Chances are that anyone who sees a Panasonic Toughbook CF-37 for the first time will be totally blown away by it. Just as I was. And just as people were when they first saw Mitsubishi's ultra-slim Pedion or Sharp's equally slim and ever so high-tech Actius. That's because unlike the somber, bricklike notebooks of yesteryear, this new breed of notebooks is impossibly thin and impossibly elegant, yet still delivers all, or most, of the power and functionality of one of those big, unwieldy bricks.

Too good to be true?
However, even in an era where technology reigns supreme, beauty may come at a price and some things that seem too good to be true are. The Pedion which graced our offices for a few months early 1999, for example, was truly gorgeous, but like a half-starved fashion model, it didn't really have much to offer beyond its great looks and it was a rather cranky device. The Actius remains a favorite, but it's just a bit too small to fill in for a "real" notebook. And neither had an internal CD-ROM drive, something that's become a necessity.
The Toughbook CF-37, in contrast, appears to have it all. It's fashionably slim (less than an inch) but its 11.7 by 9.3 inch footprint accommodates both a full size keyboard and a large 12.1" screen. The matte silver case looks supremely elegant, yet the "Toughbook" name suggests that this is more than just a pretty face. Panasonic also didn't compromise in features or performance to enable the slim shape. And yes, the CF-37 comes with a CD-ROM drive.

Panasonic makes computers?
Even though Panasonic is a household name in consumer electronics, the company hasn't had much of a presence in the US computer market. And even though Panasonic has been around for a very long time, not everyone knows that it's a brand of Japanese electronics giant Matsushita which has annual sales in the 60 billion dollar-plus range. The Toughbook series of notebook computers is handled by the Panasonic Personal Computer Company (also known as P2C2 to insiders) which is a unit of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America which, in turn, is owned by Matsushita Industrial Co., Ltd. of Japan. Though boasting an annual compound growth rate in the 50-55% range over the past five years, P2C2's sales are still relatively modest: $186 million last year, and, with some luck, perhaps $300 million this year.
In many ways, the P2C2 story is similar to that of Fujitsu Personal Systems, Inc., the leader in decision support pen tablets. Both FPSI and P2C2 are part of Japanese electronics giants. Both got started five or six years ago. Both have pursued well defined niche markets. And both have enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy from the far-away bureaucracy of their corporate parents. While neither subsidiary is large by today's corporate standards, both have established leadership positions in their respective fields. FPSI with its pen tablets and P2C2 with its unique brand of beefed up notebooks. That, however, is where the similarity ends. While Fujitsu Personal Systems just introduced two new pen tablets and clearly intends to stay in that niche market, P2C2 thinks it's on to something big. Here's how they state their case:
The need for a "Toughbook"
As notebooks have become ever more powerful, they have begun to replace desktop computers in many industries. Over six million were sold in 1998, and according to the research gurus at IDC, that number may double to over 12 million by 2003. As a result, notebook computers have become an integral part of the corporate enterprise. An integral part that, unfortunately, is rather unreliable.
Notebooks break at an alarming rate. Companies report notebook failure rates as high as 34%, with those deployed in sales and field service leading the way. IDC estimates that each time a notebook fails, repair and lost productivity add up to around $1,400. Surveys show that reliability is the number one concern of corporate notebook buyers. Unfortunately, these surveys also show that those same buyers want inexpensive notebooks and that they're not quite sure what the term "rugged" means. Bad news for US notebook users who keep dropping them, spilling coffee or soda on them, or crushing them in attaché cases. Someone really smart at the P2C2 looked at that sorry state of affair and said, "Hey, let's make some really tough notebooks and call them 'Toughbooks.'" Very smart. Even experts agree.
So Panasonic did some research into what components break most often (the hard disk, the screen, and the keyboard) and embarked on a strategy of eliminating the weak links of a traditional notebook. They began replacing plastic components with much more rugged magnesium, beefed up hinges, sealed keyboards, provided sub frames, buffering and shock mounting. It's not a perfect analogy, but in a way you can compare Panasonic's ruggedized Toughbooks to Subaru's hugely successful "Outback" models. Subaru's Outbacks are just beefed up regular cars and wagons, but anyone can tell that they are tougher. And they look very cool. Toughbooks, likewise, are just beefed up notebooks, not some odd-looking special purpose computers. But they definitely look and feel tougher than some wimpy generic notebook (Panasonic is one of the few companies that still builds its own notebooks), and then there's that great "Toughbook" name. Toughbook, notebook, a book opens, and the thing is tough, and looks tough. Certainly a much better name than "ThinkPad" which was marginally appropriate when IBM used it for its early pen slates, but definitely not for a notebook.

