Items tagged with Panasonic
For a long time it seemed as though display innovation was stuck in a rut, at least in the PC space. For several years a top of the line monitor was a 30-inch display with a 2560x1600 resolution. Not anymore. Display makers have been stepping up their game. That includes Panasonic, which has developed a new type of In-Plane Switching (IPS) liquid crystal panel with a contrast ratio of over 1,000,000:1 and peak brightness of 1,000 nits. You've probably seen higher contrast ratio numbers before, but those are dynamic ratings, not static or native numbers. Somewhat simplified, a contrast ratio measures the difference between a display's brightest and darkest image, going from white to black. The...
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Today's a big day for budding photographers looking for high-end options on a relative budget. In addition to the Fujifilm X-T10 introduced earlier today, Panasonic on Monday announced the Lumix DMC-G7 with an exclusive 4K photo feature that allows you to pause and extract high resolution pictures from 4K Ultra HD video.This is a camera based on the mirrorless Micro Four Thirds standard and is compatible with 24 compact lens options. Like Fujifilm's X-T10, the Lumix DMC-G7 fairly lightweight and compact for a high-end shooter. It also boasts a 16-megapixel Digital Live MOS sensor, Venus Engine image processor with quad-core CPU for high speed signal processing, and multi-process noise reduction.If...
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There's nothing wrong with being an early adopter of new technologies and products, you just have to understand that inevitably something better, faster, and/or less expensive will follow whatever it is you just recently paid a premium for. Case in point is Panasonic's 20-inch Toughpad 4K tablet -- the revamped standard edition model now sports a 5th Generation Intel Core i5 vPro processor and costs half as much as first generation Performance SKU when it debuted earlier this year.Less than a year ago, the Toughpad 4K was wielding an Intel Core i7 3687U vPro processor, a dual-core part clocked at 2.1GHz to 3.3GHz with Hyper Threading support and 4MB of cache. But now that Broadwell-U is here,...
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Do you want a rugged laptop or do you prefer a thin and light notebook? Typically you had to choose between one or the other, though Panasonic is looking to change the game with its new Toughbook CF-54, a semi-rugged system that's the thinnest and lightest Toughbook in its category. So, it has that going for it, but it's also well equipped with the latest 5th Generation Intel Core i5-5300U vPro CPU. The Toughbook CF-54 is a 14-inch laptop with HD (1366x768) and Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) display options, the latter of which uses an In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel with glove-enabled touch support. It's also viewable in sunlight, whereas the HD model uses a TFT panel to keep costs...
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With a name like "Gigafactory," it has to be good. Panasonic and Tesla have just announced an agreement that'll see the two firms construct a large-scale battery manufacturing plant right here in the United States. The name, as you'd guess, is Gigafactory. Bold, intriguing, and totally Tesla. Per the agreement, it'll be Tesla managing the land, buildings, and utilities, while Panasonic will manufacture and supply cylindrical lithium-ion cells and invest in the associated equipment, machinery, and other manufacturing tools based on their mutual approval. Per Tesla: "Tesla will take the cells and other components to assemble battery modules and packs. To meet the projected demand for cells, Tesla...
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Have you ever seen an iPad cry? Would you like to? It's easy -- just plop one next to Panasonic's Toughpad 4K tablet and start comparing specs. The same goes for any other tablet, really. Panasonic has thrown down the gauntlet in terms of performance slates by launching the world's first 20-inch 4K ultra high definition (UHD) tablet. There's so much going on here it's tough to decide where to begin. Let's start with the obvious -- the 20-inch IPS 10-point multi-touch 4K display. This is a massive touchscreen panel that simply dwarfs all those 7-inch and 8-inch slates on the market, and even larger size tablets in the 10-inch range. Why so big? Panasonic didn't design the Toughpad 4K to just surf...
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One area of technology that never ceases to amaze me is storage. Despite the extreme complications in increasing densities, it continues to happen, and while at one point an 8GB mechanical hard drive seemed incredible, 4,000GB models are easily found today (with 5,000GB models on the way). When looking at "small" storage products, the increases can be even more impressive. Just a couple of weeks ago, SanDisk announced a 128GB microSDXC card; if you were to cover a CD case with these, that'd be about 15TB in storage, and all at 1mm thick. It's almost ridiculous, when you think about it. While mechanical and flash storage has seen some serious gains over the years, optical storage admittedly has...
