The CF-29 and Prices etc

Ok so i have decided to go with a CF-29.

What is a generally good price for one?

What sort of problems will i see with installing GPS and Bluetooth?

Any comments?

Thanks

 

Also is there a website that has all the toughbook models and specs?

I keep looking but cant seem to find anything

 

I think alot would depend on how much your willing to spend? I got mine for $1400 with built in GPS, 1.6grz touchscreen, 7.65ah batt, etc. I felt it was a good deal compared to adding all the other stuff.

 

mine does not need to be anything special (looks wise). Looking at the 1.3ghz with touchscreen. Battery does not matter as i plan to refurbish them anyways. Also GPS would be great built in, but i can always add that later.

What sort of price am i looking at here. I would like to pay under $1000

 

With a built in GPS I havent seen any under $1000 last ones I saw on eBAY were about $1100 which is ok.

I suggest picking one up on ebay for about $700 and then Adding a GPS to it, Then that would be about $1000 even maybe less.

Ebay is you best bet, I hear you on the cost I had to think hard about dropping $1400 for a laptop that will only get cheaper in a few months. lol But it was maxed out and I had my other laptop tpo sell to offshoot the costs.

 

Is there a reason besides the basic lowering of costs, for the CF-29s going down in price?

 

It depends on what you really Want, I see CF-28's Fully Stocked which Technically are BETTER than CF-29 in terms of costs. Example is you want a 1.3 which isnt that much better than a 1GHZ, plus some of them only allow .12gb of Ram and have only 64mb of shared video. Its hard to find the right one.

I suggest doing a search on EBay for CF-28 and see if there is a full stocked one around your price, remember Buy it Nows are usually not the reserve Prices. Make sure you get one full stocked a 1ghz model make sure it has extra batteries etc. And if its around you price go with a cf-28.

If you bent on CF-29 I say wait and get one like I did, so you can get a fully stocked model but then consider the costs of Extra batteries chargers etc.

Up to you.

 

The problem with the CF-28s 1Ghz is that they are nearly impossible to find

 

Is there a site that has all the different models and specs of the CF-29s and CF-28s?

 

Here's the site. Just takes a little bit of thinking to figure out how to use it.

http://www.config.toughbook.com/

 

Check out toughbook.wikispaces for general info on a number of models.
http://toughbook.wikispaces.com/

You'll need to go to the Panasonic configurator to see what all the options were for the models.
http://www.config.toughbook.com

Select 'all discontinued models', the one you want, and check the drop downs for original options. A number of those I imagine were never really offered, or the popularity varied.

 

Just so's I won't get my feelings hurt while you guys are 'dissin Ebay Toughbooks, I currently have a 1Ghz up on Ebay.

Not a touchscreen, but in very good condition otherwise. [needs a battery, and OS]

Just sayin'...

 

Dis the IG? Never happen...

Which is your's? The pink or blue bow?

 

Huh?

Mine is number 140218224533.
Panasonic Toughbook CF-28 1GHz w/NEW keyboard

 

sorry. little bit of (very bad) delivery room humor.

I'll go hide in the corner now.

 

No problemo here. Just wasn't getting it.

You work in delivery rooms?

 

Nope, just took my wife to one a couple of times. Looking for your listing reminded me of comparing babies at the newborn nursery windows.

 

Looking at it now. Very nice. Like the price. Might buy it.

 

As I have suggested several times... You should take the time to read some of the posts around here. A lot of your questions would be answered easily with a little reading and searching.

As dfor the best deal on ebay... Right now it is probably the $850 deal offered by Hi-tech. $850 for a 1.3Ghz Toughbook with a DVD Rom is a pretty good deal.

 

http://cgi.ebay.ca/PANASONIC-TOUGHB...goryZ177QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Ya they are not bad.

 

What do you think of this:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Panasonic-Toughb...goryZ177QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I am pretty sure you can't get it for $1500 below.

 

There are always going to be new items popping up, and as soon as you buy something, a better one will come along.

It comes down to what you want and how much you can afford to pay. How much is it worth to have it now versus waiting for a possible price drop.
The best advice I can offer is to search ebay for past sales, come up with a reasonable best price you can afford, and start making bids. Set suitable values on the features you want, and you can get to a matrix of values to decide what a particular unit is worth. Convince yourself to stay within your limits and not be enticed to bid much over what you budget. Make <your> decision on what you want to get, using the info available here to help.
Just my 2 cents...

 

I concur. It's a DM, so it should have the Sprint CDMA module already. Throw in a few items to personalize it and have a super machine.

