I had been searching for a perfect tablet PC to replace a fleet of HP TC1000/1100's we use in our office. We are doctors, and the tablet is our chart, so we are one of the classic prototypes for a "vertically integrated market" for these devices as we have to use a tablet with our software. We also tend to beat up these devices and in seven years we have had virtually every component break at one time or another. It was after re-searching and further researching that I found the Panasonic CF-T7, released in the US in December 2007 to almost zero publicity.

My first impression after a week is that I've found the dream tablet PC for our office. At just over $2000, it offers an excellent price/longevity ratio from a company long known for being in a class (and price category) above most business users. Simply put, the differences make this a steal.

Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo U7500 1.06GHz
Manufacturer	Panasonic
Color	Magnesium Alloy
	1 x 50-pin Docking 1 x 15-pin D-Sub (HD-15) VGA 1 x Mini-phone Stereo Headphone 1 x Mini-phone Microphone/Audio In 3 x 4-pin Type A USB 2.0 - USB 1 x RJ-11 Modem 1 x RJ-45 Network 1 x DC Power Input
Hard Drive	80GB
Network	10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet IEEE 802.3ab Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AG 54Mbps Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g Integrated Bluetooth Bluetooth 2.0
Display Screen	12.1" XGA Active Matrix TFT Color LCD Touch Screen
Operating System	Windows XP Professional
Processor Technology	EM64T Enhanced SpeedStep Technology Virtualization Technology
Keyboard	83-key
Standard Warranty	3 Year(s) Limited
Batteries	1 x Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) 5800 mAh Standard Battery
Bus Speed	533MHz
RAM	1GB (max 2GB) DDR2 SDRAM
Dimensions	10.7" Width x 8.5" Depth
Graphics Controller	384MB DDR2 SDRAM Shared Integrated
Weight	3.3 lb
Chipset	Intel GM965
Product Name	Toughbook T7 Notebook
Memory Standard	DDR2-533/PC2-4200

The T7 is silver/grey, with an off-white keyboard and dark grey letters. It has that classic Panasonic "magnesium alloy" color, the same one as the cassette recorder I bought from them 25 years ago. Has it come in to fashion at some point yet and I missed it? While maybe not on looks, this computer will attract attention when you suddenly pick it up and wave it around in front of somebody, which you didn't mean to do, but you gesture when you talk and you forgot you were wearing it.

This tablet is LIGHT. It feels like a toy. When I first picked it up I laughed. You will too.

If I had no idea about Panasonic or that they've been making Toughbooks for years I really could have thought this was a joke. But having the faith this is a Toughbook, and looking at it closer, it's really designed like a little tank, albeit a plastic one. It is wedge-shaped, balanced so you can grab it from anywhere to carry it. The all-important hinge between the keyboard and monitor is an L-shaped hinge to distribute the weight and force of repeated opening and closing. This hinge is also stiff to hold the monitor stable at any angle without any laxity when using the touchscreen. Everything is plastic or some form thereof- the screen included. All designed with the purpose to handle wear and tear.

With one caveat: indoor wear and tear. For those familiar with truly "ruggedized" computers, the T7 does not come equipped for outdoor use. Perhaps this diminishes the Toughbook mojo a bit, but it does come equipped with the shock-mounted hard drive, and claims spill-resistance and drop-tested from 78 cm.

These claims always do beg the question whether it's really covered under warranty if you drop it or spill something on it, luckily I haven't had to find out but it would not surprise me if the 3 year limited warranty had such a limitation. Moving on to the details..

Ingeniously, and really, ingeniously designed, is the strap that forms the rear base and is where you hold it. Not only made tough, but designed for complete flexibility and stability when you're either holding it or setting it down.

I can't say enough about this handstrap. One issue I think doomed our old tablets was the constant setting down of it on every desk or surface. Over time the weight of the monitor would break the hinge to the keyboard, a known serious flaw of the TC1000 series. With the T7, the handstrap provides a shock absorber and the stability required to set it down and type anywhere, while at the same time when you hold it the strap is so stable you can literally twirl it. Even the design of the "ridges" is intended to withstand twisting.

This is the kind of thing where somewhere I hope someone who participated in the design of this handstrap reads this and realizes they have an office full of people whose lives have been improved by this so clever and effective addition. We're as happy as you could have imagined. Thank you.

Monitor/Touchscreen

The screen uses a passive digitizer made by Fujitsu. Visually, the screen is slightly less sharp and suffers from glare at low brightness settings. It has less of a range of optimal viewing angles as a result, in a normal setting, this means you might open the tablet to have the screen tilted backwards at close to a 135-degree angle if you are sitting above the screen looking down at it.

My guess is that Panasonic went with the passive digitizer for practical reasons: no need for a special pen, you can use your finger; the screens are lighter; and power consumption perhaps is lower, which I don't know for sure but given their obsession with power consumption, it seems reasonable to assume this. Or they just figured they should add a touchscreen for those of us who need one even though this isn't a true "tablet".

As a passive touchscreen, it has an excellent feel, which would rate about average compared to an active touchscreen. Depending on the pen used, it can have a coarse feel to write on the screen. Using your nail or even full finger (for those now iPhone-trained) works fine. I can sign with my finger and it looks identical.

