Panasonic toughens ultraportables

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Panasonic, the white goods to consumer electronics to PC maker, has announced updates to its semi-ruggedised laptops in addition to ambitious targets for PC sales in Europe.

The company unveiled three models in its toughened or "Executive" line up, including two subnotebooks, with 12.1 inch screens, and an updated 14 inch unit.

In a significant departure from its previous strategy - which targeted Toughbooks at corporate accounts - Panasonic will sell the new models online and through selected retailers. In the UK MicroAnvika will stock the new Seven Series range. In a further nod to he "prosumer" market buyers ordering from Panasonic's site will be able to choose different coloured lids for their machines.

According to Jan Kämpfer, head of marketing for Panasonic's European PC division, the new models will be aimed at frequent business travellers, salespeople and self employed road warriors, whereas the company's fully ruggedised tablet PC remains aimed at blue collar tasks.

None the less, the new PCs have been updated to improve their durability, set against earlier Toughbook Executive models. Each Seven Series PC can be dropped 76 centimetres whilst running - the height of an average desk - can withstand 100kg of pressure and is splash proof. For further durability corporate buyers can order a 16GB solid state drive in place of the standard 80GB spinning disk.

Panasonic claims a seven hour battery life for the T7 and W7 12.1 inch units, with a half hour reduction in running time for models with an optional HSDPA mobile broadband chipset. Active power management takes advantage of Intel's Santa Rosa chipset and is standard on all three machines. Panasonic also allows users to tweak the settings to extend the working life of the battery, meaning that owners will use one fewer replacement power cell during a typical three year service life.

Panasonic already has 64 per cent of the European market for fully-ruggedised laptops.

However, the company hopes that the new models, and the move to sell to smaller businesses and prosumers, will make it a significant player in the ultraportable market. In Japan, Panasonic has 22 per cent market share; industry analysts calculate that ultraportable sales will grow 3.5 times in the next three years.

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