Toughbook Universe is the place to share your Panasonic Toughbook stories and questions. We’ve worked on Panasonic Toughbooks for the last 10 years, and let me tell you, it’s unbelievable some of the stuff done to these computers. We’ve fixed Toughbooks for Police, Fire, and Ambulance Dept.’s all over the nation and shipped Toughbooks all over the world! You won’t find a more rugged laptop with the same level of support and customization anywhere else.
Feel free to register and post your own Toughbook story, or ask a question about a Toughbook and we’ll do our best to give you the answer. Check out some of the amazing Panasonic Toughbook stories below, including Toughbooks on Mt. Everest, a Toughbook left in a cop car that was on fire, and even a Toughbook that saved a soldier’s life. And don’t forget to visit the forums!
The Wall Street Journal ran a showing how the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) is using Toughbook notebooks as the hub for its mobile command centers. The centers, created using valuable feedback from major disasters (including 9/11), use the most advanced hardware, software, wireless and video technologies available.
Having rugged Toughbook notebooks en route and at the scene enables the FDNY to respond quicker and with more information than they’ve ever had, including a seamless link to other local and federal agencies during major incidents and disasters.
The Panasonic Toughbook 19, Toughbook 30 and Toughbook U1 mobile computers now meet more demanding military specifications for drops, vibration and use in all types of miserable weather, Panasonic says. To test the rugged notebooks, each device was dropped 78 times from heights of up to 6 feet.
With the approval of a third-party testing lab, Panasonic has announced that its Toughbook U1, 19 and 30 mobile computers now meet the MIL-STD-810G military specification, which was issued in October 2008 to upgrade and replace the MIL-STD-810F standard.
Rugged devices undergo military standard certification testing and emerge with various numbers and letters that identify how much abuse the mobile device can take—how many times it can be dropped, how well it can withstand specific amounts of water, the degrees of heat and cold the device can operate in, and even whether it’s safe to use in combustible environments.
These tests, however, allow a bit of wiggle room, as manufacturers such as General Dynamics Itronix have pointed out in the past
“Most people are not aware that the military itself does not test products but only provides guidelines. As a result, there is actually a lot of flexibility in conducting military standard testing, which has made for an environment in which vendor claims about durability have actually gone untested,” Kyp Walls, director of product management for Panasonic said in a statement Aug.11.
“For example, many companies will use multiple devices to pass the 26 angle military-standard drop test method. This level of slack means that some products can be identified as mil-spec, yet not reflect real-world performance needs,” Walls said.
In testing, the Toughbook 19, 30 and U1 were dropped 26 times each from heights of 4, 5 and 6 feet, although the standard allows manufacturers to use up to five devices to reach the magic number 26.
“Even more noteworthy,” Panasonic said in the statement, “the same unit was used for the 26 drops at 4 feet, then the same unit was dropped again 26 times from a height of 5 feet and then the same exact unit was dropped 26 times from a height of 6 feet. In short, each unit tested survived 78 drops … [from] heights of 4 to 6 feet.”
The laptops also passed 20 tests applicable to mobile computers, as well as tests of their ability to withstand vehicle vibration and tests of the degree to which they’re sealed, Panasonic announced. The ingress protection test was conducted in a dust chamber, in which talcum powder was blown at non-operating devices for 8 hours. Additionally, the devices were sprayed with water at a rate of 3.33 gallons per minute, “from all practicable directions.”
The devices are backed by a three-year warranty.
Regarding military standard certification, “Tests can be modified, which is generally used as an excuse by vendors to make them easier to pass. However, Panasonic did not modify any MIL-STD-810G tests to try to water them down or make them easier,” Walls said. “Rather, Panasonic has modified a test to make it more challenging and indicative of something a product could face in the real world.”
