Panasonic introduced the rugged Toughbook H2 tablet PC

Panasonic has reportedly launched today its second generation Toughbook CF-H2 tablet PC. The fully-rugged product lacks a physical keyboard and is targeted towards field workers.

The Toughbook CF-H2 is supposedly IP65 and MIL-STD-810G compliant, meaning it is capable of operating in extreme temperatures and withstanding multiple free drops to concrete. In addition, it is fully protected against vibration, as well as dust and water ingress.

Panasonic’s Toughbook H1 was unveiled last year but its Atom chip really lacked in processing power. Apparently, the improved second generation H2 model will pack an ultra-low voltage (ULV) Intel Core i5-2557M CPU with a clock frequency of 1.7GHz. This energy efficient processor has two cores (four threads), 17W max TDP and supports Intel’s vPro Technology. Furthermore, the device uses a 10.1-inch touch-screen enabled 6000-nit display with Panasonic Transflective Plus technology and an active digitizer.

Graphics are taken care of by the integrated Intel HD 3000 video controller that utilizes dynamically allocated shared VRAM. Moreover, this tablet PC houses 4GB of internal DDR3 memory and a removable 320GB shock-mounted mechanical hard drive (HDD) that rotates at 7200RPM. An optional 128GB SSD is also available.

Connectivity features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and optional Gobi 3G/4G adapters. Customers can also take advantage of the built-in serial sockets, one full-sized USB 2.0 port (there is room for another one if you don’t need an Ethernet jack) and a 2MP web camera for video chats.

The manufacturer claims that the Toughbook H2 will ship pre-loaded with a copy of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system. Additionally, the tablet PC has a starting weight of 1.58kg, offers 6.5 hours of battery life and supports twin batteries. 

Users can purchase the device with an optional GPS module, a barcode or RFID reader, a fingerprint reader for enhanced security and a SmartCard reader.

The second generation fully-rugged Toughbook H2 is priced at US $3,449.

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