Panasonic launches 20-Inch 4K Tablet

Panasonic tonight at a Hollywood event announced the U.S. availability of the Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 tablet, the world's first 20-inch tablet with a 4K resolution display. Part of Panasonic's Toughpad line of professional-grade tablets, the device is designed for professionals in fields where visual clarity and collaboration are essential to productivity, such as video production, architecture, design, photography and healthcare. With its crystal-clear, immersive display, the Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 also can be utilized in settings such as museums, training centers, sales showrooms and galleries.

The business-rugged Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 is powered by an Intel Core i5 vPro processor, features Windows 8.1 Pro and offers a brilliant 3840x2560 pixel display that goes beyond Ultra HD resolution. With a 20-inch IPS Alpha LCD screen featuring 230 pixels per inch, a 15:10 aspect ratio and wide viewing angles, the Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 provides a lifelike viewing experience unlike any tablet on the market. Moreover, since the system is built on the Intel vPro platform, it bridges the gap between the needs of IT professionals and workers by including unique hardware enhanced security features, remote manageability and capabilities designed to increase end user productivity and data protection.

"In our highly connected and visual world, having access to the best quality, most detailed visual information available can be a critical component of success in many fields," said Rance Poehler, president, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America. "By delivering an unsurpassed level of image quality, running on an Intel vPro processor and using Microsoft's most advanced operating system, the Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 tablet allows decision makers in various visual fields to view, share, manage, and interpret information to drive their innovation."

Professional-Grade Productivity and Durability
In addition to its 10-point multi-touch input, the Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 comes with an optional Panasonic Electronic Touch Pen, a unique new device offering pixel-level precision and a distinctly pen-and-paper-like feel for freehand sketching, annotation or handwriting. The pen uses infrared signals to distinctly read each pixel on the screen and communicates with the tablet via Bluetooth. For natural and highly accurate drawing or handwriting, the pen can be held from various angles and can interpret more than 2,000 levels of pressure.

The Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 is the world's lightest and thinnest 20-inch tablet. With a magnesium alloy frame enclosed in a reinforced glass fiber case, it provides business-rugged durability worthy of the Toughpad name. It's built to handle a 30-inch drop to its back while operating, and 12-inch drops to 26 angles when nonoperational.

Toughpad 4K UT-MB5: Key Features

• 4K Visual Experience: 20-inch IPS Alpha LCD screen with 3840x2560 pixel display featuring 230 pixels per inch and 15:10 aspect ratio
• High-Performance Processing Power: Intel Core i5-3437U vPro processor with NVIDIA GeForce 745M GPU
• Operating System: Windows 8.1 Pro
• Storage & Memory: 256 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM and 2 GB VRAM
• Connectivity & I/O: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0 (Class 1), USB 3.0, SDXC card slot, smart card reader, docking connector
• Camera: 1280 x 720 pixel built-in front camera
• Durability: Business-rugged with resistance to 12-inch drops to 26 angles (non-operating) and 30-inch drop to its back (operating)
• Battery: 2 hours per MobileMark 2007 testing
• Lightweight Portability: 5.27 lbs., 0.49 inch thick

Combined with accessories such as the optional Panasonic desktop cradle and carrying case solution, the device can be used as both a desktop PC and tablet. The cradle offers USB 3.0 x3, Ethernet and HDMI-output connectivity. A VESA-compatible mounting adapter plate will be available early next year.

The Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 adds to Panasonic's ever-expanding suite of technology for producing and consuming 4K media, including the 65-inch VIERA WT600 Ultra-High Definition 4K TV and the BT-4LH310 LCD production monitor. The Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 was unveiled at an event this evening in Hollywood, Calif.

Commentary

"It's impressive to see Panasonic bringing its successful heritage of ruggedized PCs to the new designs running Windows 8.1, providing huge value to business customers who need high-resolution screens and durability," said Jordan Chrysafidis, vice president of Worldwide OEM Marketing, Microsoft Corp. 

"Professionals in all fields need tools that help them do their work more effectively and rely on a range of computing devices, including tablets," said Rick Echevarria, vice president of PC Client Group and general manager of Business Client Platform Division at Intel. "The Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 provides portability to the all-in-one horsepower, hardware enhanced security, and collaboration capabilities delivered by Intel Core vPro processors to maximize productivity in the office, field or wherever the job takes them."

"What's exciting about the Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 is the clarity of the display. What you're working with here are large-format drawings, and fidelity and clarity is key," said Don Jacob, vice president of Engineering at Bluebeam Software, a leading developer of PDF-based workflow solutions for the architecture, engineering and construction industries. "What Bluebeam is all about is not changing the way people work - people are comfortable with marking up paper with a pen. This is a very nice way to be able to do that with the benefits of it being electronic. It's definitely a game changer."

"Having a tablet like the Panasonic Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 makes it much easier because the resolution that I get out of this, at this size, is so beneficial to my practice. I spend less time working," said Architect Thomas A. Heinz, AIA. "Using a tablet like this would make it much easier to make a presentation to a client because you have it in real time, you can change the size as you go, you can make notes on it if you want and it's much simpler. And you have a permanent record of it."

"(Ultra HD resolution) is now immediately accessible to us in the field, which gives us enormous efficiencies and cost savings and cuts our schedule considerably," said Don Kempf, president and founder of Giant Screen Films. "We're now able to take some of the great attributes of our films in the theater, particularly the high resolution, and bring that to a person-to-person context. We've never been able to do that before."

Pricing and Availability
The Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 will be available in January 2014 at a list price of $5,999. All Toughpad tablets can be purchased through authorized Panasonic resellers. 

All products in the Toughpad family come standard with the industry's most comprehensive 3-year warranty.