Engadget RSS Feed

Panasonic FZ-G1 Windows 8 Pro and JT-B1 Android Toughpad tablets hands-on

Michael Gorman — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 00:44:00 -0500

Panasonic just revealed the two newest members of its Toughpad family here at CES, the FZ-G1 Windows 8 slate and the 7-inch JT-B1 Android tablet. Naturally, when the company's gave us the chance get handsy with this pair of chunky monkeys we jumped at the chance. Each of them have the telltale look of every Panasonic Toughbook and Toughpad -- a solidly constructed silver plastic shell with black rubber corners and a girth roughly twice that of its less robust gadget brethren.

We were surprised to find that the smaller of the two tablets we fondled failed to have Android 4.2 on board. Instead it was loaded up with Ice Cream Sandwich, which the slate's dual-core OMAP silicon kept humming smoothly during our brief time with it. Like its 10-inch sibling we saw last year, its matte screen mutes colors while it reduces glare. While the strap on the back is an optional accessory, we see its appeal for securing the device in hand, and fully expect it'll be a popular add-on for enterprise customers.

Gallery: Panasonic Toughpad JT-B1 Android tablet hands-on

Meanwhile, the Windows 8 slate's screen was a bit brighter and more vibrant, and its Core i5 had us swiping through the OS's tiles even more smoothly than its smaller stablemate. Build quality was, of course extremely solid, but results in a tablet with considerable heft. If you'd like to see the two Toughpads in action, a pair of videos await after the break.

Mark Hearn contributed to this article.

Gallery: Panasonic FZ-G1 Windows 8 Pro and JT-B1 Toughpad tablets hands-on

Filed under: Tablets

Comments

Panasonic launches two new Toughpads, offers a choice of Windows or Android

Daniel Cooper — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 21:55:00 -0500

Panasonic's launching a pair of Toughpads that'll take none of your nonsense -- no matter what you throw at it. The FZ-G1 is a 10-inch version that runs Windows 8 Pro, while the seven-inch JT-B1 runs Ice Cream Sandwich. Both are following in the footsteps of the Honeycomb-running A1 and B1 that arrived back in 2011. Both are ruggedized to MilSpec standard 810G and should withstand immersion in water, have daylight viewable screens and the larger of the pair can even use a stylus with third-party apps.

The FZ-G1 10-inch Windows Machine has a 1,920 x 1,200 display and is packing a 1.9GHz Ivy Bridge Intel Core i5-3437U vPro CPU, a 128GB SSD (upgradeable to 256GB), up to 8GB of RAM an eight-hour battery and an optional microSD slot. Connectivity-wise, there's USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi and optional Verizon LTE or 3G. The JT-B1, on the other hand, has a 1,024 x 600 display and runs a 1.5GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4660, 16GB storage and 1GB RAM, built-in microSD slot, 13-megapixel rear and 1.3-megapixel forward facing cameras and an eight hour, 5,720mAh battery.

The larger of the pair will be available in March and will set you back $2,900, while the smaller one will arrive in February and will cost $1,300. Interested in knowing more, or just curious if you can use the hardware to knock down a few walls? Head on past the break for some PR.

Gallery: Toughpad FZ-G1

Gallery: Toughpad JT-B1

Filed under: Tablets

Comments

Panasonic Toughpad A1 clashes with FCC, goes the distance

Mat Smith — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 07:42:00 -0400

It's been a long time coming, but Panasonic's hardy, ~~Honeycomb-decked~~ ICS-toting tablet looks like it might be ready for butter-fingered customers. The FCC's stable of tests aren't revealing much we didn't already know about the Toughpad, but be assured that its WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities are both fit for use. The full radio reports are up now, so hit the source for over 86 pages of detail -- if you're feeling tough enough.

Update: Panasonic's got in touch to tell us that the Toughpad will now arrive with Android 4.0.

Comments

Hands-on with Panasonic's 10-inch Toughpad tablet

Michael Gorman — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:39:00 -0500

Well, Panasonic's presser here at CES just ended, and we just got done getting handsy with the company's Toughpad tablet. As we reported back in November when it was first announced, it's a 10-inch Android tablet running Honeycomb that's built to absorb abuse (as illustrated when Panasonic's Shiro Kitajima dropped one on stage today). We didn't get to spend a ton of time with the Toughpad, but we did lay our hands on it long enough to form some quick impressions.

Using the tablet is much like any other Android slate, except there are a few distinct differences. First off, its 1,024 x 768 capacitive screen sports a matte finish instead of the glossy panels found on most every other tablet. It's a decent display with excellent viewing angles, but colors are a bit washed out when compared to iPads and Galaxy Tabs. While we love that the matte screen eliminates glare, it wasn't quite as responsive to swipes as we'd like, as gestures were met with a slight, almost imperceptible delay. The tablet was also a chore to hold with one hand for more than a few minutes -- a MIL-spec slate that's light in weight just isn't in the cards. The buttons at the bottom are clear plastic and clicky, but their recessed nature and short throw aren't the most finger-friendly we've found. Now, we just need to get a Toughpad we can put though our gadget grinder and see just how much abuse it can take.

Gallery: Panasonic Toughpad 10-inch tablet hands-on

Ben Drawbaugh contributed to this report.

Comments

Panasonic Toughpad A1 and B1: the tablets you can drop and pick back up again

Tim Stevens — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:43:00 -0500

Panasonic's bringing its Tough ways to the tablet front, unveiling two new Honeycomb slates that could be the most durable consumer entries to that field we've yet seen. First up is the 10-inch A1, running with a 1.2GHz dual-core Marvell processor backed by 16GB of integrated storage and further expansion courtesy of microSD. That display packs 1,024 x 768 pixels in a 4:3 form-factor that is said to be anti-glare and stylus-ready, the whole package clocking in at a very healthy 2.13 pounds. Remember, this is an evolution of the Tough series: it'll have more to love -- including LTE or WiMAX connectivity and 10 hours of life from a user-replaceable battery.

There's also a 7-inch B1, which we know a little less about at this point, but both are MIL-STD-810G rated to survive drops, dust and water. You know, the sorts of things that most tablet owners buy expensive cases to protect from. But, a starting MSRP of $1,299 for the A1 might make your budget keeper recoil at least a little bit, though the presumably somewhat cheaper B1 is still lacking a price. Both will quite literally drop in 2012, so watch those feet.

Gallery: Panasonic Toughpad A1

Gallery: Panasonic Toughpad B1

Comments