June/July 2007

For mobile staff who need top-end performance from a rugged laptop computer, Panasonic has launched a model with plenty of appeal. The upgraded CF-74 has become the first in the company's range to include the latest-generation Intel Centrino chipset - the Mobile Intel 965GM Express - along with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of RAM memory and an 80GB hard disk drive. At the time of announcement it was being offered with either Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business operating systems.

It comes in a shock-proof magnesium alloy casing and has a splash-proof keyboard and touchpad. Other features include up to eight hours' battery life; a 13.3-inch anti-glare screen with high brightness and contrast for working even in strong sunlight; and a multi-format disk burner compatible with DVD-R/RW & CD-R/RW.

Wireless networking and Bluetooth and included, and there's a GPRS/EDGE option for wide-area networking.

On the security front, the CF-74 has a TPM (Trusted Module Platform) chip, providing cryptographic data encoding and clear identification and authentication of the notebook in company networks. There's also an optional integrated fingerprint reader.