Panasonic Toughbook CF-F8 - Tough Love
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Tough Workout
Tough Workout
Departing from the usual silver shell that the Toughbook series is known for, the CF-F8 shows off a new black exterior made of magnesium alloy that allows it to withstand a force of up to 100kg or more. Strangely though, despite the magnesium alloy casing, the notebook felt like a giant plastic toy, though we did get used to it after a while. The hard disk too comes with shock protection and Panasonic says that the unit can be dropped from a height of around 76cm without getting damaged. We did test this out and found the unit to be working fine - even while it's turned on!
The other interesting feature about the CF-F8 is of course the pullout handle that the unit comes with. It was not only comfortable to hold for long periods of time, the handle also stood up to some of our quick "stress" tests where we swung the notebook around just holding the handle or when we opened and closed the handle continuously for quite a bit of time.
Strangely enough, the latter test is actually quite addictive and we found ourselves opening and closing the handle unconsciously after our tests. If you thought bubble wrap was awesome - well, you haven't met the CF-F8's handle. However, something that quite irked us was that we couldn't just easily open the cover unless we pulled out the handle first. Minor irritant, yes, but not really one that we'll kick up a big fuss over.
Audio quality isn't something the unit is good at, and while the speakers can be quite loud at full volume, clarity isn't something the unit is good at, but chances are you won't need the speakers much. Keyboard layout could have been better - the right shift isn't ideally placed like the CF-T7/8 models, but then again, we felt quite comfortable typing on the unit so no worries on that score. Like all business-rugged Toughbooks, the CF-F8 keyboard has a waterproof keyboard (up to 200ml) for those with a penchant for placing their electronic devices near liquids (and knocking them over, of course).
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