Panasonic has announced the Toughbook F9 thin-and-light 14.1-inch rugged laptop for business users.
The Toughbook F9 features the Intel Core i5-520M 2.4GHz processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory expandable to 6GB, a 320GB shock-mounted hard drive, and a DVD burner. Its 14.1″ anti-glare LED-backlit display has a resolution of 1440×900-pixels.
The Toughbook F9 also includes a microphone, integrated stereo speakers, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, optional WiMAX or Gobi 2000 mobile broadband technology, a modem, three USB ports, a PC card slot, optional Smart Card reader, a VGA output, and optional fingerprint reader.
Panasonic’s business-rugged notebook has a magnesium alloy case with handle and a spill-resistant keyboard designed to protect against liquid spills of “nearly 7 ounces”. The company claims the system can withstand drops of up to 30 inches to the base of the unit while operating. Furthermore, “the device also survived 26 drops (to every side, corner and face) from 12 inches to a non-yielding surface”.
The 3.6-pound laptop has a claimed battery life of 7 hours and runs Windows 7 Professional OS.
The Panasonic Toughbook F9 will be available in the United States from the beginning of July for an estimated price of $2,899 with a 3-year limited warranty.
Source
Business-rugged is actually a semi-rugged in this case.