Panasonic ToughBook CF-52 Semi Rugged laptops
The Toughbook line continues to impress with the CF-52, a machine that begs to be used and abused in a rough-and-tumble environment. ToughBook CF-52 I'm looking at today sits very much in the middle of those models, being a semi-rugged machine like the CF-Y5, but with a size and shape similar to those larger and hardier models. It also marks a first for the ToughBook range because, remarkably, it's the first to feature a widescreen display.
A quick look at the five-pound CF-19 reveals that it is made for tough environments. The industrial-design magnesium-alloy top panel with black hard rubber bumpers looks like it yearns for a dusty, dirty factory or warehouse floor. All of the ports on the back and sides are protected behind hinged plastic doors.
An ingeniously placed clasp on the front panel can clamp down the screen in either Tablet or notebook mode and can be hidden out of the way when not needed. Most evident in this respect is the addition of a handle, which is included more or less as standard on all but the ultra-portable ToughBooks. This is a very welcome addition, helping to make the CF-52 fairly portable despite its 3.3kg weight.
Internally, the CF-52 is a fairly unremarkable but perfectly capable dual-core system. Based on the Intel GM965 Express chipset, it utilises a Santa Rosa spec Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, which clocks in at 1.8GHz and has a 800MHz Front Side Bus, though it has only 2MB L2 cache compared to the 4MB found on the T7300 and above. Still, for general usage this is a perfectly capable CPU that'll run a few programs concurrently without grinding to a halt.
Unsurprisingly, however, with the CF-52 representing the cheaper end of the ToughBook range, some compromises have been made. Primary among them are the RAM and hard drive specification, with a slightly disappointing 1GB of 667MHz DRR2 RAM and an 80GB SATA drive respectively. On balance, though, these are acceptable compromises. Few are likely to exhaust the 80GB provided, while you can specify an upgrade to 2GB of RAM if you really need it.