The 83-key keyboard is small-to-medium-sized with a notably smaller spacebar. The keys are of adequate, even seemingly larger size. Some keys normally available on a full-size keyboard are mapped to the Fn key and take time to find initially.

In use, the keyboard is highly sensitive and responds very quickly to the touch. We made plenty of mistakes initially but acclimated to the keyboard in a day or two. This keyboard is like a race-car, inviting you to let loose and type as fast as you can. Timid typists may find it very sensitive and mistake-prone.

The touchpad is a recessed circle slightly off-center to the left below the keyboard. The circular touchpad at first seems strange, because of course the monitor is rectangular, but it works. The added bonus of the circle is to scroll - you can roll your finger around the outside edge in a clockwise (for down) or counterclockwise (for up) motion, which is surprisingly satisfying.

As a lefty, this computer has instantly struck me as being built for a right handed person. If you use the pen in your left hand, the tether will cross over or behind the screen and stretch somewhat uncomfortably. The off-center-left trackpad is meant for your left hand while your right is holding the pen. Maybe after this glowing review someone from Panasonic will send me a lefty's mod.

On the cover is the SIM slot if the model comes with wireless WAN, our model doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have this.

On the right side are three USB ports, the RJ-45 and RJ-11 network and modem ports, respectively. On the left is the SD and PC Card slots, the external dock connector, monitor port, and power. Below the external dock connector is the fan intake, recessed.

On the back of the tablet has no ports but is where the battery is inserted.

Network

Wireless A/B/G
Ethernet 100/1000
Modem
Bluetooth
Optional EVDO/WWAN card

Windows XP Professional
Does not come with Ã¢â‚¬Å“TabletÃ¢â‚¬Â features on by default, such as handwriting recognition and the input entry. Perhaps this is because model is not a true Ã¢â‚¬Å“convertibleÃ¢â‚¬Â tablet and the user always has access to the keyboard.

Windows Vista Business
Not tested, but the DVD restore disks came with the tablet loaded with XP, which I think is a nice touch.

Fan speed utility
You can change the speed of the fan if it makes too much noise. We pipe in noise to mask sound, so it isn't much use for us.

Power management
This seems like an obsession with Panasonic - they even include tips on how to increase battery life, which summarized is to allow battery drain between charges and avoid "topping off" after a full charge.
Without being obsessive about it, I "perceive" that battery life is excellent, even accounting for the battery's "newness" I never had such robust and steady performance from other similar tablets. It can easily handle a 3-4 hour shift with often less than 50% drain.

The system does report over 8 hours available when fully charged, shutting off all unneeded services and reduced brightness. Next time I have a 8+ hour plane trip I will try out a fresh battery and see how long I can last, but practically speaking, the battery life seems quite reasonable given the demands of a typical office.

Rotation tool
Panasonic includes software that rotates the screen with a click, if you have reason to need this (like when displaying something to someone).

PC Information
Tells you if it bumps or bruises, hard drive status. So far in a few weeks of use it hasn't reported anything.

Passive digitizer
Extremely light
The Handstrap
Power management and battery life
Toughbook legacy
Price/performance
Touchpad

Cons

Passive digitizer
In XP, Tablet features are not activated by default
Not a convertible tablet - keyboard always attached
Screen suffers from glare at certain angles
Small keyboard, function keys are located in unusual places

Perfect? For us, absolutely none of the cons listed above matter to us at all or have any real bearing on the machine's functionality as a business tool. As a business tool, the pros - particularly the price to performance ratio and the legacy of the Toughbook line - put this tablet in a very unique position compared to its competitors. It is built with exactly the features we need. While starting at $2100 may seem initially steep, the small premium for quality is likely to reap a long-term dividend for its durability in the business environment. With at least a three-year estimated lifespan, the total cost of ownership, including the replacement and hobbled time saved, promises to be optimal.

Not perfect? If you are looking for a convertible tablet, the best you have in the T7 is one that can open to just shy of 180 degrees flat, but cannot rotate the screen. For what this is worth, writing while holding it with the other hand (via the strap) is quite comfortable, so we haven't missed the tablet at all. In addition the feel of the pen compared to active digitizers may be an issue if you need to do lots of handwriting. In our case we just need the tablet function to "write on the screen" when signing or marking documents, but for others this could be an issue. It does make me think that Panasonic was quite deliberate in targeting vertical markets such as ours who need the tablet but don't need the handwriting recognition.

I might also comment, and why not the search engines will love it, on the Dell XT Tablet PC, and how it compares to the Panasonic T7. I never tested the Dell XT, but came reasonably close to buying it sight unseen. Right now, the XT is more expensive - significantly so, and the specifications of its base model are a Core Solo processor and lack some of the features of the Panasonic. The screen on the Dell I would think is better having both the active and passive technology with impressive brightness specifications. The XT is heavier than the T7 despite otherwise still being lighter than most, but I would say the XT is better-looking. I suppose trusting Panasonic in this arena over Dell's first foray into tablet computing also is worth consideration. For me, while it was tempting to consider the XT, I'm happy we went with the Panasonic.