Laptops Arena

One laptop manufacture that we haven’t discussed about lately is Panasonic. Just like LG, we know about Panasonic performance in terms of home electronics like TV or VCR. Not many of you have heard of Panasonic laptops so here is one review that can help you get an idea what their computers are all about.

The Panasonic Toughbook W2 is one model that has been on the market for many years now. A couple of years ago, they started producing the eLite series which is about the same model as before only there have been some changes in the design part mostly. This laptop is very strong and durable, I’ll tell you that. The case is made entirely of magnesium alloy which is pretty reassuring if you accidentally drop this laptop on the floor.  The specs are very disappointing compared to the laptops of today. The processor is an Intel Pentium M ULV 713 and you only have 256 MB of RAM. The saddest part is that you can only upgrade to a maximum of 768 MB. It’s going to be difficult for us to start using this laptop since we are used to at least 2 GB of RAM on average laptop models. As for the graphics card, you have the Intel 855GM integrated video controller plus some 40 GB of free disk space. Except for this laptop being very old, size is another thing that may explain the low specs. This laptop weights only 2.8 pounds and it has a 12.1 inch display.



As far as design goes, this laptop is good looking. The lid comes in several colors, just like Dell always has the Inspiron line available in 8 different lid color choices. The magnesium alloys are usually found in lids to keep the LCD panel protected, but they are not usually found in the entire body like we see in the case of the Toughbook W2. The 12.1" display has a  1024x768 pixel resolution. Panasonic has chosen a display that can handle light pretty well and this anti-glare system makes this laptop easy to use outside. It also has 20 brightness levels, a lot more than any of us expected to find. The difference between two levels is quite unnoticeable so you have to change about 3-4 levels to see any difference. The horizontal viewing angles are good so if you want to gather some colleagues around and show them any documents, you won’t have any troubles. The W2 comes with Intel's ULV (ultra low voltage) Pentium Mobile 1.1 GHz processor. As far as performance goes, this system should handle office plus productivity tasks pretty well, but the included RAM seems to be getting in the way. This laptop only comes with 256 MB of RAM and 1 open slot for expansion.



The keyboard is nice and there is no flex in any of the delicate parts. The touchpad looks really funny and I bet you never used a touchpad like this one before. The round shape may be a bit uncomfortable if you are used to the rectangular shape of most touchpads. The left and right mouse buttons are easy to click but how you use the vertical scrolling function of this laptop has got me puzzled. The number of ports and connections is pretty small if you ask me. There are only 2 USB ports, one VGA out, an Ethernet jack, a modem port, a PCMCIA slot, one Secure Digital card, the stereo jack for headphones or speakers and the microphone in jack. The battery will last about 2 hours and 30 minutes which I believe to be a short time for an ultraportable. Battery life is very important if you are going to buy a laptop that you have to carry around with you everywhere you go and you may not always have a power outlet around you. Compared to today’s ultra portables that have batteries that can last up to 7 hours on a full charge, it’s fair to say that the Panasonic Toughbook W2 is somewhat of a baby.



The speakers represent another chapter with some issues. The quality… well, there is no quality. The sound coming out of the speakers is awful. You can barely hear the music especially since there is no bass. A possible solution to this problem is buying a good set of headphones or maybe attaching some external speakers. There similarly sized and prices laptops that offer much better sound quality. Of course, their release date is also closer to 2009. Considering the fact that this laptop only has 1 speaker, we can understand why things sound so terrible. One really special thing about this laptop is the location of the optical drive. It is probably the most unique place where an optical drive can be found so I have to give a big round of applause for the Panasonic originality.  The lid of the CD burner and DVD ROM drive pops out from under your left palm rest area. There is a special dedicated switch on the left side of the laptop that triggers the lid. Basically, it’s somehow located under the touchpad so it will also pop up together with the whole lid.



We have to admit that this Panasonic laptop is a very good choice for clumsy people because it is very resistant to different types of shocks. That does not mean you don’t have to care of it anymore because nothing lasts forever. It lacks a lot of features that can be found on the modern day laptop but for that period when it was launched about 4 or 5 years ago, it was certainly one of the best laptop choices. We don’t recommend this laptop for purchase. This article has been written merely to give you an idea about what Panasonic laptops are all about. The magnesium alloy case and the unique positioning of the optical drive are definitely 2 arguments in favor of this laptop but I can give you a dozen more choices which are better for people that are looking for a business travel laptop.