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

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

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

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