There is something about little boys and fire trucks that get the imagination working in overdrive. Those big red trucks create a sense of wonder and growing up doesn’t end that wonder. A friend of the family, who I won’t name so he won’t get in trouble, offered to meet me at the local fire station to give a tour of the equipment. My grandkids are in town visiting me and it was the perfect opportunity to give them a thrill of a lifetime, so off we went recently to the firehouse. I did it for the kids — sure I did. I was thrilled to get a firsthand look at the mobile technology that firemen use to help fight fires.
Passenger side looking in
The Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department is not the typical volunteer fire department. It is one of the largest volunteer fire companies in the America with over 300 members, and it covers a huge geographical area with a high population just outside of Houston. It is considered one of the premier volunteer organizations in the country and are frequently called in by the surrounding fire departments to help out in times of need. They have 12 fire stations that cover their area of responsibility, which they aptly do with state-of-the-art equipment.
It was a lot of fun crawling all over that equipment. Seeing the fire trucks up close and personal was a thrill for all of us. I had the chance to get a hands-on look at the mobile technology that is deployed in the trucks to help the brave men and women fight fires.
Since our focus is on mobile technology I will concentrate on that aspect of the equipment they use. Each fire truck has a Panasonic Toughbook laptop mounted in the cab that plays a big role in emergency response. Everything a fire department does is predicated on fast response, and these laptops play a huge role toward that goal.
There is a Toughbook mounted on a special rack in every fire truck in operation. These are fully ruggedized as you would expect and are designed from the ground up for the special requirements. They run Windows XP in a kiosk configuration, so they are locked down to running only the special software used by the fire department.
Mounted Toughbook in the Fire Truck
This software is the heart of the system — it is a specialized system that plays an important role in emergency situations. The laptops are always running navigation software that is tailored for firefighters. It displays a constant 2D map view of the area around the fire truck, aided by the GPS system in all trucks.
When an emergency call is received, the first thing the firemen do in the truck is open the lid of the Toughbook. The laptops are always on thanks to the sophisticated and powerful electrical generators in the trucks. There is no sleep or standby. Instead, the Toughbooks are simply always on. Fast response means you must be able to open the lid and see the map instantly. This mapping software will show the best route to the scene, much like standard car navigation systems. The resemblance ends there however.
In addition to the street maps used to navigate to the fire, this software also shows the location of every other truck in the department. This allows the firefighters to determine at a glance how many trucks are en route to the fire, how many are already on the scene and which trucks are not available. The latter group might be trucks on other calls or out of service. The result is that every truck crew knows what it going on from the moment they pull out of the fire house on a response.
The dispatch office can interact with the Toughbook in all the trucks from the central command center. This insures that every truck has the latest information about the emergency in real-time. The communication is done via radio; each laptop is always connected to the dispatch office while it is on. The entire system is designed to provide the maximum amount of information to every firefighting crew on a response, in real time. The firefighters are trained heavily on this equipment and can get a lot of information about any situation at a glance.
Close up of software
The Toughbooks in the trucks have touch screens for easy interaction, and the entire software system is optimized for touch. Maps can be moved and zoomed by a simple tap on the screen. The firefighter can tap on any truck that shows up on the map and get detailed information about the equipment installed, the crew on the truck and lots of other information. It was stressed to me how important firefighters consider this software. They can do everything they need to do with no lag by simply touching the screen. It has become a vital part of the firefighting process, and my guide got very uneasy with the thought of fighting fires without it.
One of the key needs of firefighters on a response is situational awareness. They need to know as much about the building on fire, sources of water to fight the fire and exactly where their compatriots are located. The special maps the laptops access can show them where all the sources of water are located, fire hydrants for instance, and just as importantly make the crew on the scene aware if there is no water available. This fire department serves a large area outside of the city and there are many areas not served with adequate fire hydrants. These are called dry subdivisions, and the fire crew must be aware of this to make sure the water tanks on the trucks will be adequate to fight the fire depending on its size and weather conditions.
