Panasonic Thoughbook Series Refreshed

Panasonic has refreshed its Thoughbook rugged laptop PC series with four new models featuring the Intel “Santa Rosa” notebook platform and enhanced protection from drops and spills. The new laptops are the CF-T7, CF-W7, CF-Y7, and the CF-R7 (for the Japanese market only).

“The new 7-series machines, aimed at corporate users, are beefier than the current 5-series machines and can survive a fall from a greater height. The new models can be dropped from 76 centimeters — the height of an average desk — while switched on and still work, according to Panasonic. Its current Thoughbook models for the corporate PC market are rated for a 30 cm drop but only when switched off,” PC World reports.

The announced Thoughbooks also have an “irrigation system” for the keyboard which can route water away from important system components to a “drain” at the base of the computer.

The Panasonic CF-T7 has a 12.1-inch XGA screen and has no built-in optical drive, while the CF-W7, with the same display, adds a built-in DVD burner. The high-end CF-Y7 has a 14.1-inch screen and a DVD burner. The Japan-only CF-R7 has a 10.4-inch XGA display. It has no optical drive. Along with a “Santa Rosa” Intel Core 2 processor, these latops incorporate 1GB of system memory, and 80GB hard drives. All models include a 802.11 a/b/g wireless LAN. The new 802.11 draft-n variant is not supported reportedly.

The CF-T7, CF-W7, and CF-Y7, will be launched in Europe on November 27th. North American and Asian launch dates will be around the same time as those in Europe.

Panasonic Thoughbook CF-T7, CF-W7, CF-Y7, CF-R7 Specifications, Prices

* 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

Sources: 1 | 2