CF-31 on Engadget

'scuse my drool.

Panasonic Toughbook 31 packs Core i3, i5 processors, tough inside and out -- Engadget

Interesting it has HDMI out. NOT cool is that now each connector has its own plasticky-rubber cover, which, as we all know, need some spares as they break off after repeated usage *cough* power connector *cough*

 

But if you closely, the covers do look "beefier" than the old style. And the one USB port has the ability to use the screw on USB extension cable like the 18/19 (not sure if the 30 had it or not since I have never seen one.) Not too many outside appearance changes, although it somehow does look more streamlined or "smoothed". Kind of like a pistol that has had all the squared edges rounded off to make it easier to draw without worry of snagging on clothing. Of course, there is that Core I5 sticker....yum!

 

I was just gonna post this... beat me to the punch!

P.S, the CF-30 has a screw'able D) USB on the side right in front of the power connector.

 

I was wondering about all the black on the lid. Please tell me that is magnesium painted black and not plastic.

 

It's the tough rubber like they have on the CF-30...

 

The one thing I noticed is the lack of a lid-mounted WWAN antenna. Wonder if it's just that the one they used for the posting isn't WWAN-equipped?

 

This is correct... it doesn't have the WWAN

 

Found this:

Panasonic Toughbook 31

The new Panasonic Toughbook 31 is going to be a game changer. This highly anticipated evolution of the Toughbook 30 will offer a whole host of additional features. The Toughbook 31 is certified to fully pass MIL-STD-810G testing in all aspects. This includes but is not limited to a 6 foot drop, shock and vibration, rain, dust and sand, altitude and extreme temperatures as well as humidity. The Toughbook 31 has an IP65 certified all-weather design. Like its predecessor, the Panasonic Toughbook 31 will have optional UL1604 class 1, division 2, groups ABCD models. The CF-31 comes standard with a Hard Disk Drive heater and of course the expected magnesium alloy casing and built-in handle.

The Toughbook 31 will have a removable shock-mounted hard drive with reinforced port doors that fully close and lock. Touchscreen CF-31’s will have a pre-installed LCD film protector that can be replaced at any time. The Toughbook 31 will come loaded with Windows XP and will also come with a full copy of Windows 7. The Panasonic Toughbook 31 will offer three difference processors. On the high end there is a 2.53GHz Intel Core I5-540M vPro Processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.07GHz. This will include 3MB of Intel Smart Cache. The middle of the road processor on the new Toughbook 31 will be a 2.40GHz Intel Core I5-520M vPro with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz. The final choice is the low-end version of the Toughbook 31 processor, which will be a 2.26z Intel Core I3-350M Processor. The Toughbook 31 will come standard with 2GB RAM, which is expandable up to 8GB of RAM. However, please keep in mind that in order to exceed 4GB RAM, a 64bit version of Windows 7 must be purchased and loaded. The Panasonic Toughbook 31 will come standard with a 160GB HD, except on the high-end processor version which will have a 250GB HD standard. A solid state drive will be optional on the CF-31.

At this particular point in time it is unclear whether there will be a non-touchscreen version of the Toughbook 31 or whether the Toughbook 31 will only come in a Touchscreen version. The touchscreen version of the Panasonic Toughbook 31 will have a remarkable 1100 NIT LCD display. This is an exceptionally bright display for direct sunlight viewability. The CF-31 will of course have anti-reflective and anti-glare screen treatments. External video support will be up to 1280 x 1024. The Toughbook 31 will have a pressure-sensitive touchpad with vertical scrolling support. There will also be the same multi-media bay on the Toughbook 31 that was on the Toughbook 30. This multi-media bay will accept either a DVD multi-drive or a supplementary battery that will extend the overall battery life of the unit by 2-3 hours.

Along with the standard interfaces you have come to expect from the Toughbook 30, the Toughbook 31 will add several new features. The Panasonic Toughbook CF-31 will have a Type A HDMI output and a 50 ohm coaxial external antenna connection. With the CF-30, you had to use a vehicle port replicator to gain access to an external antenna. Now with the Toughbook 31, you can connect an external antenna directly to the laptop. This new feature on the Toughbook 31 will create better mounting solutions for end-users. The Toughbook 31 will also have an optional integrated Gobi 2000 module with all of the current 802.11 WiFi standards. Panasonic’s new Toughbook 31 will come standard with Bluetooth.

Battery life on the all new Toughbook 31 will be tremendous. Toughbook 31 laptops with the I5 processor will get approximately 11 hours of battery life. The higher end version of the Toughbook 31 will get less battery life when the dedicated video RAM is being utilized. The low-end Toughbook 31 will get around 7 hours of battery life. The new Panasonic Toughbook 31 is one of the best built laptops ever to hit the market. The new Toughbook 31 appears to have addressed many of the shortcomings that had been an issue on its predecessor.

Sounds great! What more could a Toughbook-addicted owner want?

 

I hope this means that the CF-30s will soon flood the market and the prices will come down. Time to get those puppies off-lease.

 

For SALE: CF-30CQQAXBM with a tiny crack in the outer housing... priced at a moderately LOW $1500. Comes with standard keyboard and sprint card....

LOL

 

The CF-31 falls under my category WIHTL


when I hit the lottery!

 

in this economy I don't anticipate too many civilian individuals going all out for either of the three models at those prices. on the other hand there are many many government contractors and especially the military that will buy a lot of these. I have a MKI CF-30 and I am completely satisfied with it's performance and don't personally see a need for such a performance gain given what I use mine for.

 

Pshhh... it's about the want, not the need.

 

My ToughBook and I aren't on speaking terms right now; it fell off my ladder on a service call and smashed the cr@p out of my already-messed-up left foot.

I may have a better attitude towards Toughbooks once I stop hobbling around like grandma; until then, I'm gonna continue envisioning them ALL going into one of these:

mnem
ow... ow... OW DAMMIT OWWWWW!

 

And to think, ATT just got rid of 20,000 CF-29's to get CF-30's...

I was actually just working with an ATT tech today because one of our phone lines at our office was under water. He had a CF-30 and where the normal dogbone "toughbook" logo was it was all black with "Att" in with the blue globe thingy written on it.

 

mnementh,

that crusher would probably fall apart tying to crush a toughbook

 

Peewee, lets toss your two M34's in that crusher and see if we can get a CF-MM68...

 

It would be nice to have a Dual cpu CF-M34