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Hands-on with Panasonic's 10-inch Toughpad tablet

Well, Panasonic's presser here at CES just ended, and we just got done getting handsy with the company's Toughpad tablet. As we reported back in November when it was first announced, it's a 10-inch Android tablet running Honeycomb that's built to absorb abuse (as illustrated when Panasonic's Shiro Kitajima dropped one on stage today). We didn't get to spend a ton of time with the Toughpad, but we did lay our hands on it long enough to form some quick impressions.

Using the tablet is much like any other Android slate, except there are a few distinct differences. First off, its 1,024 x 768 capacitive screen sports a matte finish instead of the glossy panels found on most every other tablet. It's a decent display with excellent viewing angles, but colors are a bit washed out when compared to iPads and Galaxy Tabs. While we love that the matte screen eliminates glare, it wasn't quite as responsive to swipes as we'd like, as gestures were met with a slight, almost imperceptible delay. The tablet was also a chore to hold with one hand for more than a few minutes -- a MIL-spec slate that's light in weight just isn't in the cards. The buttons at the bottom are clear plastic and clicky, but their recessed nature and short throw aren't the most finger-friendly we've found. Now, we just need to get a Toughpad we can put though our gadget grinder and see just how much abuse it can take.



Ben Drawbaugh contributed to this report.