my first TB - CF-C1 mk1

Hi everyone,

I've recently purchased a factory refurbished C1, C1ADACZGM (from buytough), which to my surprise looks 99% as new;

The good:
- as per the BIOS, came with only 120 hrs.
- the battery seems to have no degradation (42180 mWh)
- XP Tablet was preinstalled on the HDD, ready to config
- Win7 Pro 32bit Recovery DVD included
- stylus included
- good to very good heat management
- Core i5 standard voltage
- really light (prev. owned Thinkpad X100e, X120e)
- this thing+SSD is FAST (even compared to a Phenom2 X4 905e)
- Intel WiFI + LAN (2x2 agn, Gigabit)
- even with only one battery, you can get 3-5hrs, maybe 6 on very light and max power saving
- triple hinge + touchscreen + digitizer + low weight + handstrap is a wonderfull combo (minus LCD)
- got over 230MB seq read on the X25-M G2 160GB, so the AHCI controller is working in Sata2 mode (read about the Gen1 limitation on other models)
- Fedora 16 Linux seems to support almost everything out of the box, except 4 of the 6 tablet buttons on the screen

The not so good:
- lack of HDMI/DP
- lcd panel viewing angles are BAD, esp. vertical - in tablet mode it's hard to see clearly if you're not keeping perpendicular.
- using it in portrait mode it's disappointingly color-wise
- I didn't do a proper research, so I was surprised it didn't have a Webcam and Fingerprint Reader (my bad).
- the 2GB it came with is covered by a plastic plate, preventing removal, which I think needs dissasemble of the bottom plate in order to upgrade it. The upper SODIMM slot is easily reachable.
- only a PC Card Slot, even tough chipset (QM57) supports ExpressCard.
- the same/worse policy on add-on cards as Lenovo - BIOS lockdown of unbranded wifi/wwan cards
- keyboard keys have some side play, and space bar seems too narrow

I have a few questions for you guys, it seems there aren't many C1 users on this forum, so the info is scarce.

1) I want to upgrade it to 8GB, and on every spec sheet I read, it says max 6GB. Is that a BIOS limit, a marketing decision (it ships with 2GB, so only 4GB more field upgradeable) ?
I have added a Crucial 4GB PC10600, no problems so far. I know the mk2 has 8gb listed as max.

2) I successfully unlocked the BIOS flag for WWAN, and now I can see the Lenovo Gobi2000 I added from a X100e Thinkpad, in Device Manager (lspci).
Still working on the drivers, the TB Connection Manager didn't like it.
Aside from that, I'm not sure I properly connected the antenna wires, I put the GREEN on MAIN, and the GRAY on AUX. Is it ok ?

3) Can I buy a FP sensor and install it in the plastic placeholder on the lower right screen corner ?

4) Webcam retrofit - is it doable ? I know I have to drill a small hole, but aside from that - and finding a webcam assembly, has it been done before ?

Thanks in advance, hope to make this thread a very good resource for C1.

 

Welcome to the Zoo of all zoos ("1+1=3orMore")
I could not resist after reading an earlier post about this tablet and I'm awaiting shipment of an auction won last night. Excited about Business Ruggedness, Twin Hot Swappable Batteries, Triple Hinge, SpillProofKeyboard (can drain off up to 170 ml. of water spilled onto keyboard, even while active), Drop Tested at 76 cm, & 3 usb ports. I know it's not as tough as a CF-29 or 30, but Panasonic did underline their confidence in the ruggedness of this product that they offered a two year accidental damage insurance policy when this tablet hit the market in October 2010. Time will tell but it does have a removeable hard drive (caddy), bluetooth, wifi, and a rotational monitor. Not sure how the circular trackpad will fare as reviews were down on this feature, but who cares, it's a business rugged toughbook! Stay tuned...

 

Don't think this is possible. I say this because if you bought a C1 with the Fingerprint, you would see that it is actually part of the Mainboard. I am not 100% sure on that though.

Same statement as mine above.
Don't think this is possible. I say this because if you bought a C1 with the Web camera, you would see that it is actually part of the Mainboard. I am not 100% sure on that though.

 

My C1 has TPM v1.2 chip on the MB. That is required for having secure biometric authentication, but not sufficient. The actual image sensor is/should be located on the display frame, where the plastic is cut-out, but instead of the sensor, there is just plastic.
I'm not sure about the interface connection to the MB, but I presume it's USB, internally.

