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Pocket-size tough tablet hits the market

Panasonic unveils a 1.2-pound tablet for public safety

Panasonic-ToughpadFZM1.jpg

Photo courtesy Panasonic

Panasonic unveiled the Toughpad FZ-M1, a 1.2-pound tablet ideal for e-citations, fire inspections/arson investigation, electronic patient care reporting, data collection and other tasks.

“Public-safety clients asked for something small to put in their cargo pocket, so we developed the Toughpad FZ-M1,” said Sean Hall, national sales manager. “It now puts information more easily in the hands of first responders.”

The Toughpad FZ-M1 runs Windows 8.1 Pro standard and an Intel Core i5 vPro processor. It has a 0.7-inch-thick, magnesium alloy chassis and a raised bezel for LCD impact protection. It also has a 1280 x 800 screen coated by an anti-reflective treatment.

The tablet has a fanless, fully sealed IP65 MIL-STD-810G design and glove-compatible touchscreen. It also has a 1080 pixel webcam with a microphone.

“Public-safety devices must have a high-definition camera because an officer, EMS or firefighter may have to prove through a recording what happened at an incident,” Hall said.

Options include 4G LTE multicarrier embedded wireless broadband, GPS, a barcode reader, Ethernet or serial port. There also are near field communications, SmartCardreader, UHF RFID (up to 10-foot range) or Magnetic Stripe reader options available.

The Toughpad FZ-M1 costs $2,099.