Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Panasonic ToughBook Testing Facility Tour

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the bruised-but-not-beaten dept.

An anonymous reader writes "ToughBooks are considered by some to be the most resilient of all notebooks. So how does Panasonic ensure that their line of indestructible portables are just that? In a recent tour of the Kobe plant in Japan it was discovered that 1000's of ToughBooks are destroyed each year in pursuit of the most rugged systems. Soaking, electric shock, heating and electromagnetic radiation are among the many methods of torture used."

3 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. not bright enough by cpearson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Even with toughbooks the single biggest problem with portable computers is screen brightness. In direct sunlight lcd screens are not practical. I speak from expirence beacause I developed a business application for the tablet pc. I have recieved plenty of feedback from customers about how hard it was to use them in the field.

    Vista Help Forum

    --
    Windows Vista Help Forum
  2. Um... by AeroIllini · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From TFA:

    I therefore jumped at the chance to nip over to Japan and see Panasonic's setup in person.
    Perhaps not the best choice of words...?
    --
    For security, the MD5 hash of this message and sig is 09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0.
  3. Re:not so tough by atcurtis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    we have been using them for over two years for some of our users, and have found them to be not so tough. Connectors come loose, screens crack and backlights fail. Thinkpads have proven much more reliable.

    Give users something and tell them it is tough and they will break it by being wreckless.

    Give users something and tell them it is fragile, there is a good chance they will treat it reasonably.

    Better to give a rugged notebook to someone who needs a rugged notebook due to the work that they do and tell them that it is not indestructable and that they should handle it as carefully as their job permits... Then it should last a reasonable amount of time.

    Just my 2 cents worth.

    --
    -- The universe began. Life started on a billion worlds...
    -- Except on one where stupidity was there first.