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New Toughbooks from Panasonic

New Toughbooks from Panasonic

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
Dan Ackerman
Laptops are great on the road, until one goes spilling out of your carry-on bag at the airport screening station or gets banged around at a construction site. That's why Panasonic's Toughbook line of rugged notebooks has been the longtime popular choice for road warriors who treat their laptops like they're actually in a war.

Panasonic has added three new business-rugged systems to its lineup as of Tuesday morning: the ultraportable CF-W5, the tablet-alternative CF-T5, and the thin-and-light desktop-replacement CF-Y5.

Not as tank-like as the more industrial models, the business-rugged Toughbooks can survive a one-foot drop, while the hard drives are rated to survive a fall of 30 inches.

The $1,899 ultraportable CF-W5 weighs 3.1 pounds and has a 12.1-inch screen, along with an ultra-low-voltage Intel Core Solo processor and approximately eight hours of battery life.

The tablet-like CF-T5 is also $1,899 and has a 12.1-inch touch-screen LCD and an ergonomic hand strap for lugging it around. It weighs in at 3.5 pounds and promises a whopping 10 hours of battery life, thanks in part to the low-power Intel Core Solo CPU.

Lastly, the $2,100 CF-Y5 bumps all of the specs up a notch, with a 14.1-inch display and a faster Intel Core Duo L2400 CPU. At 3.7 pounds, it's being marketed as a lightweight desktop alternative.

If you're in the market for a laptop that can survive the odd spill, fall, or butterfingers moment, look for the CF-W5 and the CF-T5 in October and the CF-Y5 in December.