Event Coverage

From Tokyo with Love - Panasonic's Toughbook Refresh

By Aloysius Low - 26 Sep 2008

Toughbooks Gets Tougher with New Addition

Toughbooks Gets Tougher with New Addition

Staying cool and monkey-proof was Panasonic's global launch of their latest refresh of their Toughbook line though this time around, no monkeys were involved (though hot babes were spotted). The launch saw the R, T, W, Y series of ToughBooks enhanced with the latest Intel Centrino 2 technology and also the birth of the newest addition to the family: the Toughbook CF-F8. This new notebook will lead the series' hardware refresh with a new take on the rugged business notebook model with a built-in handle and a wide 14.1-inch WXGA screen.

Apart from the Toughbooks, the Panasonic higher-ups also spoke to the audience on their design philosophy of listening to their consumers which resulted in the above mentioned CF-F8's handle. They also spoke about their focus on designing a notebook based on survey results conducted by IDC Japan which highlighted that consumers in Japan were interested in lightweight notebooks that also have a long battery life .

 Speaking to an audience of 200 from around the world was Mr Toshiyuki Takagi, Director of IT Products Division and Panasonic AVC Networks Company, who highlighted Panasonic's lead in the Japanese market for 3 consecutive years while also highlighting their commitment to the overseas market (i.e. the rest of the world) to sell even more notebooks by 2012.

 Mr Rance Poehler, President, Panasonic Computer Solutions (US) holding up what looks like the new CF-F8 model but is actually a Toughbook Field Mobile CF-52 (the only model that's made in Taiwan).

 The conductor introduces the new line up with a maniacal flourish of his wand.

 Besides the introduction of the CF-F8, the launch also showed off the refreshed CF-Y8 and CF-W8 models. Alas, the CF-Y8 series is only available in Japan.

 The CF-T8 and CF-R8 Toughbooks that were also similarly refreshed but like the CF-Y8, the CF-R8 is only available in Japan.

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