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Panasonic’s latest pair of Toughpad FZ series handheld tablets debuted at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb.22, expanding the company’s line of rugged and water-resistant enterprise handhelds to meet the needs of a wide range of business users.
Both new Toughpad FZ machines feature 4.7-inch HD, 1,280-by-720 touch-screen displays, with the N1 model running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, while the Toughpad FZ-F1 runs on Microsoft Windows 10 Embedded.
The latest devices are aimed at providing smaller, more mobile devices with modern, more powerful and flexible operating systems to allow business users to get their work done more quickly and efficiently, according to Panasonic.
Both machines include quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974AB 2.3GHz processors, 2GB of memory, 16GB of eMMC storage and an SD slot that accepts cards with up to 2GB of additional storage.
The displays on both handhelds are viewable in full daylight and can be operated with gloves or in the rain with wet fingers, which can both be automatically sensed by the handhelds, according to Panasonic.
The FZ-N1 and the FZ-F1 both also are equipped with rear-mounted combination 1D and 2D barcode scanners to read codes in warehouses, vehicles, productions floors or anywhere else a handheld scanner is required. The integrated scanners are ergonomically designed and angled so they can be used by workers with fewer elbow or wrist movements to prevent strains.
Also included is a full HD 5-megapixel Webcam on both models, as well as a full HD 8MP rear camera with LED flash.
In addition, the two machines feature dual SIM card capabilities and multi-carrier support, along with 4G LTE cellular, Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac connectivity.
Quick-charging 3,200mAh Li-Ion battery packs are standard on both handhelds, and can be warm-swapped with optional 6,200mAh extended life battery packs.
The FZ handhelds are built to be rugged for use in a wide range of hostile environments. Both are MIL-STD-810G compliant to resist shock, vibration, rain, dust, sand, altitude, freezing and thawing, humidity, and high or low temperatures. They are also built with sealed designs to comply with IP65 and IP67 standards. They are resistant to 6-foot drops on concrete and are tested to withstand some 2,000 consecutive tumbles from 3.3 feet. The devices include sealing covers on all external ports and a raised bezel to protect the display from impacts.
Adding flexibility for users are integrated microphones, twin speakers, and noise suppression and echo cancellation capabilities. Both devices also include user-definable buttons for custom operations.
The machines weigh about 0.61 pounds each with a standard battery and are 6.12 inches long, 2.92 inches wide and about 0.64 inches thick. Both handhelds include a three-year warranty and Panasonic business-class support.
Optional stylus pens are available to allow users to operate the devices with varying input methods, while an optional magnetic stripe reader, holster belts, charging docks and other accessories are also available.