Panasonic may not be the top household name when it comes to Windows PCs, but they have certainly carved their niche into the market with their line of Toughbook and Toughpad products. Touted as the world's most rugged PCs, the Tough series gives military and law enforcement personal a laptop they can truly work with.
This year at CES 2014, Panasonic has announced a new Windows 8 tablet, dubbed the Toughpad FZ-M1, that is being described as "the world's thinnest and lightest fully-rugged 7 inch Windows tablet".
The unit itself features an Intel 4th generation Core i5 processor running at 1.6 Ghz and 8 GB of SDRAM. The processor within the Toughpad is fanless to help ensure the durability of the unit. To continue the "no moving parts" trend, you can either select from a 128 GB SSD or a 256 GB SSD.
Battery life on the unit is said to last up to 16 hours with the long life battery. The batteries themselves are not sealed in and are swappable, so you won't have to worry about running out of juice. Available along with the thicker 16 hour long life battery is a slightly smaller standard battery with up to 8 hours of power.
While the internals are an important aspect to comment on, when it comes to the Tough series - we want to know truly how tough these units are. The FZ-M1 is said to be easily able to withstand a 5 foot drop and thanks to its special case design, can handle dust and water in extremely difficult situations.
There is no price as of yet on the FZ-M1 tablet, but we are going to assume it isn't a unit you will be picking up unless you are currently stationed in a war zone. In the meantime, you can check out a less rugged, but probably the best Windows 8 tablet we have seen at CES 2014 thus far - the Lenovo ThinkPad 8.
For the latest news on CES 2014, stay tuned to WPCentral.
Source: Panasonic
