The first two devices showcased are the Toughpads E1 and X1. Both have very similar designs and would not break a sweat if they are dropped from as high as 10 feet. These are made to withstand almost any type of pressure and one can submerge them in 5 feet of water. However, do not keep them there for more than 30 minutes; otherwise the water will start seeping in. The major difference between the two 5-inch touch screen driven Toughpads or rather rugged phablets is that the Toughpad E1 is powered by a 2.3 GHz quad-core CPU and runs Windows 8.1 mobile operating system. While the Toughpad X1 runs Android 4.2 OS and has a 1.7 GHz CPU. Rest of the specs are same, both have an 8 MP rear camera with LED flash, 32 GB on board memory with the option to load 64 gigs with a micro-SD card and 2 GB RAM. Both also have a whooping 6,200 mAH battery, which is hot swappable. Next in line is the semi rugged Panansonic Toughbook CF-54. Yes, it does weigh 2 Kg’s, but the safety and support this laptop gives is like no other. The Toughbook runs Windows 8.1 OS with the option to downgrade to Microsoft Windows 7 Professional. This is a good thing for an organisation who is still running Windows 7 OS on most of its machines. If the organisation that buys this notebook still has most systems running on Windows 7 then they can downgrade the Toughbook to the same level.
The CF-54 can be dropped from as high as 76 CM and nothing will happen to it. The hard drive is specially packed so that jerks and vibration do not affect the working of this machine. This Toughbook has a 2.3 GHz Intel i5 CPU that can be turbo boosted to 2.9 GHz, 4 GB RAM and 500 GB hard drive. The notebook is dust and water resistant as most ports are well tucked behind lids and clips. Wi-Fi, BT and couple of USB 3.0 ports are also available. Panasonic claims the battery of this bad boy lasts for around 11 hours on a single charge. Speaking on the launch, Mr. Toru Hasegawa, Divisional Managing Director, Solutions Division, Panasonic India, said, “With the industry moving towards unification of enterprise and carrier networks, we are offering all-inclusive solutions to different market segments. The new products build on the legacy of nearly two decades of rugged devices from Panasonic to accomplish the mission of professionals in the most demanding work environments. With this launch, we are looking at increasing our presence in the Rugged IT devices segment from an existing 60% to almost 65%.” The Toughpad X1 can be picked up for Rs 1,19,000 and the Toughpad E1 can be bought for Rs 1,09,000. The Toughbook CF-54 is available for Rs 1,39,000.
