Panasonic launches four new Toughbooks
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Sep 27th 2007 10:32AM
posted Sep 27th 2007 10:32AM
[Via Impress]
- W7: 12.1-inch XGA display, Core 2 Duo 1.06GHz U7500 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive, 802.11a/b/g, ¥250,000 ($2,169), available November 16th
- T7 (pictured): 12.1-inch XGA display, Core 2 Duo 1.06GHz U7500 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive, 802.11a/b/g, ¥220,000 ($1,909), available October 19th
- R7: 10.4-inch XGA display, Core 2 Duo 1.06GHz U7500 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive, 802.11a/b/g, ¥205,000 ($1,779), available October 19th
- R7 Premium Edition: 10.4-inch XGA display, Core 2 Duo 1.2GHz U7600 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive, 802.11a/b/g, 205,000, available October 26th
- Y7: 14.1-inch SXGA+ display, Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz L7500, 1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive, 802.11a/b/g, ¥270,000 ($2,343), available October 19th
the round touch pad is funny looking, but convenient. Most people only use the center of the touchpad anyway (this claim verified by my own research of over 150 laptops at my office which all have glossed touchpads in a round shape in the center. Interesting choice, Panasonic.
Panasonic's touch pad has been round for 5-6 years now.
The idea is that you can move your finger tip in circular motion along the edge of the round touch pad for vertical/horizontal scroll.
Very useful, and I've been a big fan for the past 5 years.
the current ones won't keep working after a 30cm drop? the new ones after 76? wha? I was under the impression that ToughBooks could survive a lot more than that. You know, bullets, submersion in a creek, kryptonite.
Sounds like you still have to baby it almost as much as a regular laptop! Give me MILITARY GRADE! Woo!
My local Verizon Fios tech told me he saw one toughbook survive falling off the roof of a verizon truck when the tech left it there and drove off. When he later couldn't find it, he retraced his steps and found it on the road. Worked fine. In another incident he related an entire cup of coffee spilling on it and continuing to work fine.
The ones they have look a lot bigger and heavier than these new units, and include built-in ev-do radios.
Why is it that every time a new toughbook comes out it looks less...tough?
I remember back in the day if you wanted a toughbook you had to sacrifice some specs for that half inch thick iron plate over the whole thing, Now it seems more like a powerhouse with an aluminum coating :/
Yes i realize im exaggerating
These Toughbooks are not direct descendants of the armored Toughbooks that we know in the US. Rather, these are the regular laptops that have been evolving tougher and tougher in order to withstand hazards in white collar work environment.
Although not nearly as tough as the traditional Toughbooks, Panasonic decided to brand it so, partly because "Let's note" would be peculiar here.
It depends on which toughbooks you look at:
Business rugged (the posted ones, for normal (ab)use)
Semi rugged (somewhat mure rugged)
Fully rugged (dust-proof with sealed ports/connectors and very robust case)
I'd like to know weight and battery time for the R7
I know someone who spilled a drink on her laptop and fried it. I imagine those irrigation drains come in handy when dealing with the clumsy.
okay, its in the link
R7 has 7.5h battery time and is 229×187×29.4~42.5mm
I had one of these when I worked for a hydroelectric utility. Piece of junk.
Slow, prone to crashing, not as hardy as my Toshiba. Battery life was the only thing noteworthy. Of course, if you don't mind the already slow CPU running at 1/3rd capacity and the screen so dark you can barely read it, you can get a whole working day out of this unit.
I had a W2, btw.
many things have been changed. Starting from 5 series Panasonic gets very good TFT. The number technological features which Let's notes series has keeps far away any other notebook. It is kidding to compare Panasonic and Toshiba. I would say Thinkpad T60/T61 has a chance to be Let's note like durable, nothing else.
PS: Toshiba is outdated shit. Sorry, I don't know even a model which can attract customers.
Please, get a newer one. I have a T5 and I LOVE it. It's light and powerful, and... never mind (I actually did manage to break it from a small drop; the screen cost upwards of $1000 to fix- WTF?). But all the same, I wouldn't get any other laptop- 8-hour battery life (half-brightness and with iTunes running) is hard to find.
Can't wait till Dynamism gets the Japanese versions with twice the HDD capacities!
Why don't you guys every include the weight in your rundown of the specs? I would think for laptops this would be one on of the more important details.
Not to mention battery life. That's what I've always found impressive about Panasonic's business laptops. That R7 is definitely impressive...