Panasonic has new Toughbooks for the masses

Panasonic has just unveiled a couple of new tablet PCs that live up to the Toughbook name, thanks to its rugged design. We’re talking about the 13.1-inch Toughbook 31 and 10.4-inch Toughbook 19, where the former will see action with an Intel Core i5-520M vPro processor and 2GB RAM, whereas the Toughbook 19 series will feature an Intel Core i5-540UM vPro processor instead. Shared specifications include a 160GB hard drive, 2GB RAM, an Intel QM57 Express chipset, 1,024 x 768 resolution displays, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity, a quartet of USB ports, an HDMI output, Bluetooth 2.1 support and an SD memory card slot with Windows 7 Professional running the show. No word on pricing, but expect both models to hit the Land of the Rising Sun in the middle of this month. Worth looking into if you happen to work in some really hardy environments.