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Here's a question: is it truly possible to produce a 20-inch handheld device and get away with calling it a tablet? Evidently so, at least if you're asking Panasonic. The longstanding electronics company has just announced that the planet's first 4K tablet will begin shipping in the United States early next year, but there are two problems that jump out from the start. First of all, you'll need to grow larger hands to adequately manhandle a 20-inch slate. Secondly, the MSRP looks to be around $6,000, so you'll need to spend your entire holiday bonus (and then some) in order to get one. If neither of those seem like huge drawbacks, the Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 packs a 3840x2560 resolution display (thats'...
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It isn’t exactly 1,000TB on a DVD, but we’ll take it. Sony and Panasonic announced that the two companies are partnering to develop a next-generation standard for optical discs in an effort to provide another long-term data storage option for professional use. Leveraging technology owned by each company, Sony and Panasonic are looking to create an optical disc with a storage capacity of at least 300GB; the project will ostensibly be completed by the end of 2015. Panasonic LB-DM9 Both companies already have high-density optical disc storage in their respective portfolios. Sony has a system that uses a cartridge filled with 12 optical discs; each disc has 25GB of capacity. Panasonic’s...
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Panasonic and its subsidiary Sanyo (by way of a 50.2 percent stake in the company) both pleaded guilty in separate price fixing allegations involving automotive parts and battery cells, the United States Department of Justice announced this week. The two firms will pay a total of $56.5 million in criminal fines, while LG Chem Ltd., a leading manufacturer of secondary batteries, also admitted guilt and will pay a fine of $1.056 million. The DoJ accused Panasonic of conspiring to fix prices of switches, steering angle sensors, and automotive high intensity discharge (HID) ballasts installed in cars sold in the U.S. and elsewhere. Panasonic carried out its scheme from at least as early as September...
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At a glance, the item shown here looks a lot like a Roomba automated vacuum cleaner. Turns out, that's not the case. It's a new Panasonic speaker, and it's more rugged than you may think. The SC-NT10 Portable Wireless Speaker System is designed to be used at pool parties the world over this summer, and because of its support for Bluetooth streaming, you just need a phone or tablet nearby to send the sound waves without a tether. Four "tough" performance traits allow for the Panasonic SC-NT10 to be used in nearly any outdoor setting. The device is Splash Proof, which enables use near water areas like the pool or beach; Dust Proof, making it well suited for areas such as sandy beaches; Shock Proof,...
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It's a connected world, and we're just living in it. While the point-and-shoot camera was chalked up as dead a few years back by some -- folks who thought the evolution of the smartphone camera would do the category in -- companies are now learning to innovate the space in a way that could squeeze a few more years of life from it. Panasonic just launched a new $500 high-end pocket camera, the Lumix DMC-LF1. It's a compact shooter, but offers some pretty impressive specifications. There's a f/2.0 Leica lens, a 7.1x optical zoom, a high-sensitivity MOS sensor, and built-in Wi-Fi + NFC. That's right; a camera with not only Wi-Fi, but also NFC. The LF1 features "Touch & Share," which allows users...
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It'll come as no surprise to you to hear that televisions are getting smarter. It's actually tough to find a big-screen set these days without some sort of Smart TV platform baked into it, and Panasonic's latest line is looking to one-up the others. Nuance's Dragon TV is being installed onto Panasonic's newest Smart Viera HDTVs, adding voice interaction in order to let users bark orders at their set. It's a new definition of lazy, but hey -- we won't tell if you don't. Now people can simply sit back and speak to find content, search the web, control volume and more, and with Dragon TV's text-to-speech, television content and options on the screen can be read aloud. Dragon TV is Nuance's unique...
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Tough tablets? Panasonic's got a couple of new ones to introduce at CES 2013. The Toughpad line of enterprise-grade tablets is gaining new models this week: the Toughpad FZ-G1 (a 10" tablet running Windows 8 Pro) and the Toughpad JT-B1 (a 7" Android-powered unit). Both of them follow the original 10" Android-powered Toughpad FZ-A1 which became broadly available late last year. Toughpad tablets are designed for mission-critical and highly mobile workers in fields such as the military, construction, healthcare, public safety, utilities, retail, maintenance, supply chain logistics and insurance. Perhaps not the best option for mainstream consumers, but those who need something who can take a beating...
