ToughbookU1
Latest
Panasonic's Toughbook U1 monitors vitals of Chilean miners during rescue
The astounding Chilean miner rescue is still ongoing, and it seems to be progressing rather swimmingly. We're chalking it up to having entirely too long to plan, a rock-solid capsule and a Panasonic Toughbook U1. You heard right -- Panny's tough-as-nails UMPC is reportedly being attached to each miner as they are pulled up in order to monitor exact location and vitals. Dollars to donuts there's a ported version of Angry Birds on there to keep 'em entertained on the ride up, too. [Thanks, Xavier]
Panasonic Toughbook U1 gets new sunlight-viewable screen, still solid to its Atom core
Remember Panasonic's Toughbook CF-U1? Yeah, so it's been a while (2008, in fact) since it was unveiled and then reviewed, which is exactly why Panny thought the time had come to update the rugged UMPC. Its Toughbook U1 has the same magnesium alloy chassis -- we're told it's still the most rugged Toughbook of them all -- but has been updated with "enhanced sunlight viewability." It's no PixelQi display, but the TransflectivePlus screen can be cranked up to 6000 nits for checking e-mails and other pertinent information in the bright light of day. Internally, the U1 has acquired a newer 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a larger 64GB SSD with Windows 7. The optional two megapixel front-facing camera has also been tweaked with better auto-focus and white balance features. However, the updates aren't just hardware-based: screen icons have been enlarged, and there's a new virtual right click button and larger virtual keyboard with a zoom mode. Of course, military grade doesn't come cheap -- the street price has been set at whopping $2,799. That still makes it one of the most expensive Atom device out there, but then again can you really put a price on something that's Rammer-resistant? We didn't think so.
Panasonic proves its Toughbook U1 is Rammer-resistant
It must be getting pretty difficult at this point for Panasonic to come up with new ways to show just how tough its Toughbook line of devices are, but it looks like the company's still got a few surprises in it, as evidenced by a new video that pits its Toughbook CF-U1 handheld against a Rammer. As you can probably guess, the Toughbook pictured above manages to pass the test easily, but there's also another surprise in store at the end -- head on past the break to see for yourself. Of course, Panasonic didn't let an opportunity for a bit of cross-promotion slip by -- it also shot the video on a Panasonic GH1.
