Panasonic W5 and T5 Toughbooks to Feature Sprint’s EVDO

Panasonic announced that the business-rugged Toughbook W5 and T5 laptops will feature built-in support for Sprint Mobile Broadband services, including its upgraded EV-DO Revision A service where available. Toughbook W5 and T5 notebooks users will now have the option to access Sprint Mobile Broadband service running on the Sprint Power Vision Network in more than 220 communities and 725 airports across the US, a coverage area that encompasses more than 180 million people, Panasonic published.

With EV-DO Revision A enhancements, users can anticipate average download speeds of 450 to 800 kbps and upload speeds of 300 to 400 kbps, the press release says.

The ultraportable Panasonic Toughbook W5, has integrated DVD/CD-RW combo drive, 12.1 inch anti-glare LCD, and weight of just 3.1 pounds. The W5 also offers battery life of eight hours, according to Panasonic.

The Toughbook T5 is an ultraportable tablet alternative notebook with a 12.1 inch touch-screen display, 10 hour battery life, ergonomic hand strap, and weight of 3.5 pounds.

Both the W5 and T5 Toughbook’s broadband connection is enabled with the Wireless PCI Express Mini Card Embedded Module from Sierra Wireless.

The Panasonic Toughbook W5 and T5 with embedded Sprint Mobile Broadband will be available next month at an estimated street price of $2,250.

The business-rugged Toughbooks W5 and T5 join other 3G enabled Toughbooks, including the fully-rugged CF-29 notebook, CF-18 convertible tablet and semi-rugged CF-74, as part of Panasonic’s portfolio of mobile broadband enabled notebooks.