Product Reviews

Panasonic notebooks carry the Toughbook label in recognition of their environmental protection, but the degree of reinforcement and waterproofing varies considerably. Some are business notebooks that offer a degree of protection from rough handling while others are seriously tough units for regular use outdoors.

The Toughbook CF-18 comes into the latter category, and is set apart from the others in the range by its novel physical design. It can be operated as a laptop in the office, but rotating the screen and closing the lid converts it to a pen-operated tablet. In this state, text input can be acheived either via an onscreen keyboard or handwriting recognition, as long as you are running Microsoft XP Tablet Edition.

In terms of size and weight, the CF-18 doesn't disappoint. At 2kg it is light for a rugged notebook and although there are slimmer notebooks around, the other dimensions are remarkably modest. However, this means that the screen

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is smaller than you'd expect of a business laptop, at just 14".

The IP54 figure for waterproofing indicates that this notebook will withstand sprays from any direction. It will also take knocks due to its durable aluminium alloy casing and at 900mm, the drop-test figure is as good as you can reasonably expect of anything that contains a hard disk. A hand strap ensures that you keep a firm grip on the CF-18 while you're using it as a tablet and the shoulder strap reduces the likelihood of dropping it.

Performance, however, is modest. With a 900MHz processor and 256MB of memory we can't expect startling performance. The SYSmark2002 figure of 96 backs this up, but this is what we'd expect of a rugged notebook. Users of this type of equipment normally don't require access to power-hungry applications in the field and battery life is far more important. We had problems getting our MobileMark battery test to run, but it lasted for a little over three hours when left to stand idly on our test bench.

The CF-18 is as rugged and waterproof as most people could reasonably need. It's also light and compact, and benefits from Microsoft's Tablet PC operating system. Furthermore, battery life is still sufficient for use away from the office. All this is exactly what's needed in a go-anywhere PC. One downside is performance. If you need access to serious multimedia applications the CF-18 may not be up to the job. The other drawback is the price. It is inevitable that protection will seriously escalate the price of any equipment.