After trying to make a mark in the
mainstream smartphone landscape, Panasonic has shifted its focus back to
standalone digital cameras and “mobile computing solutions purpose-built for
the way people work.” The latter is just an elaborate way to describe the company’s growing
family of rugged smartphones and tablets, now including all-new Toughbook T1
and L1 models starting at a whopping US$ 1,499.
Believe it or not, these are by no means the
priciest Toughbooks ever released, but the 5-inch FZ-T1 is one of the slimmest
and lightest products of its kind. Don’t get us wrong, this bad boy still looks
bulky compared to your typical modern 5, 5.5, or even 6-inch handset, but
there’s obviously a good reason why it needs to weigh 230 grams and measure
13.1 mm thick.
That’s because the Panasonic Toughbook T1, like the
7-inch L1, is shock-resistant, surviving drops from up to 5 feet high, as well
as designed to meet MIL-STD-810G standards to make sure it can handle anything
you throw at it. High temperature, low temperature, low pressure, solar
radiation, freezing rain, sand and dust, you name it, both the L1 and T1 will
endure without so much as flinching. The extra-tough smartphone and
tablet are obviously also protected against good old fashioned water immersion,
proving ideal daily drivers for road warriors and those facing challenging
working conditions.
Somewhat surprisingly, the two “professional-grade”
devices come powered by Android 8.1 Oreo, while packing unspecified quad-core
Snapdragon processors, and sporting 1280 x 720 (aka HD) screens. Not exactly
mainstream powerhouses, the latest Toughbook family additions stand out with a
couple of “purpose-built” features, like integrated barcode scanning and
“global” data connectivity. Their no doubt hefty batteries can be easily
replaced on the move, while stateside, the Toughbook L1 and T1 can be activated
on AT&T and Verizon for cellular support.
