Panasonic ToughBook W4 review

Panasonic has renamed 2003's ToughBook W2 the W4 and made a few modest enhancements to the laptop. The few case modifications involve adding a handy Wi-Fi on/off switch and a connector for Panasonic's optional port replicator; otherwise the W4's design and features are exactly the same as the W2's.

The bulk of the changes on the W4, priced at around £1,900, are inside the case. Panasonic has stocked the laptop with an assortment of previous-generation parts (no Core Solo or Core Duo processors here): a 1.2GHz Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage processor, 512MB of middling 400MHz RAM, a 40GB hard drive spinning at 4,200rpm and integrated Intel graphics. Those components are nearly identical to the much cheaper Fujitsu LifeBook P7120's, though not quite as fresh as those on the Core Solo-based Gateway NX100X (which isn't currently available in the UK).

Nevertheless, the W4 matched the performance of both the Fujitsu and the Gateway on our performance benchmarks and should prove sufficient for basic business applications such as email, word processing and spreadsheets.

The W4 also displayed an impressive battery life, lasting 5 hours 41 minutes in our drain tests. The LifeBook P7120 held out just 7 minutes more, while the NX100X trailed far behind both competitors, lasting an average 3 hours, 6 minutes.
 

Mobile application performance
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

BAPCo MobileMark 2002 performance rating

Gateway NX100X

166 

Fujitsu LifeBook P7120

166 

Panasonic ToughBook W4

161 

Battery life
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

BAPCo MobileMark 2002 battery life in minutes

Fujitsu LifeBook P7120

348 

Panasonic ToughBook W4

341 

Gateway NX100X

186 

 
System configurations:
Fujitsu LifeBook P7120
Windows XP Professional; 1.2GHz Intel Pentium M ULV 753; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express 128MB; Toshiba MK6006GAH 60GB 4,200rpm

Gateway NX100X
Windows XP Professional; 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo U1400; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM PC4300 533MHz; Intel 945GM Express 128MB; Hitachi Travelstar 5K80 80GB 5,400rpm

Panasonic ToughBook W4
Windows XP Professional; 1.2GHz Intel Pentium M ULV 753; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express 128MB; Toshiba MK25GASL 40GB 4,200rpm 

Additional editing by Nick Hide