Panasonic Toughbooks CF-W7 and CF-Y7

Is it just me or does Panasonic release a new Toughbook every few weeks? The latest models due to hit the shelves (in this case from mid-December in Asia) are the CF-W7 and CF-Y7, both promising the near legendary durability of Panasonic's most recognisable line of laptops.



I love the fact that each time a new model is announced the specs state that you can drop it from an even higher height than the previous version and still expect it to survive a fall. That reminds me of an incident which happened a few years ago when I was speaking to a colleague on the fourth floor of a building with a structure which let us look down onto the lobby below. He had placed his laptop (in a fully loaded travel bag) down by his feet while we chatted and enjoyed a coffee but when he moved his feet he knocked the bag over and it slipped through the railings of the balcony. Both of us stood frozen in horror as it plummeted four floors towards the packed lobby below...

We were lucky - it missed someone by no more than a few inches (I think it actually brushed the arm of his suit) but almost seemed to explode when it hit the ground. I don't know how a Toughbook would have fared but I suspect even Panasonic's beast would have suffered a scratch or two!