Panasonic to launch 'tough' laptop PCs

Thursday 22nd January, 05:41 AM JST

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15 Comments

saborichan at 09:10 AM JST - 22nd January

Kekeke.

Who buys a laptop for its fall resistance, anyway?
wanderlust at 09:48 AM JST - 22nd January

They have been trying for years to sell these, but no-one is generally interested in their low spec. A Pelican case is a better investment.
solarbuster at 10:37 AM JST - 22nd January

Never dropped a PC yet, but have thrown one. So yes Notginger has the right idea. I have never seen any one using a Panasonic Laptop so Wanderlust could be right there to. I have seen few damaged by being sat on accidently after people have placed them open on a chair or bed. Drop proofing them for 90cm will be of little help to those packing them in booked in luggage at airports though were baggage flies 2 or 3 meters by for hitting the concrete so this is just another bunch of specs Panasonic needs to beef up.
mojibake at 10:46 AM JST - 22nd January

Oh, I dunno, most of the cops back home seem to use the ToughBooks...
justmeinto at 11:16 AM JST - 22nd January

I once saw a junior trader throw his laptop out the 8th floor window aimed perfectly at the head traders Porsche, (bonus dissatisfaction), laptop didn't survive, Porsche did, junior was shown the door. Perhaps if he'd had a Panasonic it would have been two out of three.
Xinef at 11:23 AM JST - 22nd January

These are not computers for just anyone, there are for people who work outdoor, with a high risk of damaging the machine. Here is a picture so you get the right idea: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/10/panasonic-toughbook-cf-30.jpg Yet, as wanderlust said, not many people are ready to pay $4,200 for a machine with specs rather similar to an eeePC which is a tenth of this price...
electric2004 at 12:50 PM JST - 22nd January

Such computer is helpful if you have small children, who like to grab everything from the desk. Yes, my little baby daughter already did this to my apple notebook. Luckily, no damage.
ThreeTigers at 01:38 PM JST - 22nd January

Oh come on, there is no debate here... the "tough" book is made for "tough" guys. lol.
motytrah at 06:55 AM JST - 23rd January

Tough book is popular in certain circles. Their competition is usually US and European defense contractors. I think half of the quality comes from the fact they are still made by hand in Japan. No dodgy third-world factories involved, a lot of pride and quality.
Asara at 08:43 AM JST - 23rd January

Most modern laptops survive some drops. Last week twice my HP lapy got thrown to the floor kind of hardly when I hit the break too sudden. It was in a protective bag and on the floor it likely landed on the newspapers. And now I am typing from it and running computational software in one core 100%.
cnc at 12:41 PM JST - 23rd January

Advice to everyone: One has to handle laptops like how one handles a refrigerator during moving. after all that shaking and moving one is advised not to plug in a refrigerator immediately because the refrigerant may leak. Same with most laptops, All hard drives have moving parts, so after dropping one it is advisable to let it sit for an hour before turning it on. I use a P4 Ibm thinkpad and have been carrying it around for more than 5 years now and in between I have dropped it, bumped it I dont know how many times but , its original 20gb HDD is working just fine.
electric2004 at 11:10 PM JST - 23rd January

If you are lucky, some (Apple?) notebook (but not yet mine) might have a fall detector that secures the Hard disk head before the notebook crashes on the ground.
nanotechnology at 01:55 PM JST - 31st January

I saw the previous models of this TOUGH LAPTOPS in AKIHABARA. The prices are tough, really astronomically TOUGH (astronomically high) too.

This is not intended for personal use I think. You can already buy 3 to 4 DELL Inspiron or even STUDIO model for a price of one TOUGH LAPTOP.

I think, the military, oil rigs, police and the Telco/CATV field workers should use this one and are actually the intended customers for this TOUGH LAPTOP.

The usual equipment industry standards for any gadgets or products is a guaranteed 50-cm drop protection. The TOUGH laptop, at 90-cm guaranteed height, really surpass the industry standards but ..... if it drop on your precious foot or toes, for sure it will surpass the MEDICAL standards for injuries too.