The Panasonic Toughbook series is designed to take the abuse that most notebooks receive at some point in their lives, often just before they fail.  XYZ Computers reviews the W5 model, which has a Core Duo U2400, and 1.5GB of DDR-533 and weighs in at about 2.9lbs.   They have trimmed down on a few extras, like a wide screen backlit LCD, but the overall design feels nice and spacious and sturdy.  Too bad that XYZ didn’t try testing it to destructino though.

“Panasonic’s W5 is one of the few ultraportable notebooks on the market that places an importance on durability and outright strength. Other companies like to say that their notebooks can take abuse, but very few of them actually get close to achieving what you might call “rugged”. Panasonic actually calls the W5 “business-rugged” which is a take on their semi-rugged and fully-rugged models though it does not have to pass the same certifications. This review will be looking at Panasonic’s W5 notebook. The Toughbook line is known for it’s fully rugged models, some of which are strong enough to be shot or dropped repeatedly, but the W5 is part of the line’s business series. These business notebooks are inspired by the design of the more robust models, but are considerably lighter and less expensive.”

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