Panasonic, an industry leader in rugged, reliable mobile computers since 1996, today announced upgrades to its semi-rugged Toughbook 53 notebook computer. Panasonic's semi-rugged notebooks have built a reputation as reliable and versatile devices that deliver high-performance computing in demanding markets like insurance, construction and the military. The updated Toughbook 53, the latest in the line of products that created and continues to define the semi-rugged category, is now available with an Intel Core i5-3320M vPro processor (3MB cache, up to 3.3 GHz) with Intel Turbo Boost Technology. Other upgrades include expanded storage and improved connectivity options.

Panasonic, an industry leader in rugged, reliable mobile computers since 1996, today announced upgrades to the Panasonic Toughbook 31, its best-selling fully-rugged laptop PC, including a faster processor, expanded storage, a more responsive touchscreen and other improvements. The Toughbook 31 is the gold standard for mission-critical mobile workers - including military personnel, first responders and field service workers - requiring exceptional performance in extreme environments.

Powered by new 3rd generation Intel Core processors, the upgraded Toughbook 31 delivers enhanced performance alongside world-class reliability. Other improvements include expanded storage (up to 500GB 7200 RPM HDD with 4-8 GB RAM) and improved touchscreen responsiveness.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Technics SL-1200, a direct-drive turntable system popular among professional broadcast studios and DJ's, Panasonic today announced the reintroduction of Technics Pro DJ headphones. The Technics RP-DH1250 and RP-DJ1205 models feature sleek new packaging and offer the same superior sound quality that helped catapult the brand into its status as a favorite among consumers.

An iconic brand among professional DJ's, producers, musicians and music-loving consumers alike, the Technics name is synonymous with state-of-the-art craftsmanship and outstanding sound performance. Engineered to produce unsurpassed sound quality, Panasonic Technics headphones provide users with unique style, ultimate comfort and rugged durability.

Panasonic, an industry leader in rugged, reliable mobile computers since 1996, today announced upgrades to the Panasonic Toughbook 19, its best-selling rugged convertible tablet PC. The updated Toughbook 19 now comes with an Intel Core i5-3320M vPro processor (up to 3.3 GHz) with Intel Turbo Boost Technology. Other enhancements include expanded storage, a more responsive touchpad and an innovative ambient light sensor, allowing automatic backlight shut-off to improve battery life.

With these and other upgrades, the reliable Toughbook 19 continues to be the ideal investment for a broad spectrum of demanding work environments, including the military's front lines, in police and emergency services vehicles, and in the field for use by service workers and utility and maintenance technicians.

Panasonic announced its newest line of SDHC and SDXC cards that are built to last against the elements, and then some. The new SDAB and SDUB series cards are built to be waterproof, shockproof, freeze proof, X-ray proof, and anti-magnetic. The Panasonic SDAB series consists of 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB SDHC cards, offering up to 95 MB/s reads, and up to 80 MB/s writes; while the Panasonic SDUB series comes in 8, 16, 32 GB SDHC and 64 GB SDXC variants, offering up to 90 MB/s reads, with up to 45 MB/s writes. The two new lines of sturdy SD cards are slated for September market-release.

Sony Corporation ("Sony") and Panasonic Corporation ("Panasonic") today announced that they have signed an agreement regarding the joint development of next-generation OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels and modules for TVs and large-sized displays.

Sony and Panasonic plan to jointly develop next-generation OLED panels and modules by each utilizing their core and printing technologies. They plan to jointly develop printing method-based next-generation OLED technology, which will be suitable for low-cost mass production of large, high resolution OLED panels and modules. Sony and Panasonic aim to establish mass-production technology during 2013, by integrating their unique technologies to improve the overall efficiency of development.

The Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 has transformed the way professionals work in field utilities, emergency services, defence, transport maintenance and a huge range of field services by providing access to data and applications, wherever and whenever they need it. This latest device will mark a decade for the product line of market-leading rugged convertible notebooks, enabling customers to benefit from the latest design and technology enhancements whilst continuing to use the wide range of peripherals built around the range, such as docking stations and car mounts.

The new Toughbook CF-19 includes the 3rd generation Intel Core i5 Processor & Chipset. The high performance Intel Core i5-3320 vPro (2.60 GHz, up to 3.30 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology) standard voltage processor with Intel HD 4000 graphics, ensures the device is capable of handling the most intensive applications. To ensure reliability in the most challenging environments, the CF-19 remains unique in the market with its fan less design; instead using Panasonic energy optimisation and optimised heat pipes to cool the full performance, standard voltage CPU.

