won the 2008 North American Mobility Award Recipient for Rugged Notebook Computers after the decision of Frost & Sullivan's Mobility Awards Committee.

Panasonic Toughbook 30 notebook has a magnesium alloy housing, a 13.3-inch XGA LCD display of 1000 nit brightness resistant at moist and dust, shock-mounted hard drive, sealed port and connector covers, and features high-speed wireless broadband connectivity.
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Its key hardware components include an Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 processor at 1.6GHz, 1GB SDRAM memory, 80GB HDD, Intel GM965 video controller, high-definition audio, front-facing speaker, optional optical drive, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, modem, Ethernet, port replicator, and a Li-Ion battery for up to seven hours of working time.



"Mission-critical workers in military, government, public safety and commercial applications often are placed in extreme environments that require a high level of durability and connectivity to achieve the productivity their organizations demand," declared Kyp Walls, director of product management, Panasonic Computer Solutions Company. "Creating a rugged laptop that reliably meets these demands while still delivering a high-performance computing experience takes an enormous investment in research, development, engineering, testing and customer input. Having Panasonic's 15 year history of manufacturing robust mobile computers recognized by Frost & Sullivan as a higher standard is extremely gratifying."

Finally, Panasonic has started shipping samples of its latest Blu-ray Discs drives to notebook manufacturers.
The 9.5mm disk drives are the world’s thinnest Blu-rays and are combining Panasonic technologies including the low-profile, 2-lens actuator and spherical aberration compensation mechanism, and an optimized optical design for CD, DVD and Blu-ray disc laser.

The trends showed that people need high definition digital images and thinner/lighter laptops, and so Panasonic continues to come out with the most innovative disc drives to be with a step in front of others.
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It is the thinnest Blu-ray disk drive in the world but it features double speed reading and writing for write-once, rewritable discs, and dual layer models, because it uses advanced technologies such as high-speed recording waveform, improved light usage efficiency, and broader bandwidth of the light-receiving element.

Next year, on January 7, Panasonic will expose the samples at CES 2008 in Las Vegas.

Panasonic releases the three lightest-weight notebooks in the world, included in the Toughbook series.
Toughbook W7, Toughbook T7 and Toughbook Y7 are also included in the business-rugged category described as the “smart choice for busy professionals”.
With a magnesium allow housing, Wide Area Wireless-ready capabilities and up to 10 hours of battery life, the three models become the most useful devices for busy business men that travel a lot and need a secure and reliable notebook companion.




The Toughbook W7 runs on an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor ULV U7500 processor with 1.06 GHz, has a memory of 1 GB DDR2, expandable to 2 GB, a shock-mounted HDD storage of 80GB, a DVD Super Multi optical drive, wireless LAN (Wi-Fi Link 4965AG 802.11a/b/g), and the Windows Vista Business operating system that can be downgraded to XP.


The display measures 12.1 inches and is a TFT active matrix color LCD with anti-glare and resolution of 1024x768. The W7 is also equipped with TPM Security Chip v1.2, an optional Mini Dock Box Replicator, and for connectivity it supports WWAN, WLAN, and Bluetooth technologies. Another optional feature is the integrated WWAN / mobile broadband (EV-DO or HSDPA).
The model weights just 3.0 lbs and has a battery life of up to 7 hours.



Next comes the Toughbook T7 which has the same screen size as the W7, and the differences consist in the integration of the Display Image Rotation software, an ergonomic hand strap shown in the picture, a battery life of up to 9 hours and the weight, which here is of 3.3 lbs.
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The Toughbook Y7 has another type of processor, an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor L7500 with 1.6 GHz, and a larger display of 14.1 inches TFT active matrix color LCD type with anti-glare and a resolution of 1400x1050 pixels. The battery life here is of up to 5 hours and the notebook’s weight is of 3.7 lbs.



Al three models are relatively-expensive.
The ultraportable mobile broadband-ready Panasonic Toughbook W7 and the tablet-alternative, T7, designed with input from “walking workers” such as nurses and home care professionals, can be found at a price of about $2,099 in December.
The world’s lightest laptop, Toughbook Y7, is already available at a price of $2,449.

The first thing you’ll notice when you pick up Panasonic’s new Toughbook CF-W5 will likely be its matte-silver finish, super-light weight, and pop-up optical drive. You won’t, however, need to pay much attention to the battery meter, since this system lasts a staggering eight hours on a charge.

Throw in a durable design and an optional Verizon Wireless EV-DO card for anytime, anywhere connectivity and you have a pricey but highly recommended ultraportable.

Without the mobile broadband option, the Panasonic CF-W5 sports a lower base price tag of $1,899 but is a little heavier at 3.1 pounds versus 2.8 pounds. That’s because the wireless WAN antenna is built right into the lid. With a thickness of 1.8 inches, the Toughbook CF-W5 has a higher profile than most other ultraportables.

This extra girth is put to good use, however, providing super-rigid support for the W5’s 12.1-inch display. Other business-rugged features include a full magnesium-alloy case designed to withstand a one-foot drop and a shock-mounted hard drive that’s rated for a fall of 30 inches.

Via laptopmag.

Panasonic announced updated Toughbook eLite notebook PC line, which now features various laptop chassis colors for W5 and Y5 PC series. Toughbook eLite W5 and Y5 offer magnesium alloy cases and shock mounted hard drives. The Y5 also includes a water resistant, “spill through” keyboard.

The ultraportable Toughbook eLite W5, featuring 12.1-inch anti-glare display, is now available for purchase in Steel Gray, Merlot, Galaxy Black, Glacier White, Blueprint, Rosehip and the new Crown Blue colors. The eLite W5 has an 8-hour battery life, and weights 2.7 pounds, the press release says.

Toughbook eLite W5 is powered by Intel Core Solo U1400 ultra-low voltage (ULV) processor at 1.2GHz, 512MB of DDR2 main memory, which is expandable up to 1536MB, and has an integrated Intel 945GMS graphics card with maximal 128MB of shared memory, 60GB hard drive and a combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW).

Toughbook W5 features Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG and optional integrated EVDO and HSPDA connections, as same as LAN and a 56K modem. It provides external video VGA out, two USB ports, a PCMCIA card and a Secure Digital Card.

The thin-and-light 14.1-inch screen eLite Y5 Toughbook will be available next month in six colors, including Steel Gray, Galaxy Black, Skylight Blue, Firehouse Red, Deepsea, and Bronze Brown. The Y5 weighs 3.4 pounds and is claimed to has up to 6-hours of battery life.

The eLite Y5 incorporates Intel Core Duo processor, 512MB up to 1536MB of memory, 945GMS integrated video controller and a standard wireless card, along with optional EVDO, HSPDA and Bluetooth. It also has built-in LAN and a 56K modem, as same as two USB ports, PCMCIA card slot, Secure Digital Card slot and a VGA out.

Panasonic Toughbook eLite W5 will be available this month and will have starting price of $2,400. The Y5 model is scheduled to ship in December with $2,570 price tag.

Via laptoping.