As much as the Toughpad 4K 20-inch model tablet from Panasonic was an impressive piece of kit before, it’s now been given some tweaks and updates to make it perform even better, as well as upgrading its internal hardware. Of course its hefty price tag remains, but at this level of hardware aimed at enterprises, you can’t expect it to be cheap.
On the inside, the new version of the tablet comes with an Intel Core i7-5600U vPro CPU, twinned with an AMD FirePro M5100 graphics chip. We’re told (via Winbeta) that this supports High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) 2.2 as well, so that creators can work with DRM if needed.
This new and more powerful hardware should make it possible to edit video, work on photographs or handle other performance intensive, visual tasks with more speed and precision than before and if external displays or camera hardware are being used, 4K content can now be transmitted at 60 frames per second via the new HDMI 2.0 output.
As expected, when made available before the end of the month, the Toughpad 4K 20-inch model will come with Microsoft’s latest build of Windows 10 preinstalled (though it’s thought likely that a Windows 7 variant will also be made available in the new year, presumably before Microsoft’s free upgrade period runs out).
Pricing for the new variant of the Toughpad is stated as $4,300, putting this piece of kit out of the reach of most end users, but then it is designed with professionals in mind. Their budgets tend to be a little higher and their requirements likewise.
Is this the kind of piece of kit that would be useful for your job? If so, is it something that your boss would budget for? That’s quite a hefty price tag for any department.
