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Panasonic Toughbook 19

20 Jan


Price in U$D 4344

Price in Pak N/A

Specification

CPU 1.2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300
Operating System MS Windows Vista Business
RAM 4GB
RAM Upgradable to 4GB
Hard Drive Size 160GB
Hard Drive Speed 5,400rpm
Hard Drive Type SATA Hard Drive
Display Size 10.4
Native Resolution 1024×768
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Speed
Graphics Card Intel GMA 4500MHD
Video Memory 128MB
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n
Bluetooth Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
Mobile Broadband
Ports (excluding USB) Ethernet; Firewire; Headphone; Microphone; Modem; serial
USB Ports 2
Card Slots ExpressCard; PC Card; SD memory reader
Warranty/Support Three-year parts and labor/24/7 toll-free phone
Size 10.7 x 8.5 x 1.9 inches
Weight 5.0 pounds
Pros


  • Lightweight for a rugged notebook
  • Long battery life
  • Responsive touchscreen
  • Bright display with good viewing angles
  • Better graphics performance than other fully rugged notebooks
  • Strong wireless scores

Design

The design of the Toughbook 19 hasn’t changed since we last reviewed it more than a year ago. The silver, magnesium alloy chassis has Panasonic’s logo stamped prominently on the lid and black bumpers on the sides. (Inside, the keyboard, deck, and touch buttons are black, too; the palm rest and bezel are silver.) Because the screen is just 10.4 inches, the notebook weighs a portable 5 pounds (13- and 14-inch ruggeds run in the 7- to 8-pound range), and has a carrying handle, too. Even without the handle, the Toughbook 19 is relatively small, 10.7 x 8.5 x 1.9-inch frame made it easy to carry.

On the sides, all of the ports are sealed, making this rugged notebook dust-resistant, in addition to water- and vibration-resistant. The ports include: two USB 2.0, two external antenna connectors, serial and FireWire, external video, a port replicator, Ethernet and modem jacks, and headphone and mic. The Toughbook 19 also has a PC Card Type II slot, an ExpressCard/54 slot, and an SD Card reader. Our unit had no webcam, although a 2-MP camera with autofocus and dual LED flash is optional ($300). Annoyingly, because of the gasketing, the ports don’t fit on the sides; some key openings, including a USB port, are in the back.

Keyboard and Touchpad

In terms of the layout, the Toughbook 19’s spill-resistant keyboard looks like it was ripped from a first-generation netbook: it’s cramped, and some keys are shrunken or—worse—misplaced. We never got comfortable writing e-mails or anything else longer than a few characters; we typed gingerly so as not to hit the wrong key by mistake. Searching for the undersized tab and question mark keys slowed down typing, and the arrow keys are arranged in a frustrating L shape, with the right and left arrow keys next to each other, and the up and down keys stacked adjacent to them. For $250 you can add backlighting to the keyboard.

As wide as the palm rest is, the touchpad is still small, at 2.3 x 1.5 inches; that’s barely larger than those on netbooks, such as the Samsung N110. Although the touchpad is large enough for dragging the cursor across the screen, we though it had too much friction. To boot, the rubbery touch buttons are too small and stiff.

Display and Sound

The screen on the Toughbook 19 has a brightness level of 500 nits when you use it like a laptop, which doubles to 1,000 nits when in tablet mode. The wide range is meant to accommodate many lighting conditions, from weak natural light to lots of sun glare.

Indeed, the Toughbook 19’s display was stunning. The 10.4-inch screen is so vibrant that even our co-workers stopped by our work area to comment on its brightness. Its matte finish makes for a versatile range of viewing angles, which is precisely what mobile professionals working in the field require. The default resolution (1024 x 768) might be too fine for some viewers; we, at least, didn’t enjoy staring at it for extended periods of time.

The speaker (there’s only one), built into the lower right corner of the bezel, produces surprisingly loud audio, but it’s tinny.

Disclaimer. We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.

 
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Posted by on January 20, 2011 in Panasonic

 

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