Panasonic Reveals Toughbook C1 Dubbed World's Lightest 12.1-Inch Convertible Tablet

Panasonic makes a range of rugged and semi-rugged notebooks for a variety of needs. Some of the rugged machines are aimed at healthcare, while others are for military and field workers. Panasonic has announced a new convertible rugged PC called the Toughbook C1. Panasonic claims the machine is the world's lightest 12.1-inch convertible tablet PC.

The C1 can withstand a drop from 30-inchs up and can be fitted with Gobi2000 mobile broadband. The convertible machine weighs 3.2 pounds with one battery or 3.7 pounds with two batteries. The machine runs Windows 7 and can be downgraded to XP.

The processor is the Intel Core i5-520M vPro at 2.4GHz. Storage is to a 320GB HDD that is shock mounted and the C1 has 2GB of RAM. Two screen options include a 12.1-inch WXGA with LED backlighting with multitouch and a digitizer. A screen that works with users wearing gloves will be offered this fall. Bluetooth and WiFi are built in along with optional fingerprint reader and SmartCard readers. The C1 will ship globally in June with a US price of $2499 for base C1.