Q&A: Panasonic Dives Into The Handheld Space With Its Latest Products

By Sarah Nicastro, publisher/editor in chief, Field Technologies
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Panasonic has long been known for its Toughbook and Toughpad laptop and tablet product lines. But recently, Panasonic announced the introduction of a new 5-inch “handheld tablet” line — the Toughpad FZ-E1 and FZ-X1. To get the inside scoop on the new product set, I interviewed Kyle Day, senior product manager at Panasonic System Communications Company of North America.

Field Technologies: Panasonic has long been recognized in the rugged laptop and tablet space. Why did the company decide to introduce a rugged handheld line?

Day: We serve a wide range of professionals who all require enterprise-class computing and connectivity in the field. While Toughbook laptops and 7- and 10-inch Toughpad tablets meet many of their needs, they have told us they’re also looking for something that is even more portable, can easily be held in the hand or fit into a holster, and provides everything they need in a single device – data/voice connectivity, computing, long battery life, built-in features such as a barcode scanner, gadget options like a Mag Stripe Reader and rugged reliability they can depend on.                                                                                                    

Field Technologies: What need do you feel the Toughpad FZ-E1 and Toughpad FZ-X1 address in the marketplace?

Day: The Toughpad FZ-E1 and Toughpad FZ-X1 were purpose-built to address specific field worker pain points including the issue of battery lives that do not last a full workday, the need for greater hardware security and the need to juggle multiple devices because each one does not offer all the connectivity options or integrated productivity tools a worker needs. With these 5-inch handheld tablets, we wanted to provide the pocketability and communication features of a handheld, as well as the robust capabilities of an enterprise-class tablet, all in a rugged design that workers can trust to go the distance.

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