Panasonic Combines Toughbook Features, Intel Atom Processor for Health Care PC

The Panasonic Toughbook H1 shows that the company continues to use Intel's Atom processors creatively for vertical markets.

In June, Panasonic began selling the Toughbook CF-U1, which also uses an Atom chip. Unlike the low-cost notebooks called netbooks, which were designed to access the Web and support basic applications, the Panasonic CF-U1 is a rugged mininotebook built for use in vertical markets such as real estate and local government.

The Toughbook H1 has an Intel Atom Z540 processor (1.86GHz), 1GB of RAM, a shock-mounted 80GB hard disk drive and a 10.4-inch dual-touch display, and uses 802.11 a/b/g and draft-n wireless technology. The machine also supports Microsoft Windows Vista with Service Pack 1, and Panasonic allows for the XP downgrade.

The Toughbook H1 is fully rugged, with a magnesium alloy chassis and resistance to water, dust and vibration. Since it uses a low-watt Atom processor, the H1 does not use a fan. In addition, all the buttons are sealed and there are no exposed USB ports, which adds to security and means workers can disinfect the H1 with cleaners.

"The [Intel] MCA reference design did not specify an Atom chip, but using one with the H1 allowed us to offer full Windows capabilities without sacrificing battery life and it also did not require a fan for venting heat out [of] the device," said Kyle Wall, director of product management for Panasonic.

The H1, which weighs about 3.4 pounds, also offers 6 hours of battery life and comes with two hot-swappable batteries.

While Panasonic introduced the Toughbook H1 Nov. 4, the notebook will become available January 2009 at a cost of $2,999.