Today I was lucky enough to play with one of the World’s first Panasonic CF-C1…and loved it! While I have enough been a fan of rugged computers for mainstream (or personal) use I do fully understand the “whys” around the technology and how it came about to exist. While the CF-C1 is not a pretty Tablet, I can suggest it is a robust and well executed effort. It definitely won’t appeal to people looking to buy a Lenovo Tablet, or a toy-ish ASUS T91, it will definitely fill a gap in the market as a tough (as the name implies) and reliable business tool!
Just like the time I had world’s first look at the Fujitsu P1610, and the world’s first look at the HTC Shift, and even Raon Digital VEGA (now I'm showing my geek age!) on this occasion my time with the C1 (although not world's first) was brief and secretive. In a veil of excitement the Panasonic representative came swooping into my home, turned, flipped, held, pointed, prodded and showcases the unit to me. After nearly an hour we debated its merits and everyone walked away contented! While by no stretch of the imagination would I call this a review, I would, based on nearly a decade of playing with these toys, post some quick thoughts.
- Felt extremely light – at 1.6kgs it’s not entirely a featherweight but the weight distribution felt great
- The touchscreen (I believe capacitive) was very light and easy to use, while the Wacom digitizer exceptionally silky.
- Tablet swivel hinge was extremely sturdy – like most ToughBook designs the swivel was over engineered IMHO but certainly justified on the CF-C1
- Dual battery (hotswappable) bays are great – and at 5hrs per battery, totalling a predicted 10hrs, it certainly will turn heads
- Price will be sub $3k AUD (equivalent to early US$2K before taxes) is reasonably for such a device
- Felt too light! Hard too believe I'd say this, but I mean too light when compared to the image (and impression) the ToughBook brand carries. Almost didn't feel like a ToughBook.
- Stylus bay very weak – obviously could be a result of the preproduction unit I played with but when I took the stylus out, and packed it away, there was a real air of “cheapness” around it. I’m sure that will be fixed.
- As stated above, the swivel is over engineered, but I can see why it’s done that way
- Styling leaves a lot to be desired, especially with the “orthopaedic-styled” palm rest on the underbelly of the unit, but once again “I get it”, it’s TOUGH!