The Toughbooks
At this point, Panasonic has no less than six different Toughbooks, the fully ruggedized 27, the ultra-portable 33, the 37 we're look at in this article, the 45 and 47 desktop replacements, and the top-of-the-line 71. Though they appeal to different audiences, they all share the distinctive Toughbook look, shock-mounted hard disks, and abundant use of magnesium to back up the name. Some models also have spill-resistant keyboards and LCDs. That means Panasonic is likely to have a Toughbook for you no matter what industry you're in. The lineup, incidentally, no longer includes the handy CF-01 pen tablet. Designed for IBM Japan, we always liked the CF-01 except for its anemic battery life. Maybe we'll see a successor someday.

The Toughbook CF37
But now let's take a closer look at the CF-37. As stated in the opening paragraph, the unit is a visual stunner. Despite its slenderness and lack of the CF-27's Arnold Schwarzenegger look, there is never a doubt that the 37 is a Toughbook. Its full-magnesium case looks great. The beefy, ribbed LCD hinges promise to fix one of the most vexing notebook problems, breaking or loosening hinges. The 37 is powered by a speedy 366MHz Intel Celeron processor, comes with 64MB of RAM (expandable to 192MB through a single connector), and a 6.4GB shock-mounted hard disk. An integrated "Multimedia Pocket" accommodates either a half-height 24X CD-ROM drive (standard), a DVD-ROM drive, a SuperDisk, or a second 3.1Ah battery (all optional). The CD-ROM drive looks impossibly thin and to think that you can even get an equally thin DVD drive boggles the mind. Then again, Matsushita makes something like 43% of all CD-ROM drives in the world, so they know a thing or two. The main battery, by the way, is a 3.0Ah Li-Ion design that should last for two or three hours. Even slim-lines eat up batteries, so we recommend road warriors spring for the optional second battery.
The 37 continues to shine in the display subsystem area. The bright 12.1-inch 800 x 600 TFT uses Panasonic's "Day rite" ARXS II anti-reflective technology that provides much better outdoor viewing than you'd expect from a TFT. Cursor control is either via an Alps style touchpad with programmable hotspots or via-drum rolls-pen, which makes the 37 the first full-function slim line notebook with a touchscreen. Those who remember the old Panasonic CD-21 pen convertible will wonder whether the 37 comes with that unit's innovative flipover screen. Well, no. But at least the screen folds down flat and you can even rotate the display 180 degrees for presentations (or easier pen data entry).
Given its slim-line design we didn't expect the 37 to have a full complement of ports, but it does. The rear features full-size serial, parallel, and VGA-out ports, plus a PS/2-style connector. Microphone and headphone jacks, IR, a USB port, and an RJ-11 jack for the internal 56k V.90 modem are on the right side where you'll also find-perhaps the only concession to the slim-line form-a lone Type II PC card slot.
In everyday life, the CF37 is an eminently likable machine. It looks great, the screen has deep, rich colors, the keyboard works fine, and the entire design is trust-inspiring. The machine also comes with nice little touches like Panasonic's patented Smart Boot utility that cuts down on startup time. About the only thing I didn't like was the location of the unit's on-off switch. It's on the front and I accidentally shut down the 37 several times when all I wanted was to open the clamshell.
If corporate America has any sense, we'll be seeing a whole lot of Toughbooks out there real soon. -

– Conrad H. Blickenstorfer

Processor	Intel Celeron 366MHz MMX
OS	Windows 95 or 98
Memory	64-192MB RAM
Display	12.1" DayBrite ARX SVGA TFT LCD
Digitizer	Pressure-sensitive panel
Storage	6.4GB shock-mounted HDD
Size	11.7 x 9.4 x 1.0 inches
Weight	4.4 lbs (base unit including battery pack)
Power	Li-Ion 3,000mAh
Interface	S/P, VGA, audio, USB, IR, PS/2
Options	DVD-ROM, SuperDisk, extended battery, AC adapter
Price	US$2,699
Contact	Matsushita Corp of America, One Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094, 800-527-8675 www.panasonic.com