Rugged Tablets are ATEX certified for hazardous work environments.

Panasonic Launches ATEX Certified Versions of Its Leading 5 Inch Fully Rugged TOUGHPAD Handheld Tablets for Hazardous Work Environments

WIESBADEN, GERMANY — Panasonic today announced ATEX certified versions of its leading fully rugged 5 inch Windows and Android handheld tablets designed to revolutionise productivity in potentially hazardous industries such as oil and gas, mining, chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The addition of these two specialist devices for hazardous work environments underlines Panasonic’s commitment to the handheld tablet market with its range of four different 5 inch tablets now available on two operating systems.

FZ-E1

FZ-E1

The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-E1 ATEX and FZ-X1 ATEX tablets bring together the best of the handheld, smartphone and tablet market and have been certified for above ground, Zone 2 Working Space use in potentially explosive gas environments (Acetaldehyde, Gasoline, Ethylene).* Safety design features incorporated into the ATEX certified tablets include such as addition of leather casing and an antistatic screen film for the device. A built-in 1D/2D barcode reader has been integrated into the design and a distinct yellow bezel has been added for customers to easily differentiate ATEX certified models from the standard 5 inch Panasonic Toughpad tablets.

Where inefficient pen and paper usage is still common in Zone 2 areas, the Panasonic Toughpad ATEX tablets deliver a safe and usable PDA, voice call, and barcode reader in one device. It can be used for email and voice communications on the move around the plant, accurate data entry for workers reporting on manufacturing or industrial processes. The bar code reader can be used for inventory and product registration and the inbuilt camera capabilities are ideal for fast image and video capture in emergency scenarios, for example.

“These ATEX certified Panasonic Toughpad enable mobile workers in hazardous environments to benefit from the same technology and productivity gains as colleagues in non-hazardous environments,” said Jan Kaempfer, General manager European Marketing, at Panasonic Computer Product Solutions. “In addition, we have maintained the functionality, usability and endurability that Panasonic Toughpad have become renowned for, enabling businesses to equip their mobile workers with just one device that can be used both inside and outside of the hazardous areas.”

The Toughpad FZ-E1 ATEX (Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld update 2) and FZ-X1 ATEX (Android™ 4.2.2) bring together the best of the handheld, smartphone and tablet market in the most rugged, easy to use, long working device. The devices are powerful enough to deal with all mobile industrial applications, with their Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Quad-core processor, 2 GB RAM and 32 GB flash storage.

The tablets’ numerous unique enterprise-grade features include a sunlight-readable, anti-reflective HD (1280x720) 10-point capacitive, toughened multi-touchscreen display that works even with heavy gloves. It includes a rain-sensing feature that allows for single touch use even in pouring rain.

Voice and Data Connectivity

The Toughpad FZ-E1 ATEX and Toughpad FZ-X1 ATEX are available with voice and data on 4G LTE/3G. Standard on both models is an integrated Micro USB port, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, near field communications (NFC), standalone GPS and Bluetooth® v4.0 (Class 1). The integrated high accuracy GPS functionality is ideal for field workers that require navigation in vehicles and pin-point location capabilities, with accuracy to between 2-4 m.

The devices are also equipped with an 8MP rear camera with auto focus and LED light and 1.3MP front camera for accurate photo and video capture.

Clear Voice Communications

To ensure clear voice communication above background plant and industrial noise, the devices are equipped with 3 mics for intelligent noise cancellation and dual front speakers reaching an astounding maximum volume of 100 dB - which ensures voice could be clearly heard even in very noisy sites.

Industry-Leading 14-Hours** Battery Life

A major requirement for enterprise mobile solutions is strong full-shift battery performance. With a 6,200 mAh battery providing up to 14 hours of continuous data access based on Panasonic test conditions, the Toughpad FZ-E1 ATEX and Toughpad FZ-X1 ATEX are purpose-built to enable workforce productivity. A quick-charging feature allows for a 50% charge in approximately 1 hour*** and full charge in approximately 3 hours*** with a Hot Swap functionality that allows a depleted battery to be swapped out for a fresh one without powering down the device, providing virtually unlimited use. Single battery standby time is approximately 1,000 hours and talk time 23 hours.

Built to stand-up to the toughest industrial environments, these Panasonic Toughpad ATEX handheld tablets come with an IP54 rating, operable in temperatures of -20C to +40C and drop tested to 1 metre. The devices are also backed by the industry’s most comprehensive 3-year warranty and customer support. These latest ATEX devices complement the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 ATEX 10.1 inch rugged tablet that was launched last year.

The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-X1 ATEX (Android TM version) and the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-E1 ATEX (Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld version) will be available from the end of September 2015.

* Support ATEX Ex nA nC IIB T4 Gc. At ATEX Zone 2, need to use with leather cover, battery charging is not available, battery replacing is not available and connections are not available (USB cable / Cradle / headset / headset input jack).

** Battery life measurement conditions: Wireless LAN connection enabled; continuous access to the server while browsing; swipe every 1 second; page change every 30 seconds, communication every 30 seconds.

*** Battery charging times varies between FZ-E1 and FZ-X1. Please refer to the respective fact sheet in the product webpage for exact information.