The webcam, is very likely USB also, I opened up quite a few laptops (and put them back up again in order ) and all of them were connected to a small white USB connector on the MB. You can see it in Device Manager on the USB section, or in lsusb in Linux.

What I really hope it's not the case, is a device disable flag in BIOS, which is hidden, if the laptop didn't ship with that device from the factory.

 

I want to buy this laptop, but it doesn't have an HDMI port on it. For that reason alone, I will NOT be buying this laptop!

YOU SCREWED UP BIG TIME ON THAT PANASONIC!!!

 

I agree with you on that, but that's why I ordered a docking station for it, with HDMI, 4xUSB, ETH, eSATA, DVD-RW, AC, VGA.
There was plenty of space for it, I don't have a clue why they didn't;
would have been really nice to hook it up to a 50" TV with just one cable.
I miss my X120 as a very good and portable 1080p XBMC media player (among other uses).
Until WiDi is a (practical) reality, we still need cables.

 

You'll want to check out the CF-S9 Series, which does have an HDMI

 

S10 is out now... and no touchscreen! EFF THAT NOISE!

 

Sorry Rob, just got mine in, came with multi touch plus touch screen
I don't care about the HDMI myself, you had mentioned you liked the CF-C1 but were not happy about NO HDMI.
HDMI is available if using the optional port replicator or on the CF-S9 according to my instruction manual.
I'm re-calibrating the batteries now, I saw on boot-up she had 6GB RAM & a Hard Disk Drive 128 GB (SATA AHCI). I got her for such a good price I might just clean her up a bit and re-sell her

 

Wait so the S10 has a touch? It doesn't say anything of that on Pannys website!!

 

sorry Rob, I disavow any knowledge to the S-10, am speaking of my newly acquired CF-C1...you mentioned no hdmi on it although you liked it otherwise and then mentioned the S10 that did NOT have touch...I don't know, just sayin

 

I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else. LMAO.

Nevermind. Sorry

 

So, I must say this: I got my hands on a CF-C1 today that I sold a customer (MK1, XP, base model) and I will say this: I'M VERY VERY VERY IMPRESSED! Impressed so much that I think I will persue buying one! I want a loaded one though. I found an MK2, finger,BT, webcam and many more options that I will probably buy. I will take my GOBI 2000 card (For my ATT & GPS) and 256GB SSD Drive from my CF-31 and put it in the C1 and use the C1 as my main workhorse.

I HATE the fact that it doesn't have an HDMI port (Panasonic had their head up their there), but I like the fact that the battery life with a SINGLE battery is 8 hours! MAN ALIVE! I would buy a 2nd battery IMMEDIATELY and have 16 hours! I CAN LIVE WITH THAT MAN!

~Rob - ready to pull the trigger ~

 

Hmmm. Official product literature state 6 hours per battery in Europe. Personally, I'd be sceptical of getting 8 hours battery out of one.

 

Testing battery now. well either way, even with 6 hours x 2 = 12 hours = WAY better than my CF-31! lol

 

WOW! you are right! It's only showing 3:43 with a single battery in there. That ain't very good! GAH!

Back to the drawing boards!

 

The battery tests that are published are (according to what's written on there) done with MobileMark. MobileMark has very stringent conditions for battery testing, to ensure you get a like for like comparison across all models and manufacturers.

Things like screen brightness, CPU activity, WLAN usage, WWAN usage, Bluetooth, HDD activity etc etc will all affect largely the battery life you see on your unit.

 

The Mk2 (i5-2520) should be more efficient than the Mk1 I have (i5-520); the manuf. estimates are 5hrs for mk1 and 6 hrs mk2 (all with single battery).

I got 5hr estimates in Win7, sometimes I saw even 6. In the first battery cycles I got more than 4 hrs of usage, maybe 5 (I stopped at 8%).
I kept BT off, WWAN, 802.11a (5ghz) off, low brightness, and had light CPU usage.

After I installed my Lenovo Gobi2000 (coincidence or not), the battery seems to drain way faster...
In Linux I'm seeing smth around 3hrs (with ~12W power usage), also 12hrs of suspend mode ate 30% of charge.

