Panasonic Intros New Toughbook Field Tablet with Intel Sandy Bridge CPU

Panasonic has just updated its product portfolio to include its second-generation fully rugged tablet PC for field use, the CF-H2, which is said to deliver up to four times better performance than its predecessors thanks to the addition of Intel's second-generation Core processors.

The tablet is built around a 10.1-inch display with Panasonic Transflective Plus technology, which helps to reduce power consumption and to enhance battery life as no backlight is required in bright environments.

This results in a massive enhancement of up to 6,000nit equivalent of transflective brightness under a 200K lx environment, while the CF-H2 also incorporates a circular polarizer to reduce reflection.

At the heart of the tablet stands an Intel Core i5-2557M ultra-low voltage processor, with a base clock of 1.7GHz, support for the vPro technology and an integrated HD 3000 GPU, that is paired with 2GB of system memory.

Users can upgrade the tablet to feature up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, while storage can be provided by the standard 160GB HDD or by an optional 128GB solid state drive.

Connectivity options include WiFi and Bluetooth as well as USB 2.0, LAN and serial port connectors, but Panasonic also offers optional GPS and 3G modules (the 3G module is an Ericsson F5521gw HSPA+ adapter).

Fully configured, including the twin high-capacity, hot swappable, batteries that can deliver up to 6.5 hours of autonomy, the CF-H2 field table weights approximately 1.58kg.

The list of optionals also includes a barcode reader, a 2.0 megapixel camera with one high brightness LED light, a second USB 2.0 port, a contactless smartcard/RFID reader, and a fingerprint reader.

“This next generation Toughbook CF-H2 is the ultimate rugged tablet for the field workforce,” said Stephen Yeo, Panasonic Toughbook European marketing director.

“Listening closely to our existing customers, we have built a second generation device that is more powerful, easier to use and with more functionality than comparable devices on the market whilst maintaining all the reliability of the Toughbook brand,” concluded the company's rep.

Alongside the CF-H2 Field model, Panasonic will also introduce the CF-H2 Health model, with full details to be announced shortly.

The Panasonic CF-H2 tablet range will become available later in July 2011, starting at a recommended price of €2119 (excluding VAT).