Panasonic, a leader in consumer electronics technology, today announced pricing and availability of its 2012 line of headphones. Featuring a wide-array of headphone styles and functionality, including ear-bud, monitor and noise-cancelling, the 2012 models have been designed to produce superior sound quality while maintaining stylish appeal and comfortable design.

Expanding on its popular line of noise cancelling headphone models, Panasonic introduces the RP-HC200 which features an over-ear design and soft headpad to increase user's comfort level. The RP-HC200 reduces outside noise by 81% (14 dB) at 200 Hz and has the ability to be used in normal headphone capacity even when the noise cancelling effect is turned off. A fold-flat design makes it easy to pack in carry-on luggage and a plug adaptor for aircraft use is included. Users can enjoy 60 hours of long, noise cancelling operation with just one AAA Alkaline battery. The RP-HC200 is available now in black, white, green and yellow with an SRP of $79.99.

Panasonic Corporation today announced it has developed a chipset for multi-gigabit millimeter wave wireless communication that offers the industry's lowest power consumption of less than 1 Watt by employing a new baseband processing architecture.

The new chipset will enable stable interactive communication between various kinds of devices supporting the specification developed by the WiGig Alliance. Panasonic had previously developed fundamental CMOS circuit technologies for 60 GHz transceiver and modem signal processing circuits, but now an additional radio packet processing block has been integrated as a key block of the chipset. This plays a significant role in accelerating the realization of simple to use high-definition video data sharing/streaming applications for mobile devices.

Earlier this year, we got to see the first implementations of the IEEE 802.11ac specification take stage at CES, which promised wireless networking at speeds as high as 1.3 Gbps. On the sidelines, consumer electronics major Panasonic has been developing a gigabit speed wireless networking technology of its own. Called the WiGig, this technology provides up to 1 Gbps network bandwidth, but to achieve that, devices need to be within a range of 3 meters. The technology uses 60 GHz high-frequency band to transmit and receive data.

While its low 3 meter range might look self-defeating to the idea of wireless networking, Panasonic thinks there are some good ways to put the technology to use. These include transmission of HD video between a car's entertainment system unit tucked away into the dashboard to the screens behind the headrests for passengers in the back seats, without wires. Ad-hoc networks using this could also greatly speed up data transfer between two devices in close range. Panasonic packed the hardware for this technology into SD cards, which can communicate with host devices over SDIO.

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As part of its Spring refresh, Panasonic will roll out not only the 12.1-inch Let's note NX and SX Series laptops mentioned yesterday, but also an up-to-date Let's note J10. The J10 is a 10.1-inch mini notebook that comes with a 720p display (1366 x 768-pixel resolution) and makes use of a Core i3 or i5 processor (no Atom on this little guy).

The updated J10 also features 4 GB of RAM, a 250 GB hard drive or 128 GB solid state drive, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, WiMAX, an SD card slot, USB 3.0 connectivity, and a HDMI output.

The 'standard' J10 model, boasting a 2.3 GHz Core i3-2350M CPU and a 250 GB HDD, is expected to cost about $1,546, while the 'high performance' J10, with a 2.4 GHz Core i5-2435M and a 128 GB SSD, should go for $2,192. Both models will ship in Japan in late February.

Panasonic unveiled new 12.1-inch notebooks under the LetsNote NX and LetsNote SX families. Both feature 16:10 aspect ratio screens with 1280x800 pixel resolution, but buyers can opt for a wider 16:9 aspect ratio screen with 1600x900 pixels. A 720p web-cam and fingerprint reader can also be opted for. Where the NX and SX differ is with the SX featuring a top-loading optical drive, while NX lacks it.

Both models are driven by Intel Core i5-2450M processor. HDD comes standard, while faster SSDs can be opted for, which boot the system in under 9 seconds thanks to Panasonic's QuickBoot Manager software. Connectivity features for both include USB 3.0, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR, and display outputs that include HDMI.

Japanese mobile operator NTT DOCOMO has today announced the upcoming formation of a fabless joint venture company that will focus on the development of "feature-rich, small-size, low-power-consumption semiconductor products equipped with modem functionality."

Allegedly targeting Qualcomm, this new joint venture, which will be established by the end of March 2012, is set to be backed by NTT DOCOMO (of course), Samsung Electronics, Panasonic Mobile Communications, NEC, Fujitsu and Fujitsu Semiconductor. This six-company JV will start off by making chips for the LTE and LTE-Advanced mobile communication standards. Said chips will be available worldwide so a variety of manufacturers can adopt them for future devices.

