September 25 - 7:50am EDT   Panasonic early today revamped its semi-hardened notebooks with the launch of its 8-series Toughbooks. The 14-inch F8, 12-inch W8 and the similarly-small T8 are all the first in their particular class to carry a Qualcomm Gobi chipset that gives access to 3G cellular Internet access over either EVDO or HSPA with supporting providers. They also take advantage of Intel's newest low-power Core 2 Duo chips and the newer GMA 4500MHD graphics and 802.11n Wi-Fi to match. [full story]

July 16 - 2:25pm EDT   Panasonic on Tuesday became the next notebook maker to update its line for Intel's Centrino 2 platform with two new Toughbook models. The semi-rugged, 15.4-inch Toughbook 52 and its matching 13.3-inch Toughbook 74 both get the faster processors, 1,066MHz bus speeds, and faster Intel graphics of Centrino 2 as well as a boost to 802.11n Wi-Fi and 160GB of storage. [full story]

June 25 - 8:15am EDT   Panasonic on Wednesday made its promised Japanese and North American introductions of the Toughbook CF-U1. The handheld is the first-ever rugged ultra-mobile PC based on Intel's ultra-efficient Atom processor and uses a 1.33GHz version of the chip to both run Windows Vista Business at reasonable speeds as well as to extend the U1's battery life: a unique twin-battery system gives the Toughbook between six and eight hours of real-world use and lets users hot-swap batteries for even more use without turning off the system. [full story]

June 23 - 11:25am EDT   Panasonic's Atom-based Toughbook mini tablet PC will be formally introduced this week, says one report. Although previewed multiple times, the computer should now be made official and will be the first known tablet to use the ultra-efficient, long battery life processor while also adding a rugged design. The 5.6-inch touchscreen is bordered by a shockproof rubber casing that covers ports that aren't in use and keeps out dust and water. [full story]

March 26 - 1:45pm EDT   Panasonic on Tuesday announced an update to its convertible tablet notebook, the Toughbook 19, that includes a newer chipset and more standard and optional memory. The next generation Toughbook 19F now includes a Core 2 Duo processor at 1.06GHz and twice as much standard memory, at 1GB versus 512MB, as well as a newly optional integrated camera. RAM is also expandable to 4GB, as opposed to 2GB with the earlier version. [full story]

March 5 - 11:25am EST   Panasonic is developing an ultra-mobile PC in its Toughbook line based on Intel's new Atom platform, the company revealed today. The handheld will be designed for outdoor travelers and others who need an extremely shock- and weather-resistant device but who need something smaller than today's Toughbook portables. With a 5.6-inch touchscreen, the system will weigh less than 2.2 pounds even with the added protection, the company says. Besides the touch input, the handheld will also have a full QWERTY keyboard and shortcut buttons along the side for launching favorite programs or scrolling through menus. [full story]