Panasonic Introduces the T7, W7, and Y7

Today, Panasonic introduced three new business-rugged notebooks designed to meet the demands of road warriors: the Panasonic Toughbook W7, Toughbook T7, and the thin-and-light Toughbook Y7. The new 7-series Toughbooks are real-world tested to withstand the drops, bumps, and spills that are doled out by the mobile professional.

The 12.1-inch Toughbook W7 is an ultraportable equipped with an ultra-low voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, DVD MultiDrive, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, and a shock-mounted 80GB hard drive. The machine is rated to churn out seven hours of productivity, and users can opt for integrated EV-DO or HSDPA mobile broadband.

If tablets are more your speed, the 3.7-pound Toughbook T7, designed for "walking workers" such as nurses and home care professionals, just may be for you. It features a 12.1-inch touchscreen LCD, an ultra-low-voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, and a shock-mounted 80GB hard drive. Users can expect approximately nine hours of battery life and can configure the system with integrated EV-DO or HSDPA mobile broadband.

The 3.7-pound Toughbook Y7 is the world's lightest notebook housing a 14.1-inch display. It sports an integrated DVD MultiDrive, a low-voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, and a shock-mounted 80GB hard drive. The Y7 delivers approximately five hours of juice.

All of the notebooks in the Toughbook 7 series include a wealth of security features: TPM, CompuTrace, a cable lock slot, password security, and an optional fingerprint reader. The Toughbook Y7 is available now with an estimated street price of $2,449; the mobile-broadband-ready Toughbook W7 and Toughbook T7 will be available in December at an estimated street price of $2,099 each.

Price: $2,099 (Toughbook W7 and T7); $2,449 (Y7)
Info: www.panasonic.com