Product Review: Panasonic Toughbook 52

Panasonic has been renowned for its Toughbook series of notebooks; those notebooks that can withstand dropping from several feet up and can take any spillage. Now, the company has introduced another new notebook to complete their Toughbook lineup, the Panasonic Toughbook 52.

Panasonic is marketing their Toughbook 52 to be a desktop replacement notebook but with a form factor that is designed for mobility. From the outside, the Panasonic Toughbook 52 looks like a suitcase, from the hinges to the handles, the Toughbook 52 is made of magnesium alloy and comes with a shock-mounted 15.4 inch screen, after all, it wouldn't be a "tough book" without the anti-shock screen. According to Panasonic, the Toughbook 52 can withstand drops of up to 2.5 feet on all six sides while the hard drive can withstand drops of up to 3 feet, of course, users wouldn't be too keen on dropping their notebooks just to test if Panasonic's claims are true so we'll just have to take their word for it. To complete the Toughbook 52's rugged design, Panasonic also included a spill-resistant keyboard and a shock-mounted removable hard drive.

Since Panasonic claims that the Toughbook 52 is ideal as a desktop replacement, they placed an Intel Santa Rosa chipset on the notebook to ensure that users will be able to perform their computer-related tasks at home on their Toughbook 52 while on the go. Users can choose between standard or optimized configuration, the standard configuration comes with the Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz processor while the optimized configuration comes with the Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 Ghz processor. The Panasonic Toughbook 52 is also equipped with a 1 GB DDR2 memory so users can be ensured of fast boot-up time and computer response.

The most notable new feature of the Toughbook 52 is the optional integrated mobile broadband (WWAN), users can connect to 3G/HSDPA networks so that they can browse the internet even without a hotspot. The Toughbook 52 also has an integrated Wireless LAN and Bluetooth connectivity so you can have your own choice of connection. The expansion slot integrated into the Toughbook 52 are PC Card Type II, SD card, and Express card, the Toughbook 52 also has a DVD Multi-drive.

The Toughbook 52, aside from delivering superior computing power and durability also offers consumers ample security so that they can safeguard their most confidential data. The Toughbook 52 is equipped with the Trusted Platform Module Security Chip, Computrace software agent embedded in the BIOS, and an optional fingerprint scanner and SmartCard reader.

The Toughbook 52 has once again proven that notebook PCs aren't a fragile piece of technology, they can be just as reliable as your desktop PC.