We give Panasonic's new 5-inch Toughpad phablets a kicking Youtube Video At IFA in Berlin yesterday, Panasonic put on its own spin of the ice bucket water challenge, but instead of dowsing charitable folk, it dunked its latest diminutive Toughpads. On show were the new rugged 5-inch HD (1280x720) FZ-E1 Windows 8.1 and FZ-X1 Android 4.2.2 tablets, both featuring data and voice …
"rapid technology cadence "
as a Windows Phone user I'd have to take issue with that, while the rest of MS has moved to a faster cadence, the phone division seems to have gone the opposite direction, the current 8.1 update being the first in a while.
Is this a sign of future change or just marketing fud?
As a windows phone user I'm surprised to hear that, the updates are actually coming a little too fast for carriers to keep up. Windows Phone 8 had 3 updates over it's lifetime (GDR1, 2 & 3). 8.1 has just received it's first update (amusingly named 'Update 1") and that's not including vendor specific firmware such as Nokia's Amber, Black, Cyan and Denim.
As another (corporate) Windows Phone user, I'd love to know as mine is still on 8.0 and saying it's fully up to date...
Our IT people don't know why none of ours seem to have updated yet (it's an HTC 8x on Vodafone), and I'm somewhat loathed to take matters into my own hands via the beta app method.
where rain 'showers' really are like standing under a shower.
It's amusing to watch iSheep using their favourite iThingy wrapped up in a sandwich bag to help them survive a little bit if water.
Sony has models with similar features at a lower price.
I put my kindle in a sandwich bag and my iPad in a large freezer bag when using them in the bath, and don't consider the need for this a detraction on the device. People don't generally like standing in the rain on their phone anyway!
And a plastic bag is a smidge cheaper.
I am impressed with the claimed battery life with the toughpad. We use Panasonic Toughbooks for our LEOs and I have to say they have held up to a group of people that collectively treat their equipment like hammers much better than any other piece of technology we provide them with.
I like to say if you put a deputy in a rubber room with a marshmallow and an anvil that the anvil doesn't stand a chance.
I must say the barcode reader is a very appealing part of this for me. Though the price range is likely to be a deal breaker a this point.
While they are certainly more up to date than the handhelds we currently have in the field. If we go for a replacement we're looking for something that is more like half the price of our proprietary units. Not 3/4's of the price.
I will definitely be keeping my eye on these though. As they seem to a much more open alternative for portable sales and inventory control.
My phone has been dropped so many times its all scuffed up. It's fallen from my pocket several dozen times and fallen from my roof onto concrete once, no screen damage. It was dropped in a pond once, recovered, and still working great. It was also free, no additional charges. It has never dropped a call and gets signal almost everywhere. Best part it was free.
What is this phone you ask, why its a Motorola flip phone.
I don't get why a 5" phone is classed as a "phablet". Stupid name anyway, I'm amazed it caught on. Perhaps the most bizarre thing about these phones though, especially at the asking price, is the lack of wireless charging, a design decision which is simply absurd.
The first thing to fail on devices like this are usually the seals that are opened the most often, which in this case would be the charger ports so wireless charging would be perfect.
I can't understand the price justification for what is pretty standard kit with a tough casing, and there are plenty of barcode reader free apps which work well so no need to pay any extra there. Looks to me like another expensive toy for the sort of person who would buy a Hummer.
The difference between an app for a camera and a real barcode scanner is huge - I've never found a scanner app that could read the micro-barcodes on an SFP module for example - so I think it's justified for applications where you need reliable industrial-grade scanning. *shrug* the odd price-check in Homebase, not so much.
Wireless charging would be good but doesn't that make the charger very proprietary? And large... But it would still be nice to have the option I suppose, assuming it can charge as fast as the charger options provided here...
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