Panasonic today announced its latest rugged Android tablet for customer-facing mobile workers that need a cost-effective device.

The tablet, with its 7 inch display and optional bar code reader, is suitable for a wide range of roles in industries such as retail and hospitality, manufacturing, transportation and logistics.

Available as WI-FI only for inside workers or with optional voice and data capability for field-based workers, the TOUGHBOOK FZ-L1 tablet with integrated barcode reader is slim, weighing in at around 480g, but rugged enough to stand up to business needs. The device is built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform (quad-core 1.1GHz CPU) and comes with a set of management tools and peripherals at launch.

The TOUGHBOOK FZ-L1 tablet will be available in eight model variants: With or without an integrated enterprise-class, straightline barcode reader for scanning 1D, 2D or QR codes; with a choice of Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi and 4G and data capabilities, and/or Google Mobile Services.

The device has the Android 8.1 Oreo operating system, 16GB Flash and 2GB Ram storage. It delivers full shift battery life with warm swap capabilities, allowing the user to switch their own batteries without interrupting work.

The Panasonic FZ-L1 tablet is easy to use but remains true to its TOUGHBOOK heritage designed for military standard 810G, dust and water resistant to IP67 and is capable of withstanding drops of up to 1.5m, and operating within a temperature range of -10 to +50C.

With an easy viewing 7" display, the Panasonic TOUGHBOOK FZ-L1 tablet has 10-finger input, display protection film, is capable of operating in the rain or can be used with gloved hands or an optional passive pen. It also has an 8 Megapixel rear camera for easy document capture.

For ease of management and security, the device is compliant with Panasonic COMPASS (Complete Android Security and Services) 2.0. Panasonic COMPASS offers everything businesses need to securely deploy and manage their Panasonic rugged Android devices.

The Panasonic devices can also come with Google Mobile Services (GMS), a collection of Google applications and APIs that help support functionality across devices.

The tablet with Wi-Fi capability will be priced at £1,049 RRP plus VAT, and the 4G and data version will be priced at £1,130 RRP plus VAT. Both devices will be available Europe-wide in the autumn and come with a standard 3 year warranty.