Panasonic is having a revamp of its entire range of Toughbooks and after updating the rugged Toughbook CF-19 it's now the turn of the semi-rugged business notebooks in the CF range to get extra battery life – up to 21 hours – and better management and connectivity.
Semi-rugged gets an upgrade
The new upgraded Toughbook CF-53, semi-rugged notebook aimed at tradespeople and business users who need a device that just doesn't break, gets a new 3rd generation Intel Core technology update which improves the CPU and graphic performance and a gets a one-hour extended battery life.
Ideal for light field working duties and business road warriors, the Toughbook CF-53 is the notebook for desktop-like performance with all day battery life and has the ability to take knocks and spills that leave conventional business notebooks for dead.
The Toughbook CF-53 gets an Intel Core i5-3320M vPro processor with Intel HD 4000 graphics, better low-voltage DDR3L RAM, and hard drive capacity raised from 320GB to 500GB with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB SSD options available.
All of these tweaks and changes extend battery life of the Toughbook CF-53 by an hour to 11 hours without a recharge, which can be supplemented with the optional high capacity "road warrior" 9 cell / 87Wh battery which gives "all day" working without recharge.
Panasonic has also added dedicated GPS and RFID options to the latest model for workers who use advanced mapping services and who need advanced security via contactless smartcards and pin.
While the CF-53, is described as semi-rugged it still meets the CF-53 meets military standard criteria, meaning it can withstand drops of 76cm, vibration and even freezing temperature with optional heater-equipped HDD.
The new CF-31 gets faster graphics and better performance
Specifically designed for field-based professionals who need advanced graphic performance or access to mapping applications, the new Toughbook CF-31 Performance Model gets a Intel Core i5-3360M vPro processor with AMD Radeon HD 7750M switchable graphics, the top of the range performance model can switch between enhanced and integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics performance to save power when on the move.
As well as the new CPU, the CF-31 is also equipped with a low voltage DDR3L RAM module, using less power for more efficiency and a longer battery life. Hard Disk Drive capacity has been raised from 320GB to 500GB with 128GB or 256GB SSD options available.
Enough power to work almost 24 hours
Battery life of the Toughbook CF-31 has been extended by an hour, allowing mobile workers to work for up to 14.5 hours without a recharge. In addition, the CF-31 allows for an optional secondary battery pack to be attached via the multimedia bay in the Standard Model. This addition allows users to hot swap the main battery, ensuring the unit can be operated around the clock by revolving the batteries or simply extending the battery life of the unit by up to 6.5 hours to a total of 21 hours.
Additionally the displays have been upgraded to make viewing the device in bright sunlight a lot easier, and disk capacity has been upgraded from 320Gb to 500Gb, there's even a heater for the hard drive so the CF-31 can operate in even the harshest conditions.
For security purposes, the CF-31 also comes with an enhanced Concealed Mode for use in mission critical environments. Using this feature, the Toughbook can go into "concealed mode" at the touch of a button by disabling the fan, backlight, status LED's, speakers and communication (3G, W-LAN, Bluetooth) as specified.
Both Toughbooks also get the latest Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Ready technology, SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports, enabling data transfer rates up to 10 times faster than Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and an optional 3G wireless connection through the Ericsson F5521gw HSPA+ (DL: 21 Mbps) module.
Both ranges are available now - July 2012 – with the CF-53 range starting at €1.544 MSRP (£1,244), while the CF-31 range retails at an eye-watering €3.699 MSRP (£2,980).
