It’s about as rugged as they come, and with significant upgrades to its CPU, display and storage capabilities, Panasonic’s latest version of the Toughbook 19 tablet is ready to tackle the the world, or at least the extreme conditions of the field. There is certainly no shortage of rugged tablets out there for field service techs to choose from these days, but the Toughbook combines accident-proof toughness with long-lasting functionality in the field.

Starting at $3,349 and available in September, the Toughbook’s price tag is a little hard to stomach, especially when compared to tablets like the iPad 2 or even the rugged Motion CL900, which is increasingly being used in the field at a fraction of the cost. But with a 6-foot drop rating, a dual-touch screen that allows users to input data by hand or stylus, and new Panasonic CircuLumin technology, which is particularly well-suited for workers in the field as it allows users to view the screen in bright sunlight as well as darkness – the Toughbook will give other rugged tablets a run for their money.

A few other major features of the upgraded Toughbook:

• 20 percent faster start up time
• increased RAM and hard drive capacity
• anti-glare screen
• convertible display rotation mechanism allows versatility between traditional laptop and tablet
• embedded wireless connectivity
• certified on the AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless 3G networks

Met overall with favorable reviews, the writers over at GeekWithLaptop may have summed the Toughbook’s performance up most enthusiastically: “In all, this is a superb machine (that) has been designed for a specific purpose and that is for use in extreme conditions, this could be in construction, mining, exploration and even in the field by military personnel. Anything less than that is a waste of the talented ToughBook CF-19.”

Ideal for the field service set, this tablet will give techs yet another option when taking technology into the field.