To get the ball rolling on the joint venture, DOCOMO wants to invest 450 million yen (~ US $5.8 million) into a new, wholly owned subsidiary, called Communication Platform Planning. This entity will be headed by Mitsunobu Komori who's the executive vice president and Chief Technical Officer of DOCOMO. The subsidiary will be established by the middle of January.

Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SanDisk Corporation, Sony Corporation and Toshiba Corporation today announced that they have reached an agreement in principle to collaborate on a new content protection technology for flash memory cards such as SD Cards and various storage devices. Under the "Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative," the five companies will start preparing for licensing and promotion of HD (high-definition)-capable security for SD Cards and embedded memory for use in advanced consumer applications such as tablets and smartphones.

This content protection solution will be robust enough to protect HD content. A high level of content security will be realized through the use of the initiative's technologies, including unique ID (identification) technology for flash memory and robust copy protection based on public key infrastructure.

Panasonic Solutions Company, provider of collaboration, information-sharing and decision-support solutions for government and commercial enterprises, today announced the Panasonic Toughbook S10. Powered by an Intel Core i5-2520M vPro processor, the Toughbook S10 delivers up to 12.5 hours of standard battery life - the longest in its class - and weighs only 3.0 pounds. The notebook offers optional Gobi2000 mobile broadband and other enhancements to increase performance and drive return on investment. This lightweight device is ideal for road warriors and other highly mobile workers in a variety of markets.

Panasonic has designed the Toughbook S10 for the most demanding mobile users, offering exceptional battery life, connectivity, security features and performance. The Toughbook S10 also supports both USB 3.0 and 2.0, analog (VGA) and digital (HDMI) video and the latest SD card standard (SDXC) to enable faster file transfer speeds and greater flexibility. A host of security features, including an optional fingerprint reader, are available to keep your data protected and secured while on the road.

Panasonic today launched the Toughbook CF-H2, its second generation, fully rugged tablet PC designed specifically for health workers. Setting new standards in ease of use, connectivity and productivity, the CF-H2 is a lightweight, water-resistant, shock and drop-tolerant and easily disinfected tablet device that meets the highest demands for mobility and networking within clinical environments. It allows doctors and nursing staff to benefit from instant access to medical records at the point of care, accurate documentation on patient conditions and medication, and enables greater efficiency of clinical processes.

With the latest Intel Core i5-2557M (1.7GHz) Ultra Low Voltage processor with vPro and the Intel HD 3000 graphics for enhanced multimedia capabilities, the Toughbook CF-H2 performance has been improved more than 400% over its CF-H1 predecessor. The CF-H2 is ideal for power hungry healthcare applications such as Electronic Patient Records (EPR) and Patient Administration Systems (PAS). RAM has also been raised to 2 gigabyte as standard, with up to 6 gigabyte optional, and it comes with a 160 gigabyte hard disk drive as standard with 128 gigabyte SSD as an option.

Panasonic today launches the Toughbook CF-H2, its second generation, fully rugged tablet PC designed specifically for field workers. Setting new standards in ease of use, connectivity and productivity, the CF-H2 is the ultimate tool for mobile and field workers helping them to stay productive, even in harsh environments, by delivering constant access to their applications and business data. The lightweight, yet fully rugged tablet is ideal for field workers in utilities, logistics, automotive workshops, rail and aviation as well as sales personnel, retail point of sales and market research.

With the latest Intel Core i5-2557M (1.70 GHz) Ultra Low Voltage processor with vPro and the Intel HD 3000 graphics for enhanced multimedia capabilities, the Toughbook CF-H2 performance has been improved more than 400% over its CF-H1 predecessor. The CF-H2 is ideal for power hungry field applications such as GIS, mobile CAD and powerful diagnostic tools. RAM has also been raised to 2 gigabyte as standard, with up to 8 gigabyte optional, and it comes with a 160 GB hard disk drive as standard with 128 GB SSD as an option.

Panasonic today unveiled a series of upgrades to the mk2 version of the Toughbook CF-C1, the business rugged and lightweight notebook that can be used in clamshell or tablet form. The device, which is ideal for mobile workers such as field healthcare workers, sales forces and market researchers, has been upgraded with more processing power, memory and a faster wireless module.

The Toughbook CF-C1mk2 uses the latest generation Intel Core i5-2520M (2.5GHz) for increased performance and the Intel HD 3000 graphics for enhanced multimedia capabilities. RAM memory has also been raised to 4 gigabyte with a 320 gigabyte hard disk drive as standard configuration.

