Panasonic AX2 Business Rugged Convertible Ultrabook Unboxing

The unboxing videos keep on rolling!

So far in the last week I’ve been very lucky to unbox:

This time around, we get back into mainstream computing with an ultrabook from Panasonic that you probably haven’t seen in the shops.

Panasonic isn’t well known for consumer grade laptops in Australia but are instead renowned for their range of Toughbooks and Toughpads which cover laptops and tablets respectively. Chances are the laptops used in police cars and in the military will be Panasonic Toughbooks and they can cop a real beating whilst resisting water and dust. The fully rugged models may not win any styling awards but you can count on them through thick and thin.

However, Panasonic also offer a range of “business rugged” laptops which includes the CF-AX2 (or just the AX2 from here on in) which is not only an ultrabook (Intel’s take on an Apple MacBook Air in terms of specifications) but it’s also convertible into a tablet with a ten finger multitouch screen. Tipping the scales at 1.16kg, the AX2 will be lighter than most of the workhorse laptops out there but heavier than tablets such as the iPad (around 660 grams) and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (600 grams).

The AX2 also sports a 64-bit version Windows 8 Pro which ensures you get your full 4GB of RAM at your disposal (minus a portion for video RAM). This also means you can run your traditional applications as well as the Metro Windows 8 apps. The model that I have in my possession, the CF-AX2LDCEBA, also includes 3G which will ensure that you remain connected if you wander away from home or the office out of the range of Wi-Fi.

One other notable feature is the ability to “hot swap” batteries whilst on the go. You can swap the primary battery for a fresh, fully charged one without shutting down the laptop thanks to the built-in secondary battery. This is ideal for those on the go all day without access to a power point.

Anyway, here’s the unboxing video!

FYI – the video will be available in up to 1080p (YouTube can take a little while to process the higher resolutions) if you right click on the video and choose “Watch on YouTube” and change the resolution setting.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.