The CF-73 was a laptop computer released by the Panasonic Corporation in 2004. Belonging to the company's "Toughbook" series, the machine's shock- and water- resistant components made it more durable than other laptops of its time. According to Laptop Magazine, lab tests indicated that the CF-73 performed above average for a machine in the "semi-rugged" category, making it one of the few products of its kind to achieve performance benchmarks comparable to those of mainstream laptops (See Reference 1).
Processor
Initially the CF-73 came standard with a 1.6 GHz Pentium M processor (See Reference 2). This was a single-core 32-bit processor with 2 MB of cache memory. Mobile Magazine reports that by 2005, Panasonic released another version of the CF-73 with an improved 1.86 GHz Intel Pentium M processor (See Reference 3).
Memory
The 2004 CF-73 came in two versions. A $3,500 machine included 256 MB of RAM upgradeable to 1,280 MB. A $3,750 version came with 512 MB of RAM upgradeable to 1,536 MB (See Reference 3). Paying the higher price also increased the hard drive size from 60 GB to 80 GB. Regardless of capacity, Panasonic used shock-and-vibration resistant hard drives in all CF-73s (See Reference 3).
Display
Unlike most laptops of its time, the CF-73 came with a touch screen option. Whether or not users opted for the touchscreen, the CF-73's display measured in at 13.3 inches (See Reference 3). Panasonic claimed that the screen was "sun-light readable." However, Laptop Magazine states that the screen lost significant contrast when viewed outdoors (See Reference 1).
Graphics
Early CF-73s used an ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 graphics card (See Reference 2). According to Tom's Guide, this card operated at a speed of 240-250 MHz and was compatible with DirectX 8.1 software protocols (See Reference 4). Panasonic gave later CF-73s Intel's Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (See Reference 3). This unit had a speed of 333 MHz and was compatible with the updated DirectX 9 software protocols (See Reference 5).
Casing
The CF-73 housed its internal components in a magnesium-alloy case. The unit included a handle on its front panel, rubber coverings over some of its connection ports, and a water resistant keyboard and touchpad (See References 1 and 3). Its dimensions measured in at 11.7 by 10 by 1.7 inches (See Reference 2).
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