These maps can also show building diagrams that the firefighters can use to understand the scope of the problem they face in a fire. This is essential in fires of larger structures, as the firefighters can come up with a plan of attack to address the emergency. It is especially vital to minimize the danger that the firefighters always face in such a situation.
This look into the technology used by the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department was a great opportunity for me. Mobile technology has become a vital part of the fire fighting process, and it is rare for us civilians to get a glimpse of that technology. I want to thank the brave men and women of the fire departments world-wide for the dangerous jobs they perform to keep us safe.
Here’s a demo video of the U1 . Obviously the actors are Panasonic employees, which makes the video’s acting quite comical. Nonetheless, it’s still a good demonstration of what the U1 is capable of.
There’s something deceptively fierce-looking about the Panasonic ToughBook CF-F8. This business-ruggedized laptop comes with a handle, daring you to mess with it. So when I snatch it off the Test Center workbench, I’m surprised at how light this tiny ToughBook feels. I expect it to weigh a ton, but it’s a mere 3.7 pounds. Yet inside the hard-plastic case lurks just enough power to handle most conventional tasks. Unfortunately, its price tag may put it out of reach for many people seeking a business laptop.
Since the CF-F8 is supposed to take a beating, I’ll touch on the design first. The reasonably spaced keyboard provides a satisfying amount of give. Yep, in an age of supercool, cut-out Chiclet keys, there’s nothing wrong with an effective (if basic) spill-resistant keyboard. I’m not a fan of having the Del key hiding down by the arrows, but that’s a matter of personal preference–just like the small, circular touchpad. I actually don’t mind swapping a square for a circle. I only take issue when the touch zone is so small; put two fingers together, and that’s about how much room you have to work with for navigating. The two mouse buttons fare a little better, since they’re a good size and they feel responsive (though a bit plastic and hollow).
The CF-F8 comes reasonably well equipped for the on-the-go workaholic. Beyond Bluetooth and Gobi, you’ll find some legacy I/O ports. A PC Card slot and an SDHC flash-card reader sit on one side next to the audio jacks, while the other side has a few old-school outputs (VGA, ethernet, and modem jacks) in addition to three USB 2.0 ports. Though it is nice to see that many USB ports, it would be even nicer if they weren’t all stacked right on top of one another. That may not seem like a big deal, but the second you need to affix a slightly oversize dongle, you’re taking a neighboring USB port out of the picture. And don’t count on having any video chats, either–on the model we received, no Webcam was in sight.
I will say, though, that I like how this machine stows the DVD-RW optical drive under the right side of the wrist rest.
Closed right side view of the F8
When the drive isn’t in use, the system automatically powers it down; but flick the toggle, and the lid pops open. You drop the disc in at a slight angle (a switch from older ToughBooks), and that angle makes removing the disc later a whole lot easier, too.
Now, the usual trade-off when it comes to ruggedized laptops is that you’re sacrificing performance for all of the durability (an enclosed case means that the system needs lower-powered parts that won’t overheat). Not so with the CF-F8. Our review unit came with an Intel Core 2 Duo P9300 CPU and 3GB of RAM, running a 32-bit version of Windows Vista Business, and it scored an 88 in WorldBench 6. At that speed, the CF-F8 is more than fast enough to tackle all your work tasks. Just don’t expect it to be a laptop you’ll be playing around on as well. Though the screen looks good (which I’ll get to in a second), the machine’s lack of a dedicated GPU means that you’re saddled with lackluster graphics performance. At least the laptop managed to hang on for a hair under 6 hours in our battery tests.
Also in the CF-F8, you’ll find a number of other improvements over ToughBooks released a year ago. Whereas a machine last year got by with a muddy display and measly 1024-by-768-pixel resolution, this laptop looks a whole lot better. On the CF-F8’s 1280-by-800-pixel panel, colors pop a little more and don’t get nearly as washed out. Even so, brighter images start to blow out on the matte screen. As for sound, the two grill speakers on the sides of the keyboard, while a marked improvement over a crummy mono tin can, still come off as shallow. In the end, you know that this is a business machine, not a multimedia marvel.