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Just when you thought that tablet resolutions couldn't get any more ridiculous, here comes Panasonic with the unveiling of a 4K resolution model. Yes, 4K. But that's not all that makes this tablet unique: it comes in at a staggering 20-inches in size. Clearly, this isn't meant to be something you toss into your backpack and use while on the go. Instead, it seems obvious that Panasonic's intentions here are to give designers, photographers and perhaps developers huge space to work with. As you can see in the below shot, the Start screen in Windows 8 looks almost scrawny. While the exact resolution hasn't been made available, "4K" usually means at least 8 million pixels, as covered in an earlier...
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According to a Reuters report, the European Commission is planning to level fines at six major electronics companies that participated in a price-fixing scheme for CRT displays in the late ‘90s. The apparently guilty parties include LG Electronics, Philips, Samsung SDI, France’s Thomson, Panasonic, and Toshiba. Presumably, the companies have all been bracing for this inevitability, as they were raided by the European Commission five years ago, and the day of reckoning is likely to be November 28th. European Commission building It’s unclear how much the sanctions against the companies may be, but because of the length of time over which the price fixing occurred, they may be...
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There was a time when names like Sharp, Panasonic, and Sony were the cream of the crop when it came to consumer electronics, but things have not been going well for any of those companies. Sharp announced that it is unlikely to survive on its own after posting an expected net year loss of $5.6 billion, which is about double what it predicted for the time period. This is despite drastic measures to return to profitability that included a $1.1 billion restructuring this summer with bank loans, deep job cuts, and mortgaging its factories and other facilities. The Japan-based company is hoping that by leveraging its portfolio of technologies and persuading other companies such as Hon Hai to become...
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There are quite a few names when it comes to rugged gear, but few speak volumes the way Panasonic does when it comes to rugged laptops. The company's newest Toughbook is out and about, with the SX2 looking as mighty as ever. The new machine offers up 14.5 hours of battery life and uses an Intel Core i5-3320M vPro CPU, a magnesium alloy body, 12.1" LED-backlit display, a 720p webcam and two USB 3.0 ports. It's also been made 40% slimmer than prior models, though it's still offering a shock-mounted flex-connect hard drive allow it to handle up to a 30-inch drop to the base of the unit while operating, as well as a 12-inch drop from all other angles. Both the lid and base of the notebook are designed...
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There's really just a single name in tough PCs these days, at least on the mainstream front, and that's Toughbook. Panasonic's Toughbook line has been taking beatings in the field for quite a while, and now the Toughbook 19 Convertible Tablet PC is getting a refresh. The unit now ships with Intel's Core i5-3320M vPro processor (up to 3.3GHz), and an innovative ambient light sensor, allowing automatic backlight shut-off to improve battery life. There's also expanded storage -- up to 500GB of 7200RPM space, shock-mounted with a quick release hinge. There's a 10% improvement in battery life (up to 10 hours or so), an added USB 3.0 port, Interlink’s VersaPad for improved touchpad performance...
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Some days, technology comes in the form of a new MP3 player or new GPU. But new technologies might not always be directly related to a consumer product, but still have the potential to make a serious impact in our every day world. Panasonic has this week introduced an advanced radar technology for next-generation traffic safety systems that enables to detect humans and vehicles in a range of several tens of meters. This millimeter-wave radar technology allows for detecting objects outdoors in poor visibility conditions, such as night, rain and snow, as well as against the sunlight. When applied in traffic surveillance sensors located at intersections, this technology will help increase...
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HDTVs? Yeah, CES 2012 has plenty of those to go around. Panasonic just introduced their 2012 line of Smart Viera Plasma sets, which center on five new points: Networking, Easy Operation, Picture Quality, Eco and Design elements. There's 17" new models, which range in size from 42" to 65". Also new for 2012 is a cloud-based architecture to increase the VIERA Connect IPTV platform to an unlimited number of apps, thereby cementing its reputation for creating innovative and cutting edge products and focusing on providing the consumer with the ultimate in home entertainment. New to select VIERA TVs is the inclusion of a browser, further enhancing the internet platform, as well as the addition of "3D...
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A quintet of major tech companies has agreed in principle to collaborate on developing new technology to protect content on flash memory cards and embedded memory. Panasonic, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony, and Toshiba form the group, tentatively named the “Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative”. Specifically, the group is looking to protect HD content, using unique ID technology and public key infrastructure-based copy protection. The group seems optimistic, promising to have the new technology available for licensing “early next year” (which, if you’re keeping track, is in a couple of weeks) with actual products in the market in 2012. PANASONIC, SAMSUNG, SANDISK, SONY...
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