Panasonic Toughbook CF-C2 Refresh Brings 4G-LTE Connectivity

Panasonic is perhaps best known for its Toughbook line of rugged mobile computers and, indeed, the manufacturer remains practically uncontested in this niche. Traditionally, the Toughbook line consisted entirely of laptops like the Toughbook 53 but, with tablet shipments set to match PC shipments next year and considering how mobile-friendly Windows 8 is, it’s no surprise the family has been expanded to include tablets or, more specifically, convertible tablets.

In particular, Panasonic offers the Toughbook a19 and Toughbook CF-C2, which offer greater portability than their laptop brethren without sacrificing their productivity potential. Recently, the Toughbook CF-C2 received a refresh, bringing a number of new features to the device.

The key improvement the latest update to the CF-C2 brings to the table is 4G-LTE multi-carrier embedded wireless broadband connectivity. However, it also offers improved battery life, lasting three hours longer than its predecessor to offer 14 hours of continuous use according to MobileMark 2007 testing as well as an updated processor, the Intel Core i5-4300U vPro. The Toughbook CF-C2 shipes with Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit standard, but the option to downgrade to Windows 7 Pro is also available.

“Even as technology evolves, at the core all our customers are looking for the same thing — performance, reliability, connectivity and flexibility,” said Kyp Walls, director of product management, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America. “We’ve made significant improvements to each one of these attributes for the Toughbook CF-C2, and we expect it to continue to be one of the most versatile and popular models in our Toughbook line.”

The Toughbook CF-C2 features an enhanced triple hinge design that allows it to rotate between laptop and tablet modes while still being durable. The entire device, meanwhile, is designed to withstand even the toughest work environments with a magnesium alloy case and a shock-mounted flex-connect hard drive allowing it to survive drops up to 30 inches on six sides and drops up to 12 inches from 26 angles.