Panasonic’s Toughbook CF-H2 (or just H2) rugged tablet PC for mobile workers is now available for US customers.
Besides a 10.1-inch 1024×768 sunlight-viewable display supporting both touchscreen and digitizer input, the Windows 7 Pro-based CF-H2 features the latest Intel Core i5-2557M vPro ultra-low voltage processor, which enabled a fan-less design of the tablet. The CPU is an upgrade from an Intel Atom used in the Toughbook H1, and is accompanied by 4GB of RAM, expandable to 8GB, and a 320GB 7,200rpm hard drive or 128GB solid state drive.
Advertised as “the industry’s most rugged handheld tablet PC”, the H2 has a magnesium alloy chassis encased with polycarbonate and meets MIL-STD-810G ruggedness standards. It can withstand 6-inch drops, as well as shocks, vibration, water, dust, sand, altitude, and extreme temperatures.
The 3.5-pound tablet has port covers, a handle on the top, and an ergonomic rubber hand strap on the back.
Another interesting feature that can not be found on other tablet PCs is a dual hot-swapable battery solution, using two 3400mAh batteries which together provide 6.5 hours of run time.
Alongside 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit LAN and Bluetooth 2.1, the ToughBook CF-H2 can be ordered with integrated Gobi 2000-branded 3G mobile broadband, while a LTE 4G option will be available this fall.
There are four tablet versions: the first is the base H2 Lite. The H2 Pro adds a 2.0MP camera on the back, and a barcode reader, while the Elite version also has these and additionally an insertable SmartCard reader, a contactless RFID and SmartCard reader, and a fingerprint reader.
The CF-H2 starts at $3,449. It comes with a 3-year warranty and can be purchased now via various retailers States-side.
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