Frankly, tablets have never been the hottest seller for consumers since their introduction to the consumer market however, they are still in demand especially among certain industries. For this, Panasonic has just launched its Toughbook S1. XDA Developers described it as a ruggedized monster tablet.
Overall, the build of the Touchbook S1 is robust. It is IP 65 or IP 67 water and dust resistance certified depending upon the variant one buys. It has a MIL-STD-810H certification which indicates it is rated to withstand a lot of physical abuse like falls, bumps, and other such things.
The tablet comes with two batteries. One battery is removable while the other one is integrated. This double battery mechanism allows you to “warm-swap” the battery. In simple words, if the main battery dies or gets low, the user will be able to use the integrated backup battery. This can be done by switching the batteries. Note that it only allows you about 30 seconds of life while you switch the main battery.
The tablet has a 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution screen which is most likely LCD. Though it is not a Retina display, the 720p display makes sure that the job is done perfectly. It should be noted that the 500 nit brightness may be an issue for people who work outside because the screen might be washed out easily with direct sunlight. The display has different modes. One such mode, the glove mode is perfect for people who need to wear gloves on their jobs.
So far, we have talked about the iron-coated part where the company is offering unique and fine features to capture a significant part of the market but the tablet does have some drawbacks too.
Panasonic Toughbook S1 lags behind in the software department. Panasonic Toughbook S1 will run on Android 10. This is not acceptable as Android 12 will be soon getting its beta. Note that Android 10 is not a bad option at all but it is just older technology!
To be honest, most of the lifestyle features that we are seeing in Android 11 and Android 12 are not mandatory at all. Moreover, Panasonic Toughbook S1 is specially designed for people working in factories, construction workers, first responders, and people from harsh industries so they most probably won’t need those features either.
On the other hand, Panasonic said it will issue an update to the newest version of Android in the near future. As of now, it can’t be said which version the company will consider in the future Android 11 or Android 12.
