Panasonic announces its 10in Toughpad tablet

JAPANESE ELECTRONICS FIRM Panasonic has announced its Toughpad FZ-A1, a rugged 10.1in Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet.

The firm is describing the device as a tablet version of its Toughbook laptops. The Toughpad is due to tip up in spring of 2012 starting at €1,020 (£874) for the WiFi only model.

Hiroaki Sakamoto, MD at Panasonic said, "Now users in business and industry can also benefit from the ease of use and portability of tablet computing. Toughpad takes all the Toughbook experience of rugged computing we have gained since 1996 and focuses it into tablets designed for the workplace."

The Toughpad FZ-A1 will be a 10.1in tablet equipped with a Marvell 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Panasonic said it will make a 7in version of the Toughpad in the second half of 2012.

It is designed with ruggedness in mind for mobile workers in sectors such as construction, aviation, public safety and similar applications. To cater for these environments the Toughpad will have a drop rating of 120cm and be able to cope with extreme temperatures.

Other features include an anti-glare coating on the screen, a 10-hour replaceable battery, a 5MP rear camera and a dedicated security processor.

A 3G version of the Toughpad will be available for €1,199 (£1,027). µ