Panasonic Toughbook today announced its plans to deliver an enterprise-grade Android tablet to the market. The new Toughbook tablet will address a gap in the market for a rugged enterprise tablet designed with security, functionality and real-world reliability in mind. By delivering this purpose-built business solution, the new Toughbook tablet will appeal to a wide variety of users, including mission critical government personnel, highly mobile field forces, SMB's looking for a competitive edge, security conscious IT managers and bottom-line focused CFOs.

From a functionality standpoint, the Toughbook tablet will avoid the typical glossy screens-found on current tablet offerings-that are all but unreadable in outdoor environments. The Toughbook tablet will include a high brightness, daylight viewable screen so that mobile workers, in markets like field service, home healthcare and public safety, can easily see critical data and operate the device regardless of lighting conditions. The new tablet will also include an active stylus, allowing mobile workers in sales, customer service and mobile point-of-sale environments to capture signatures on the device's 10.1" XGA multi-touch display.

Panasonic today announced the Toughbook CF-19mk5 with more than double the system performance, improved usability and unique new screen visibility technology. In field utilities, emergency services, defence, transport maintenance and a huge range of field services, the Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 is transforming the way professionals work by providing access to data and applications, wherever and whenever those professionals need it. As the market-leading outdoor convertible notebook PC, the CF-19 is the benchmark fully rugged notebook, built on 15 years of Panasonic Toughbook experience.

Panasonic is pleased to introduce new SDHC UHS-I Memory Cards with read and write speeds of up to 95 MB/s and 80 MB/s. The new Gold cards, compliant with the SD Memory Card Specification Ver.3.01 (UHS104), are the ideal media for digital SLR cameras which requires high-speed write performance. The new cards will be globally introduced in April, 2011 with 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB capacities.

With the highest-level writing speed of up to 80 MB/s, the new cards are perfect for high-speed consecutive shooting in HD quality with digital SLR cameras. When the new SDHC UHS-I Memory Cards are used with UHS-I supported digital still cameras, the number of consecutive shots will be increased to be twice of that of the current Gold models. The cards also allow for quick data transfer to a PC and can transfer data approx. 4 times faster than the current Gold SDW series.

Panasonic today enhanced its Toughbook CF-C1 range with a Multi-touch Resistive screen, web camera option and a two-year accidental damage warranty making the lightweight, business rugged convertible notebook the tablet for business use.

Able to be used in clamshell or tablet form, the CF-C1 is ideal for mobile workers. The new Multi-touch Resistive screen option is designed to deal with semi-outside conditions less affected by dust particles and water drops and allows the users to operate the device whilst using gloves. The Multi-touch screen also delivers all the benefits of a tablet device allowing pinching and stretching gestures on the screen to control zooming. It is also pressure and gesture sensitive, allowing actions such as the rotation of objects on the screen. This latest screen option complements the existing CF-C1 Multi-touch Digitizer screen model and is available immediately priced at £1,709 + vat. (Standard version).

Panasonic Solutions Company, provider of collaboration, information-sharing and decision-support solutions for government and commercial enterprises, today announced the newest member of its Toughbook U1 ultra-mobile PC product family, the Toughbook U1 Ultra. All Toughbook U1 products combine the portability of a handheld computer, the benefits of a full Windows OS, the durability needed for enterprise applications and a suite of available integrated features. The new Toughbook U1 Ultra is equipped with a TransflectivePlus display for up to 6000 nit viewability in direct sunlight, 64GB solid state hard drive, 2GB of memory, an Intel Atom Processor (Z530 1.6Ghz) and Windows 7. The device is ideal for highly mobile jobs such as direct store delivery (DSD), eCitation and vegetation management in markets like supply chain management, public safety and utilities.

Panasonic today launched its new Toughbook CF-F9, the perfect business rugged companion for mobile office professionals. Delivering productivity boosting technology and fail-safe business support, the CF-F9 replaces the CF-F8 - previously the rugged business notebook of choice - with a higher resolution display, increased computing power and enhanced connectivity.

The CF-F9 delivers increased CPU performance over the CF-F8 in the same sized, 14.1" notebook - the lightest on the market. Its desktop-performance computing power is delivered by the Intel Core i5-520M with vPro technology. The device is designed to take advantage of Intel Turbo Boost Technology and Intel Multi-Threading to maximize the performance of the CPU.

Intel Corporation today unveiled its 2010 Intel Core vPro processor family to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes for PCs with greater, more flexible performance, theft prevention and cost savings in a rapidly changing business computing environment. These and several other capabilities are at the heart of many new Intel-based business laptop and desktop computers beginning to roll out from computer manufacturers worldwide.

The Intel Core vPro processors arrive as business computing evolves with the emergence of video, Internet telephony, social networking and other heavyweight applications - in many cases running at the same time - making a computer's performance an even bigger priority.