Panasonic Toughbook 52 Notebook Preview

Panasonic's Intel Santa Rosa-based Toughbook 52 is engineered to withstand the risks of mobility and all the Panasonic Toughbook notebook computers are 3G wireless-ready

The Panasonic Toughbook 52 is the semi-rugged, wireless-ready desktop replacement notebook. Built on the new Santa Rosa chipset from Intel, the Toughbook 52 offers all the processing power of a desktop replacement notebook in a form factor engineered from the ground up for mobility.

This new widescreen semi-rugged Toughbook comes equipped with additional security features, a new carrying handle and optional embedded access to next-generation wireless data networks from major wireless carriers. In addition, the MIL-SPEC-certified notebook incorporates the durable design features—such as magnesium alloy cases, flexible internal connectors and shock-mounted hard drives and LCDs.

Panasonic's Reliable Mobility and Wireless Connectivity

The Toughbook 52 is constructed of magnesium alloy and includes a shock-mounted screen and easily removable hard drive for extra physical data security. With battery life of approximately 4-6 hours, depending on use environment, the semi-rugged Toughbook is certified to the MIL-STD-810F standard, tested to withstand drops of up to 2.5 feet on all six sides. The hard drive itself is tested to withstand a drop of 3 feet. The Toughbook 52 also includes a spill-resistant keyboard.

All Panasonic Toughbook notebooks incorporate a wireless-ready design that allows customers to initially purchase, or later upgrade to, embedded access to next-generation data networks, including UMTS/HSDPA-based solutions from Cingular Wireless and the EV-DO Rev.

A networks of Sprint or Verizon. The Toughbook 52 will initially ship with optional embedded access to the EV-DO Rev. A. mobile broadband network of Verizon Wireless. Integrated WLAN and Bluetooth also ensure that users stay connected, wherever their work takes them.

Panasonic Toughbook 52 Enhanced Security Features

To safeguard valuable data and enable you to comply with increasing data security regulations, the new Toughbook 52 is equipped with the Trusted Platform Module security chip, the Computrace software agent in BIOS and an optional fingerprint scanner and SmartCard reader.

Warranty, Support and Professional Services

Every Panasonic Toughbook is sold with a standard three-year limited warranty which includes around-the-clock U.S.-based phone support for the entire life of the product. Panasonic provides customers an average call center hold time of less than one minute. In addition, in the unlikely event of a hardware-related failure, Panasonic covers the cost of overnight shipping to and from its national service center, where the average turnaround time for repairs is less than two days. Panasonic also offers a full range of professional services, including image management, asset management and online service analysis, to support enterprise customers before, during and after deployment.

Pricing and Availability

The wireless-ready semi-rugged Toughbook 52 is available in two configurations, standard (estimated price of $1,699) or optimized for improved video and Vista-performance, including a faster CPU, 512MB dedicated VRAM and a larger 120GB hard drive (estimated price of $2,499).