At some point, I enabled Panasonic ECO mode (max 80% full charge), but after a few days, I got back to the default scheme.

I'm waiting for 3 extra batteries to arrive, that should be new, as the one I got with this refurbished unit seemed to be in perfect shape at first (no capacity loss), but lately, it was in a less than satisfying performance.

 

I WOULD purchase an additional battery if I buy this, might I mention.

Thanks for the in depth analysis! :cheers:

 

One more AWESOME THING!!!: Panasonic TBCC1SSTP-P INFOCASE SHOULDER STRAP AND HARDWARE KIT ALLOWS THE ADDITI | eBay

Also found a dock bay, which has an HDMI port on it + the optical drive so that will stay at my office: PANASONIC DESKTOP PORT REPLICATOR WITH DVD MULTI DRIVE FOR CF-C1 (CF-VEBC11U) | eBay

This is looking positive for me...

 

Also found more cool stuff: InfoCase Panasonic ToughMate C1 Tablet Sleeve - Notebook sleeve - f TBCC1SLVVN-P (037988833702) | eBay

PANASONIC TBCC1SLVLT-P INFOCASE EXECUTIVE LEATHER TABLET SLEEVE FOR C-1 EXCLUS.. (850461000169) | eBay

Seems like the business rugged guys have a LOT of cool options!!

I'm really getting excited here...

I might buy tomorrow. W00T!

 

you're welcome.

I'm also waiting for the Dock, but be aware that it doesn't come with an AC-adapter.
It's probably a good idea to buy one (found one new, original, on Amz, $56).
I paid 100 more for the same dock ; at least I got the batteries $80 a piece (from some seller in MD - a lot of toughbook parts there)

I managed to setup circular scrolling in Linux, and Gobi is fully functional as well (3G + GPS).
I think I'll have to install Lenovo's Access Connections too, for the modem to be usable in Windows (only one port is listed - that's the firmware loader one).

 

@rob, there aren't a lot of good cases/sleeves for the 19, at least not that I have found. And I have the ever-ready-case, but that is not what I'm looking for. So much velcro you need to undo before you can open it?! I'm waking everyone in a 0,5mile radius while doing that.

@gear6, nice machine, I have been looking at those as well, but wanted something more rugged. I have a macbook air with thunderbolt display for the office, or offical meetings, but the TB is with me every moment of the day, every day. and at my nightstand at night, charging. at church, under my chair, in the train, bus, underground, above ground (tram), walking, on my bike. Well, you get the idea.

 

I don't want a 19. Keyboard is WAY to tiny.

Thanks

 

Haha, I don't have small hands, but I get used to it quite well.
Can type as fast with the 19 as with any full sized keyboard. It took some time to get used to it, but it was a matter of days. I type a lot for work and type blind. I hope the new chicklet emissive keyboard is just as good.

 

Also found a dock bay, which has an HDMI port on it + the optical drive so that will stay at my office: PANASONIC DESKTOP PORT REPLICATOR WITH DVD MULTI DRIVE FOR CF-C1 (CF-VEBC11U) | eBay

Thanks for the above link Rob, this is > $50 less than least expensive find on the world wide web...and with free shipping...ordered one asap!

This is looking positive for me... [/QUOTE]

 

i am thinking of getting one now. just cannot find mk2 in good price range, i mean the price i can afford.

 

seems we're going to have a real C1 user base here
so far 3x C1 + 3x Docks

 

What are the advantages of a Mk2 over a Mk1? - other than the 2520 processor?
Also, is there any way to tell a Mk1 from Mk2 by the letters in its model numbere -- like you can with a Cf-29 or 30?

 

CF-C1A = mk1
CF-C1B = mk2

 

I can't even use an MK1 because of the fact that they don't have "gloved multi touch".

I've used the MK1. It's NOT responsive to the touch it's self, but rather to the electrodes in your fingers like an android or iPhone... Kinda stupid if you ask me... (My wifes new Dell is like that too). That raeson alone is worth it to me for the newer one.

Thanks

 

FWIW: I offered $130 on that port replicator and he accepted it! So that's $20 more in my pocket!

w00t!

 

i am in and wait for delivery now.

 

Great, just bought mk1..

 

I don't know if you mean that last post as in, "damn, I should have bought an MK2"? lol

Before you buy stuff, you need to spend some time researching it! I spent OVER A MONTH thinking about this before I pulled the trigger.

