Rugged, small and ultra-mobile. That could be the description of a unit of miniature commandos, or Panasonic's new Toughbook CF-U1.
The CF-U1 is the first ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) with the new low-power Intel Atom processor in this line of handheld computers that prides itself on being more rugged than the other guys.
Panasonic's Firsts
Rance M. Poehler, Panasonic's president, pointed out the number of firsts that Panasonic has had in the UMPC category. He said the company was the first to deliver rugged notebooks in a standard form factor, as well as the first to create a rugged convertible tablet.
"The mobile rugged U1 is another example of how we take advances in mobile technology and make them reliable advances," he pointed out. The company says the new product -- at 2.2 inches high by 7.2 inches wide by 5.9 inches deep -- allows remote workers to connect to critical information and applications in real time, in the field.
The U1 features an LCD touch screen that allows sunlight viewability with low power, a solid-state drive, and an optional fingerprint scanner for user authentication. There is data capture using 1D and 2D barcode and RFID readers; a two-megapixel camera; a full-shift battery life; and Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G mobile-broadband connectivity.
The U1 can operate either with Windows XP or Windows Vista, and it comes with a "thumb-friendly" backlit QWERTY keyboard. It also has a fanless all-weather design, and a pair of hot-swappable batteries that allow battery replacement without disruption. A magnesium-alloy chassis provides an armor that can protect the computer from drops of up to four feet.
Not 'Boiling the Ocean'
Panasonic noted that the Atom processor has 47 million transistors on a chip smaller than a dime, and is the smallest and lowest-power consumer processor. The Atom, as befits its name, is intended by the chipmaker...

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I've known of the Atom for some time, glad someone is finally using it for something worth wile .