 

You guys are so weary a purchase lol. I am not on a on a buying frenzy. I still looking. I have been creeping for a while now and i am still looking.

I might still push for a CF-19. Get the smaller unit with tablet option. but we will see. As for what i am willing to pay.... That is not really an issue for me as long as i feel like i am getting what i want for a reasonable price. I could pay 500 to 2000. Who knows. lol

 

Ray I can give you the Link to the guy I bought From as I doubt you can get the same model for less. I got a 1.6 fully stocked with GPS and recovery disks etc but it will cost about $1400 but thats cheaper than 1500 I noticed like you that the auction you showed will go up way HIGHER than I paid with a buy it now. lol

People get bidding and then Fever sets in. ;-) Also some sellers have other accounts to raise the bid as I find it hard to believe that these laptops always sell for the same high costs and yet Buy it Nows dont sell which are better and cheaper? Word of caution beware who you buy from. I still think for your budget you should go with a CF-28 they are a nice system but get one full stocked and you wont regret it.

 

Just noticed a CF-29CTPGZKM for $749.00 Buy it now... FYI

http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-Tough...goryZ177QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I would buy it, But i keep thinking i am going to get hit at the US/Canada boarder with duties.

 

It doesn't have a CD drive or caddy. I also asked him to post a pic of the actual laptop instead of a stock photo. They wouldn't do it. Be weary of sellers who won't post pic's of the actual item you are bidding on. If you win you won't have any idea of the item's condition until in gets in your hands.

 

I am always weary

 

You will! This is one of the reasons I don't ship to Canada... It always turns into a hassle. The last two customers who bought from me had to pay approximately $120 - $130 for import duty/customs duty. That was based on $1500 - $1600 purchase price.

Supposedly... You can save money if you live close to the Customs Office and you want to go "check it through" yourself. This is what UPS told me.

 

Ya there are two ways to get around this.

First is to drive accross the boarder and have the guy ship it to something like a UPS retail store that is next to the boarder and pick it up there. There is sually a small charge for UPS to hold it for you.

The second way. Which i have used and prefer, is just to have the guy mark the item as a gift. As long as it is a gift they do not charge a duty

 

They may not be able to charge a duty but they can charge you a hefty Customs fee. (Ask me how I know!)

I was told by UPS not to mark it as a "gift" but as a "Warrantied Service" with no charge. I had one get hung up in customs for two weeks because I labeled it as a gift when it actually had been a free service. They sometimes like to split hairs.

I happily use UPS for USA deliveries though I mostly us the good old USPS.... But I will never use UPS again for anything international. I'll always go with Fed-Ex from now on.

 

wow i have never had trouble with the marking as gift thing. and thats moving stuff both ways over the border

 

I think the confusion came when I insured the laptops for $1500 but then claimed them as a gift or service work. They just didn't get it. That was UPS in both cases... And in both cases I was called and then needed to fill out more paperwork and fax it in. Both people at different times told me entirely different ways to fill out the paperwork. I'm not sure if they know exactly what they are doing.

 

UPS charges "customs clearing" fees on all packages to Canada. Then Canadian customs may also charge whatever their duty is. The problems people have are with the UPS clearing fees, they apply regardless if it is a gift of a $5.00 snow globe or merchandise valued at $2k

USPS is the way to ship to Canada.

For Europe and Asia you cant beat fedex for large and unusually classed items, and DHL for normal size and regular classed items such as laptops. DHL is contracted with most European Postal services so they can really get the job done.

 

You do need to be careful with DHL though - they farm out a lot of their deliveries for remote areas - USPS will deliver for DHL in remote areas even in the US - You never know what carrier will actually deliver it. They are probably the strongest with international shipping though.

TB - as far as UPS to Canada, I speak from over ten years of experience working for the big Brown in my younger days. They have and will always struggle with the paperwork side, they don't spend enough time teaching their own employees not to mention the UPS store employees. They use to have a corner on the market so they did not care, but now that Fedx is getting stronger every day that has changed the customer expectation. The main issue is that you are dealing with a gov't that want's money so they tend to change the rules to fit them. I would agree that you would be best to run your stuff as warranty to avoid getting caught in the Gift thing - they are not stupid and want your money so if they think you are trying to get around it then it will fall into the customs black hole !!!!
Also you can call your LOCAL ups center - not the UPS store or the 800 number and ask who is the international expert - every center has an int expert - they can give you all the tricks to making sure your paperwork is straight, the better the paperwork the quicker it will go. I know we used to spend a lot of time dealing with poor documentation. Let me know if you need any help getting the local number I still have some connections - hope this helps - have fun

 

Mega... Thanks for the clarification. That is good to know!