The Japanese tech giant Panasonic has always been famous for incorporating toughness and ruggedness in their electronic devices. In the mid-90s, Panasonic launched the ToughBook laptop series and was the undisputed king in terms of durability. In the recent times, Panasonic has brought that toughness in their smartphones too, more precisely on their Toughpad series and in the Mobile World Congress 2016 which is going on in Barcelona, the company have launched two new ruggedized smartphones or in Panasonic’s word “handheld tablet”, dubbed as Toughpad FZ-F1 and Toughpad FZ-N1. While we have already discussed about the Windows 10 based Toughpad FZ-F1 in our previous article, this article is solely about the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1.
The Android-based Toughpad FZ-N1 will be available in two variants; a Wi-Fi model which will be launched in March at an estimated cost of $1499 and the other one is the voice model which will be launched in summer. Panasonic also said that this latest Toughpad FZ-N1 will be available for purchase via the authorized Panasonic handheld resellers and will come with standard 3-years warranty.
Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1 Features
As per the specifications are concerned, the brand new Panasonic FZ-N1 flaunts a 4.7-inch capacitive HD display with 1280×720 pixels resolution accompanied by rain sensing and glove touch mode. The phone is powered with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AB) processor clocked at 2.3GHz and coupled with a 2GB RAM and Adreno 330 GPU.
Apart from that, the Toughpad FZ-N1 comes packed with 16 GB of internal storage which is further expendable up to 64GB using a microSD card. If we talk about the camera aspect of the handset, this latest rugged smartphone from the house of Panasonic sports an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front facing secondary snapper to facilitate video calling and for taking selfies.
Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1 runs on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS and the handset is powered by a removable 3200mAh battery. This Dual-SIM supported smartphone also comes with all the major connectivity options including 4G, 3G, GPS, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v4.1 (Class 1), and micro USB. Apart from that the handset also facilitates it users with multiple sensor options such as Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, and Gyroscope.
Though the specs wise, the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1 looks like nothing extra-ordinary and a decisively mid-range affair but the handset’s main USP lies in its durability and ruggedness. This “handheld tablet” is rated to handle drops of up to six feet, and was even go through a torture test of 2,000 consecutive 3.3 foot drops, all without running into troubles. Moreover the phone comes with an IP65 and IP67 rating which means the handset is water and dust resistant is able to be submerged into 3.3-feet of water for 30 minutes. Lastly, the company includes a ruggedized glass screen which “ensures the high level of display reliability and durability” and a passive and active stylus options.
While making this handheld tablet, the company has kept in mind the demands of the enterprise customers or the factory workers who want that their smartphones should stand up to a lot of abuses. The all new Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1 is sturdy but lightweight, weighs only 280 and comes with some ergonomic properties. The phone comes with an angled rear barcode reader which allows the user to scan items without bending at the elbow or wrist while also being able to clearly read the screen. The main purpose of this feature is to improve productivity and reduce the potentiality for repetitive strain injuries. Also this latest Panasonic device comes with barcode reader activation buttons on either side making it easy for use by left- or right-handed workers.
Not only that, Toughpad FZ-N1’s battery life can stands for a typical, standard 8-hour working shift and also comes with an optional extended life battery which can go well beyond two full work shifts. Moreover, when a battery change is necessary during the work hours, it can be achieved while keeping the device operational. And if even more power is needed, the quick charge capability of the phone delivers extended use after a one hour charge, with a full charge averaging only two hours
On the launch event, Jan Ruderman, the Vice President, Business Mobility Group, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America, said to the pressers, “Enterprise and government users are looking to do more with handheld tablets than ever before. The majorities of handheld tablets in the market today is using an antiquated OS and are vastly underpowered. Additionally, older devices aren’t compatible with today’s standard enterprise applications, offer poor voice and data features and are larger and heavier than they need to be. The Toughpad FZ-F1 and FZ-N1 handheld tablets give companies looking for an up-to-date, powerful, flexible and purpose-built solution, an excellent option that will improve efficiency, productivity and bottom-line performance for years to come.”
Panasonic FZ-N1 Specifications
Display: 4.70-inch
Resolution: 720×1280 pixels
Processor: 2.3GHz
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB
Rear Camera: 8-megapixel
Front Camera: 5-megapixel
OS: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
Battery capacity: 3200mAh
Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1 Release Date
As we have mentioned earlier, The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1 will release in two variants. The Wi-Fi model will be available for sale in March,2016 and the other voice model will be released in summer of 2016.
Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1 Price
It is quite natural that all these ruggedized features won’t come cheap. The Wi-Fi model of the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1 is priced at whooping $1499 (approximately Rs. 1,03,000) while the price of the regular model is still unknown.
Wrap Up
This Panasonic Toughpad FZ-N1 is a beast of a phone and hopefully we have fully informed you regarding the release date, price, features and key specs of Toughpad FZ-N1. Keep glued to our website for more MWC 2016 news, smartphone news, gadget and technological news.