On the software side, the CF-F8 provides a fairly minimalist (but good) set of applications. You get Roxio Creator LJB and Roxio BackOnTrack for data backup and disc creation, and the control panel has an option for the “Panasonic Power Plan Extension Utility,” which will let you squeeze as much extra life out of the machine as possible. The system comes with a PDF manual, as well.
Though it has its drawbacks, the Panasonic ToughBook CF-F8 is certainly a good choice for the disaster-prone businessperson. However, its cost–our configuration sells for $2499–ensures that only well-to-do klutzes will be able to afford this machine.
We (Forbes) dropped the Panasonic CF-30 “Toughbook,” kicked it, stood on it and tried to back over it with a Volkswagen JettaTDi. (That left a mark–on the pavement.)
We poured Diet Coke on the keyboard. Then we used the lid to crush the can.
Nalin, a white tiger from Six Flags, pounces on the CF30
You might think this is unnecessary testing for a laptop. Advertising is always brimming with over-the-top claims. We’ve heard about “durable” notebooks before. But the ones we lug to press conferences seem to be as touchy as a bunch of squirrels. Surely, Panasonic’s claims of toughness are, well, over-the-top.
We found, however, that Panasonic’s Toughbook performed as promised. Fair enough. So we came up with some tests that were decidedly unfair.
We used the Panasonic Toughbook to serve Doritos. Then we crushed the chips to dust between the keyboard and the screen, the same screen we used as a dartboard. The darts poked holes in the screen’s protective coating, but the display underneath remained undamaged. Not a single dead pixel.
So we presented the $3,460 Toughbook to Nalin, a white tiger who lives at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif. Nalin treated it like a cat toy, knocking it to the ground, gnawing on the screen and licking every inch of its surface. He must have smelled those Doritos.
Nalin gnawing on the CF30
The tiger chewed off five keys, but that turned out to be just cosmetic. We could still type without them, and were able to glue four back on later (we made sure Nalin didn’t swallow anything). The fifth just snapped back into place.
Next, Liz, a 10,000-pound Asian elephant, stepped on it, stood on it, dropped it onto a concrete slab, stood on it again–balanced on three legs–and then tossed it around some more. Liz put two small cracks in the laptop’s magnesium alloy lid and popped the hard drive out.
The drive slid right back in to the Toughbook’s chassis, which rebooted without a glitch. The screen was undamaged, although it was hard to see through the tiger hair and congealed drool.
That’s when we remembered: We’re allergic to cats.
10,000 pound elephant test
Five days later, we turned from tests to something better described as execution: We took the laptop to the Jackson Arms firing range in South San Francisco to shoot it with a Ruger Mark III .22 pistol from 15 yards.
Dell declined to loan us a rugged laptop to shoot, saying they didn’t have the “inventory excess to participate this time around.”
Panasonic, meanwhile, was about to have one less notebook. We removed the battery to minimize the mess, and aimed.
Goodbye, Mr. Toughbook.
Or so we thought. We put a bullet through the laptop. Then we booted it up. We were able to log in. Our test file was still there. The screen had a hole in it, but was still usable.
Uh-oh Mr. Toughbook
Spooky. Panasonic has built a laptop that was starting to look more like Grigori Rasputin than James Bond. It took cyanide, a stabbing, a beating and four bullets before the Russian mystic was finally drowned in the icy River Neva. Anyone got some holy water?
Don’t call the Toughbook the anti-Christ, however; call it the anti-netbook. Panasonic’s customers, typically cops and firefighters, the military and businesses want to keep their ownership costs low over the entire lifetime of their gear. No matter what.
As a result, the CF-30 is the product of a business model that’s the opposite of that behind today’s wave of cheap, disposable netbook computers.While the $300 machines you’ll find for sale at Best Buy are available in a wide array of colors and styles, they all come from the same place: low-cost contract manufacturers.
