When gadgets tout themselves to be “rugged”, I usually assume them to be thick and heavy straight away, full of padding and other protection that keeps them safe from liquid spills and heart-stopping drops.
But while Panasonic’s new CF-LX3 toughbook still retains its ungainly exterior and rugged chops, it is notably much lighter than its predecessors. The 14-inch notebook weighed in at just 1.29 kg, a number that seemed to defy the laws of physics when I picked it up.
However, the lightest model of the CF-LX3 comes with only a 3-cell battery, which Panasonic says is good for about 7 hours. Opting for a 6-cell, 14-hour model will bump the weight up to 1.43 kg.
None of the CF-LX3’s specs are going to blow you away, though it felt zippy enough jumping around Windows 8.1 during my brief time with the device. On the other hand, the Toughbook line-up’s unique selling point was never about bleeding-edge chips.
With a matte display (1,600 x 900), drop resistance, dust resistance, shock resistance, and an ability to withstand up to 100 kgf of pressure, the CF-LX3 clearly wants to lead in machines for challenging environments where accidents are more common.
For workers in such environments, the CF-LX3’s starting price of S$2,499 may well be worth it.
In addition to the Toughbook LX3, Panasonic also showcased the new FZ-M1, a similarly rugged 7-inch Windows 8.1 tablet with a variety of swappable ports.
Other than the ability to chill out in a block of ice, the FZ-M1 also claims to be the first 7-inch fan-less tablet with a 4th generation Intel Core i5 processor, so it’s going to pack plenty of punch for small tablet.
Whether it handles heat well, however, is still up in the air until we can get our hands on one for a proper review.
There’s just one tiny problem in the form of a big sticker price: the FZ-M1 starts from a whopping S$2,600, so it’s certainly not going to be one you’ll buy just to catch up with Korean dramas on the MRT.
Panasonic, however, is confident that the FZ-M1’s tough exterior, swappable ports, and its various accessories such as hand-straps will appeal to enterprises who value such features.
