If you’re in for a rugged Windows 8.1 tablet, then you might want to turn your attention to the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1. This device falls in the 7-inch category and it’s amongst the few slates powered by Microsoft’s latest OS to come with a screen smaller than 8 inches.
The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 is basically designed for professionals on the field, allowing them to work in harsh environments without worrying about the device dying on them. The tablet is as thick as 0.71 inches and it’s pretty lightweight as well, at 1.2 pounds. The rugged design meets IP65 standards making it dust- and water-resistant. The slate is also MIL-STD-810G certified which means it can withstand drops from up to 5 feet, shocks, vibration, altitude, humidity and extreme temperatures.
The 7-inch display offers visuals in 1280 x 800p resolution with a sunlight-readable and anti-reflective coating. An optional stylus pen is also being provided and the screen can be accessed even with gloves on. Windows 8.1 with Bing is preloaded and options of a Celeron N2807 processor clocked at 2.16GHz or a 4th gen Core i5 vPro CPU powers up the slate in a fanless setup. Where battery life is concerned, the table is capable of 8 hours of usage on the standard cell or up to 16 hours on the high capacity battery.
Key specs of the Toughpad FZ-M1:
– Windows 8.1 64-bit OS with optional downgrade to Windows 7
– Celeron N2807/Core i5 vPro processor options
– 7-inch HD IPS display
– 4GB RAM
– 64GB/128GB/256GB SSD options
– 5MP rear camera, HD front webcam
– Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0, microSDXC card slot, 4G LTE, NFC, Ethernet, SmartCard reader
The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 with the Celeron processor is priced at $1,299, while the model with the 4th generation Core i5 chip is tagged at $2,099 and above. The slate can be configured with additional storage and memory amongst others.