Gotta Love those custom bullet holes!
Panasonic, by contrast, was an electronics manufacturer long before it got into the computer business. It builds many of the components you’ll find in other companies’ laptops, including displays and batteries, says Rance Poehler, who leads Panasonic’s North American computer business.
So rather than outsourcing, Panasonic can put its factories to work building not just tough laptops, but tough parts for those laptops. The Toughbook 30’s hard drive, for example, is itself a minor marvel of engineering: It’s designed to withstand being ripped out at a moment’s notice in the field and is encased in a padded metal shell all its own.
That kind of durability costs more, but customers say it pencils out well enough that they’d buy a Toughbook over a typical notebook. Morris Materials Handling, which sells and services overhead cranes for heavy industry, buys refurbished Panasonic 18s that have seen use in the military for a little more than half the price of new ones. The laptops aren’t indestructible–a 50-foot drop from a crane did one in–but the technician was able to pop out the hard drive, slap it into a new unit, and get back to work.
I think it's missing a couple of keys....
Durability, however, is about more than taking a drop or a surviving an elephant attack. Henry King at ArborMetrics Solutions, which keeps trees and other foliage out of the way for utilities across the U.S., has deployed 70 Toughbooks. Just the road vibrations caused by putting a laptop in a car and driving 40,000 to 50,000 miles a year to service its customers’ infrastructure has killed many laptops, King says. By contrast, Panasonic’s hard drives can suck it up.
As for our test laptop, it had been through enough. It was time to put the beast down. The Toughbook CF-30 is elephant- and tiger-resistant. It can take a .22 at close range and continue working. We needed something that would leave a bigger hole.
So we borrowed a Springfield 1911 in .45 ACP. Most cops use comparatively dinky 9-millimeter pistols. This classic 39-ounce piece is more hand cannon than handgun.
I don't think the screen is salvageable
A shot with the 1911 from 15 yards took the Toughbook down. To be sure it didn’t stagger back up, we followed up with a .44 magnum revolver and a solid lead slug from a 12-gauge shotgun. Then we packed up the Toughbook and sent it back to Panasonic.
“One of our deputies drove to our patrol office and went inside for roll call. The brakes on his car must have been locked and heated to a combustible temperature and caught fire while the deputy was in the building. It wasn’t until a citizen passing by noticed the flames coming from the engine compartment that the fire department was dispatched.
The deputy had a Panasonic Toughbook CF-27 mounted in the the driver’s compartment of the car. It was estimated that the temperature inside the driver’s compartment reached upwards of 1000 degrees. The dash board was melted and everything in the glove box was incinerated. The laptop screen was down and the computer was off at the time. The fire department extinguished the flames, drenching the laptop with hundreds of gallons of high pressure water.
After the fire was out, the laptop was removed from the vehicle and placed in a plastic garbage bag. No attempt was made to dry or clean off the computer. I was given the computer two days later and put it in the back of my truck because it smelled so bad of smoke. After it had aired out for a week I took it into my office to see what I could salvage from the computer. I was doubtful there would be anything usable. I noted the back of the laptop had experienced such intense heat that it melted some of the ports. Just for fun, I hit the power switch and was shocked when I saw the hard drive and battery lights come on. I watched in amazement as the LCD lit up and the computer booted to windows without a hitch. These are the TOUGHEST computers in the world! This is the reason why we have been loyal Panasonic customers for the last 10 years!”
-Sgt. David Northcraft, Information Technology Manager, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office
“We have a brand new Y7 Toughbook laying around the apartment, which Panasonic claims can handle six ounces of liquid poured right into the keyboard. We decided to put some of your answers to the test. Of the five liquids we put in the Toughbook, none made it explode or even slow down. After flushing the whole keyboard out with water, it wasn’t even sticky the next day. So when it comes to the Y7 our answer to that Question of the Day is “none of the above.” Check it out here.
