Panasonic's Toughbook line has long been hyped as a sleek and sophisticated alternative laptop for the accident-prone. But durability (which meets the MIL-STD 810F drop test spec) comes at a price: Toughbooks are neither powerful (1.2GHz Core Solo processor and 512MB of RAM), nor cheap. You can now add looks to the list of drawbacks: Some may find the design – distinguished by a tumor-like bulge on the back of the LCD – to be quirkily cute. Frankly it's one of the ugliest laptops I've ever seen. Extreme battery life (4 hours, 49 minutes) and integrated cellular wireless give the CF-W5 a few small plusses, but most buyers should balk.