 

but how is mk2 deal now? under 1 grand? budget is issue as well..

 

anyone got the should strap? pic pls.

 

No way! I paid $1550 for my MK2.

Pics of shoulder strap inbound! I don't have the unit yet, so I'll just post pics of just the strap.

 

Rob, i did not see the strap pic.

I agree w/ you that mk2 is better (screen wise). but consideration what i paid for the mk1 (half of what you paid), it is a good deal for me, within budget. also, i've had lenovo x200t, which i believe is similar lcd panel as mk1, i am ok w/ it with right driver (256 pressure sensor!). I will test this today. I am trying to post some pics tonight.

c1 club here!

 

Here we are: Index of ./CF-C1 Stuff/

Note that the strap it's self can be replaced by ANY strap of your choice (I will probably use the strap that I've been using for 2 + years with my 30 and 31 as it's more durable and has better padding) because it has big enough rings. I got this locally from Tiger Direct for only $33 .













Hope this helps

 

great pic. very helpful. i am going to order one.

 

Mk2 comes w/ 4GB in the first (hard to reach i.e. needs disassemble) slot, so 8GB is easily done, as opposed to 2GB on mk1 stock, and 6gb max.
The Gloved MultiTouch screen option is the only difference vs mk1 screen.
The platform is newer, SandyBridge w/ QM67 (mk2) vs Arrandale QM57;

But the real benefits are the integrated Graphics, intel HD3000 (650-1300 Mhz) vs HD2000 (500-766) and IMC (memory controller) DDR3-800/1066 vs DDR3-1066/1333, which are now both 32nm, like the cpu, versus 45nm for mk1.
This translates into (theoretically) double GPU performance (advertised by intel), lower heat, and better battery life - estimates by Panasonic are 12hrs vs 10hrs on mk1.

Also, the new cpu supports 16GB (2x 8GB), but I'm doubtful the BIOS would accept it.
QuickSync is a new HW video transcoding feature found in 2520, which seemed faster than that on dedicated graphics (ati+nvidia), although not quite the same quality.

i5-2520m vs i5-520m

I'm not sure about X200T, but all versions of the X220 Tablet had IPS WideView screens - which should be a MUST for any tablet PC.
Too bad they are 1366x768 - I would have bought one otherwise.

 

As far as the whole, disassemble the entire bottom... EH! It's not a concern to me... I do it all day long anyways with CF-19 and CF-31's as they are both designed the same way.

The whole 6GB max crap isn't true. It works with 8GB, you just need to take the entire bottom apart, that's all.

 

you're right about that, it's just that it's not field upgradeable. but I will definitely verify it when I'll have the time to take it apart.

 

OMG OMG OMG! it's here! It just came in the mail today! Pictures will come soon

~Rob - kid in the candy store~

 

For those looking at the Rugged Series CF-C1 Toughbooks, some of the MK1's did come with 12.1WXGA MultiTouch & Digitizer Screens as my recent acquisition did:
Model Number:
CF-C1ADAJG6M
Status ISCONTINUED
MSRP:$3,054
Description: WinXP Tablet (Win7 COA), Intel Core i5-520M 2.40GHz, vPro, 12.1" WXGA Multi Touch+Digitizer, 250GB, 2GB, Intel WiFi a/b/g/n, TPM, Bluetooth, 56k Modem (RJ11), Webcam, Gobi, No Drive, Toughbook Preferred, replaced with CF-C1BDHAG1M

 

Mine is Multi+Digitizer too, but not Gloved, like Rob's new toy

Have fun!

 

WOW! Right away I'm already happy about the touchscreen! The screen is a multi touch... No digitizer, only pure touch! It works with ANY object I poke it with (giggity). The pen it comes with is just a plastic pen, not a digitizer pen of course. Also, the response to the touch is WAAAAAAAAAAAY better than the CF-31! I can VERY gently touch it and it responds, unlike the screen on the CF-31!

w00t!

 

I prefer it that way. Could care less to have a digitizer!

 

My initial analysis shows that this clown doesn't know anything about Toughbooks based on the fact that it's missing 20 (YES, 20 exactly) drivers and NEEDED applications... AHH!

Good thing I can fix it with my eyes closed!