Remember the Toughbook, Panasonic’s rugged laptop that claimed to enjoy assault courses as much as spreadsheets? Well, it’s back, minus the keyboard, but with a brand new name. The Toughpad FZ-A1 isn’t Panasonic’s first attempt at a tablet (that honour belongs to the Toughbook H2), but it’s the first you might consider pulling out in a particularly rowdy Starbucks.
The 10in Toughpad A1 will arrive rocking Android 2.3 (Honeycomb) in the first half of 2012, with a smaller 7in edition set to join forces later in the year. Elsewhere, the rock solid spec sheet boasts a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 16GB SSD, 1GB RAM and 10-hour battery life, plus front (5MP) and rear (2MP) cams. Oh, and it weighs nearly a kilo (970g).
Early pricing suggests it’ll arrive for around $1165. Shocked? It’s designed for heavy-duty business use, not for checking Facebook while you wait for your latte to cool down. If you think you’re hard (and rich) enough, the Panasonic Toughpad will be (probably literally) hitting a shelf near you in spring 2012.
The Toughpad FZ-A1 looks set to include a 1.2GHZ ARM-based Marvell CPU, combined with 1GB of RAM and a storage capacity of around 16GB; though it seems likely that Panasonic would make a few variants available with differing storage capacities.
The firm also says that a 7in version of the Toughpad is planned for later in the year.
MD at Panasonic, Hiroaki Sakamato, says of the device: "Now users in business and industry can also benefit from the ease of use and portability of tablet computing. Toughpad takes all the Toughbook experience of rugged computing we have gained since 1996 and focuses it into tablets designed for the workplace."
The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-A1 may not have the charm of the Motorola Xoom 2, or the sveltey good looks of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, but one thing's for sure - it could kick both of its Android tablet rival's butts.
And that's because the A1 is a rugged, tough chump, of a tab - inspired by Panasonic's successful Toughbook laptop range.
Pocket-lint got its hands on with the beefed-up tab back in September and now the Japanese company has announced that it will be available in spring next year, along with a 7-inch little brother (the B1) at some point too.
The 10-inch version boasts a MIL-STD-810G rating, so could survive 120cm drops and comes with an IP65 ingress protection rating for resistance to dust and water. It also has an operational temperature range of minus 10 °C to 50 °C.
So if you fancy a bit of Angry Birds in the desert, or at either of the poles, or you're just a clumsy idiot - then you're in luck.
In terms of the usual tablet features, we're looking at a 10.1-inch XGA capacitive multitouch display with an anti-reflective treatment and built in ambient light sensor, a Marvell 1.2GHz dual core chip with 1GB of RAM powering Android 3.2, and 16GB of onboard storage (expandable with microSD).
It's got two cameras; a 5-megapixel one on the back, a 2-megapixel one up front, and the connectivity options are abundant too; 3G, 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, Satellite GPS, USB and HDMI.
It's not the skinniest or lightest tablet in town, understandably. It measures 266.3 x 17.0 x 212.0mm and weighs in at 970g. You'll get 10 hours life from the replaceable battery.
"Consumers have enjoyed tablet computing for a number of years now with almost no uptake in the workplace due to fundamental design limitations," said Hiroaki Sakamoto, MD, Panasonic Computer Products Europe.
"Toughpad takes all the Toughbook experience of rugged computing we have gained since 1996 and focuses it into tablets designed for the workplace."
Out in spring next year, a Wi-Fi only model will cost from €850 plus VAT, the 3G one €999 plus VAT.
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