Last month, Panasonic introduces the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1, a 7″ rugged Windows 8.1 Pro Tablet running on Intel Core i5 vPro processor. It is drop/shock resistant of height up to 150cm and has a rating of IP65 for water and dust resistant thanks to its fanless design.

The base model will start from S$2,600 in March 2014 and it can be customised to fit a range of accessories such as mini serial port, ethernet port, 2D barcode reader, GPS and NFC through its configuration port.

The FZ-M1 is priced so high because it is not meant for the average consumers like you and me. It is meant more for SME and enterprises. Another reason is that the FZ-M1 is Made in Japan.

There are still quite a lot of companies still using a rugged mobile phone running on Windows Mobile 6.5 like the Motorola MC75A for their business purposes. The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 could be a successor to that.

Specifications

  • Processor: Intel Core i5-4302Y vPro Processor (3 MB cache, 1.6GHz up to 2.30 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology)
  • RAM: 4GB or 8GB on board
  • Graphics: Intel HD 4200 graphics
  • Storage: 128GB or 256GB Flash Drive
  • Display: 7″ WXGA(1280×800), Aspect ratio 16:10, Anti-Reflection, Capacitive 10-finger multi-touchscreen
  • Wireless: IEEE802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260, Bluetooth 4.0
  • Camera: Front: 1920 x 1080, 30fps, Back: 2592 x 1944, 15fps
  • Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Digital compass, Gyro sensor, Acceleration sensor
  • Sound: Monaural speaker, Internal mic for Webcam
  • Ports: micro SDXC slot, 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x Headset , 1x Docking port (Dedicated 24-pin)
  • Interface Option: mini Serial Port, Ethernet, Barcord reader, Dual external antenna, GPS, Smartcard reader Magstripe reader, NFC, UHF RFID
  • Batter: Up to 8 hours battery life with user replaceable battery
  • OS: Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit
  • Dimensions: 203mm x 132mm x 18mm
  • Weight: 540g
  • 3 year standard warranty
Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1
Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1