Panasonic today extended its Toughpad range of rugged business tablets with the addition of two new devices. The thin, lightweight and yet fully rugged 10.1” Windows 8 Pro and 7” Android tablets have been designed to meet the growing demand from businesses for purpose-built tablets that use the latest functionality to improve the productivity of their workforces.

Rugged and Slim Windows 8 Toughpad

The Toughpad FZ-G1 is Panasonic’s first fully rugged Windows 8 Pro tablet which has been designed for mobile workers who spend much of their time working outside or from vehicles. Organizations that will benefit from this product include businesses with large engineering or maintenance workforces in the field, industries such as utilities, transportation and distribution as well as emergency services and insurance assessors.

The thin and lightweight device, weighing only 1.1kg, has been designed to take full advantage of the new functionality offered by the Windows 8 Pro operating system and offers two-way touch input with its capacitive 10-finger multi-touch screen and digitizer pen for tasks such as recording signatures.

The first fully rugged device to use the latest IPSα Panel technology, developed by Panasonic, the FZ-G1 provides new levels of viewing quality for tablet users working outside. Offering extra wide viewing angles, strengthened glass, high contrast ratio and 800cd/m2 high brightness paired with a Panasonic anti-reflection layer, the 10.1” over Full HD (1920x1200) Resolution screen is purpose built to perform in any light conditions.

“We believe the FZ-G1 sets the new benchmark in the market for outdoor screen visibility.  This combined with the latest features of Windows 8 Pro and Panasonic experience of making rugged devices with proven TCO, users will experience a new freedom of fully integrated workflows.” said Jan Kaempfer, Marketing Director of Panasonic Computer Product Solutions.

The Toughpad family is designed to meet the same incredible durability standards as Panasonic’s Toughbook laptop product line. The Toughpad FZ-G1 will have a MIL-STD-810G rating for 120cm drops as well as an IP65 ingress protection rating for resistance to dust and water. The device also will be rated for use in extreme temperatures.

With built-in battery saving technology such as its ambient light sensor, the Toughpad FZ-G1 can operate for 8.0 hours on its standard 6-cell battery and with an optional 9-cell battery can run for 16 hours. Batteries can also be switched in the field to ensure the device is operational as long as the user requires it and offering businesses better total cost of ownership than traditional tablets.*

Toughpad’s first 7”Android tablet

The Toughpad JT-B1 is Panasonic’s first fully rugged 7” Android tablet ergonomically designed for one-handed use by mobile workers in industries such as utilities, public transport, logistics, asset management and police forces.

This new device compliments the first Toughpad FZ-A1 10” Android tablet and combines the power of the Android 4.0 operating system with the pedigree of Panasonic’s rugged mobile computing devices. As well as the ease of application development and the enhanced user experience offered by Android 4.0, the JT-B1 also delivers the additional durability, enterprise-level security, connectivity, display technology and battery life that businesses demand and that sets the Toughpad range apart from consumer tablets.

This lightweight (544g) tablet offers capacitive 4-finger multi-touch, 7” display with high visibility and low reflection and 500cd/m² High Brightness, WSGVA (1024x600) Resolution and ambient light sensor for optimum viewing and battery savings.

Ergonomically designed, the JT-B1 has a dimpled, concave surface to aid one-handed grip and a back-fitted hand strap for comfortable use and carrying. There are also 3 customizable one-click keys, allowing users to jump straight to the apps they need with a short or long click.

The device is also equipped with a 1.3MP front web camera and a market leading 13MP back camera with autofocus and LED light for detailed documentation and image capture.

The JT-B1 maybe small but it has been built with all the Toughpad ruggedness that business users expect. The device has a MIL-STD-810G rating for 150cm drops as well as an IP65 ingress protection rating for resistance to dust and water. The device is also rated for use in extreme temperatures from -100C to +500C.

With its easily accessible and user-exchangeable battery, the JT-B1 has an operational time of 8 hours in the field and has first class connectivity including 3G, Bluetooth® 4.0, Wireless LAN and Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities.