Ultraportable, rugged Toughbook defies common logic

Dell may have just launched a "semi-rugged" laptop (whatever that means) but Panasonic, the reigning king of rugged notebooks, isn't about to let some yahoo from Texas take the wind out of its ultra-durable sails. To that end, Panasonic announced a new and seemingly contradictory addition to its flagship Toughbook line: an ultraportable, rugged laptop. Say what? The 2-pound, 10.4-inch Toughbook R6 may be light as a feather but it also sports a spill-proof keyboard and a crustacean-like outer shell capable of withstanding a drop from 2.5 feet. It also packs lot into a small package: a 10.4-inch, 1024x768 XGA display, a 1.06 Ghz Core Duo, 1.5 GB of memory, 120 GB of storage, 802.11 g and 8 hours of battery life. The R6 is on sale now in Japan in a variety of schoolgirl-friendly colors; no word yet on a U.S. release.

For a peek at the R6:
- scope this Engadget article

ALSO: Panasonic's other Toughbooks get a face lift in preparation for Vista. Article