Panasonic Toughpad A1: a real tank compared to the iPad

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The topic of competition with the iPad has not been raised for a long time, since there are no real competitors yet. Undeniably, Android tablets are becoming more beautiful and more powerful, but the software platform still has a long way to go. Nevertheless, there is an alternative and that’s good, another question is that it’s boring to write about this alternative: thinner, lighter, many cores. Back in the days of the first-generation iPad, everyone was trying to catch up, when the iPad 2 came along, history repeats itself. Although, products that are unique to a certain extent still appear. The same Amazon Kindle Fire that ripped off potential customers with its low $200 price tag. Recently announced Nook Tablet from Barnes & Noble is also interesting both due to the cost of $250 and its filling (7-inch IPS display with anti-reflective coating, 2-core processor, 1 GB RAM). But the hero of this news is not attracted by the cost, it is insane for most ordinary buyers, and not by hardware characteristics, but by its physical security. Toughpad A1 created Panasonic, which is famous for its legendary rugged laptops. It is them that we most often see in action films in the hands of the military and special agents. Now a tablet has appeared in the Tough line, and more than one.

The Toughpad A1 has a 10.1-inch 1024×768 LCD display, which is unimpressive compared to most Android tablets, which typically have a screen resolution of 1280×800 pixels. But the display in the Panasonic gadget has an anti-glare coating and a very high brightness in 500 nits, sufficient even to work in bright sunlight (theoretically, there should be a mirror substrate). Works tablet running Android Honeycomb, equipped with a 2-core Marvell processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz, 16 GB of flash memory, Wi-Fi 802.11b / g / n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR modules, a microSD card slot and an HDMI output – all this is trite. Although you can pay attention to the GPS receiver and the hardware tracking function of the tablet if it is lost or stolen, as well as optional support for LTE or WiMAX. But the protective capabilities of the device are much more interesting.

In particular, Toughpad A1 meets the military standard of security MIL-STD-810G. That is, it is protected from water (a shower or a shower will not do anything bad with it), dust and sand, dirt, quite serious shocks and falls from a height of a couple of meters onto a hard surface. It is capable of operating at ambient temperatures from -20°C to +60°C. The production of equipment in accordance with the MIL-STD-810F testing standard is mandatory for all military equipment of the United States and NATO countries. Actually, it is designed for this kind of state structures, especially since there is also serious information protection according to the standards FIPS140-X and HIPPA.

Commercial structures will also find where to apply such a device, but ordinary consumers are unlikely to want to get this product for personal use because of its high cost of $1300. However, the gadget is unique, interesting, one of a kind. Although, Panasonic still has a 7-inch Toughpad B1 tablet in its assortment, but so far almost nothing is known about it. I will add that, despite its security, the Toughpad A1 weighs relatively little, about 970 g, its dimensions are 266.7×210.8×17 mm.