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"Once again, CNET gets it wrong" on by c_m_f
Pros: Durable, reliable, full-featured
Cons: Expensive (but worth it if you travel), specs not top-drawer
Summary: I've owned Toughbooks for 4 years and the W7 is the latest incarnation. These things are considered "semi-rugged" for a reason: they're tough as hell. I actually dropped a W-series Toughbook down 13 concrete steps once -- while it was on -- and it's never had a single hiccup. I think the CNET reviewer must be a chimp or some other primate with low dexterity, because the circular trackpad is certainly NOT difficult to use. In fact, it's better than a square one: you can move your finger around the perimeter of the pad to continuously scroll up or down a webpage or long document. Ingenius, really. The only significant downside to the W7 is that the processor and chipset won't give you the best performance in this category, but it's more than adequate for web browsing and Office tasks. Really, for regular travelers, there are darn few better choices than a Toughbook, and the sub-3-pound W7 is a terrific combination of portability and versatility.
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"Advertised with Magnesium Case, My Ohm Meter Disagrees" on by Dorksters
Pros: Light weight; functional; drop, spill, and squash protected
Cons: Battery life not as advertised, case not magnesium, build quality poor, display resolution impractical: all unacceptable at this price point
Summary: Unlike the first person to write a User Opinion about the CF-W7, I actually bought and own one.
When I ordered the unit in early March 2008, Panasonic and its partner retailers advertised the CF-W7 has a "Full Magnesium Alloy Case". This is not even close to the truth, as far as I can tell without a complete dis-assembly. My Ohm meter indicates the outer case material is not conductive (cheap plastic). I suspect the previous model, the CF-W5, had a magnesium case, but that feature was dropped from the faster CF-W7; increasing its profit margin. I LOVED the appearance of the CF-W5 (as seen on the Web), and that contributed greatly the decision to replace my broken 2001 Sony PCG-SR33 (which I recently stepped on) with a Panasonic. I should have sought good quality (not soft focus) pictures of the W7 before purchase.
Furthermore, the build quality is rather poor for a 1024x768 resolution, 1 GHz, $2000+ machine. The plastic bezel around the screen pops when handled, as if it doesn't fit properly or isn't glued completely. Also, the structural support under the keyboard has a plasticity give that is unexpected and undesirable. Overall the unit appears "cheap" and "ugly", which may not be acceptable for a $2000+ machine.
One benefit of the cheap plastic case is the drop and spill protection. I imagine the compliant case material absorbs shock pretty well, as seen on the CNET video. And durability, in addition to sexiness, was a key selling point.
The adequate hard drive, USB, gigabit Ethernet, modem, etc. ports are welcome; making the W7 a functional computer for the average business user. Unlike the maddening Lenovo T61 that my company provided me, the W7's function key is located to the right of the control key.
Battery life is advertised as 7 hours, but out-of-the-box I've never gotten more than 4 hours while just surfing the web with the display brightness turned down, bluetooth off and disabled, DVD off and disabled, wireless enabled. The previous model, the CF-W5, advertised an having an 8 hour battery life; however, that unit only had a single core processor at 1.2 GHz. Perhaps that machine was more efficient, or perhaps Panasonic just poorly estimates how much use occurs over 7 hours? I think the computer could remain powered on for 7 hours if every "accessory" (screen, hard drive, wireless, DVD) was off.
As my previous laptop (the squashed Sony PCG-SR33) had an 800x600 resolution screen; so I thought the Panasonic's 1024x768 pixel screen would be adequate. It isn't, not with the crowded, some would say inefficient, use of screen area common on most web pages and Microsoft Office 2007. Office is now particularly horrid with its propensity to jumble up the screen with an incredible array of annoyingly useless icons. While CNET's web pages are well arranged, many sites would benefit from a 1280x800 screen (or larger). One nice feature of the W7's screen is that my old eyes can distinguish the characters - thanks to the low resolution. Your mileage may vary though.
I loved my slow, 6.5 year old, Sony SR33. It initially cost $1000 in September 2001, looked great, was well constructed, and felt substantial without being unnecessary heavy. The engineers at Sony really put effort into that machine. Conversely, Panasonic appears to have taken, what appeared to have been a nice design as expressed through the CF-W5, and cheapened it to produce the W7.
Given what I know now about the W7, I would probably buy a Dell M1330l or something else instead.
If the W7 was $1400, I would recommend it. But at its current price, I can't see the value in it.
Overall CNET's review was spot-on, if not critical enough. -
"Perfect laptop for business travellers" on by hepgirl
Pros: Small, light, excellent battery life and power saving features
Cons: Small keyboard takes getting used to
Summary: I disagreed with a lot of the statements in the C-NET review. I wouldn't call this laptop ugly (I think it's cute), and I think it's only as bulky as it needs to be for sturdiness. It fits in my (large) purse! The circular touch pad does have a scroll feature (activated by running your finger around the edge of the circle). With a small screen like this, 4:3 aspect ratio is much better for reading documents - this isn't the laptop you buy if your main concern is multimedia performance! The battery life is great. I don't even bother bringing the power adapter with me to meetings because I know the battery won't die on me.
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"Rugged, light, and long battery life." on by svdt
Pros: Rugged, light, and long battery life. Cool and space-saving top-loading DVD multi drive. Round wheel-pad. Large keyboard for its class. Downgradable to XP.
Cons: Expensive. Thick. The cord of the AC adopter is stiff. Now it has a fan for the CPU.
Summary: Now that the new W8 is out, I got a significant discount on W7 -- and it serves me just fine. I wanted a rugged and relatively light one to do basic things (Web, Office, etc.) with a decent battery and a DVD multi drive, and I didn't need the fastest processor or breath-taking LCD. So Toughbook W was the natural choice.
In addition, there are a few features that won me over:
1) Top-loading DVD drive -- My desk is messy and the table at my favorite coffee place is small. It's so easy to change CDs when I'm on the couch!
2) Relatively big keyboard -- I type a lot and it's enough for my small hands. I also like the surface of the keys are smooth. They don't stick to my finger.
3) The wheelpad -- I must admit I first thought it was too round and too small, but it turned out it was just large enough and I can use it naturally. I love scrolling by "wheeling" too. I also like the corner tap (although there's no corner exactly). I love being able to do things like minimizing the window without moving the pointer.
4) Downgradable to Windows XP -- It came with Vista Business, but none of my stuff requires Vista and XP is much faster.
5) Well-built -- Although the interface ports are exposed, I could feel it when I plugged in connectors to these ports that these are built to last. Especially the DC IN and the headphone jack. Also the prints and paints look durable.
I think this computer is unique. I like it partly because I hate having the same thing with everyone else. But more, I like it because I appreciate what they spend their energy for. It's all about packing this much stuff while keeping it light, yet rugged. Being light and rugged are completely opposing ideas. I take pride in owning a piece of craftsmanship (and it is - it's semi hand-assembled in Japan, and that might explain the high price.)
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