can cold temperatures kill an lcd touch screen pricelist

Cold weather can damage electronics, best to keep them indoors. While you"re planning to keep yourself warm during the cold weather, make sure you consider your electronic devices, too. Tech experts say the cold can drain your battery in minutes, cause permanent damage and it can also freeze an LCD screen.

While normally a cool environment is preferable to a warm one when it comes to keeping your electronics up and running, if it gets too cold, certain components can suffer sudden failure. For instance, LCD screens contain fluid and at extreme temperatures can freeze.

Electronics begin to break down and fry at temperatures above 120 degrees. Most systems tend to run 10 to 20 degrees hotter than room temperature, so anything you can do to reduce the build-up of heat will help to protect your investment better.

After a few hours in the cold, your battery will likely be drained completely, rendering your gadget useless until its next charge. Damage is done to screens and monitors when left out in the cold.

2) What are the temperature limits of electronics? At the low end, operation of semiconductor-based devices and circuits has often been reported down to temperatures as low as a few degrees above absolute zero, in other words as low as about −270°C.

Circuit systems within electronics work best at lower temperatures. Allowing systems to run for prolonged periods of time in high temperatures can decrease the longevity and reliability of devices. Solid-state electronics actually begin to break down and fry at temperatures much above 120 degrees.

An LCD or LED TV may not perform well under extreme temperature conditions. In the cold, the response time of an HDTV picture may lag. For this reason, many LCD and LED television manuals will specify a safe-operating-temperature range. In most HDTVs, this range is about 50–90°F.

It"s okay to store it in the garage but if you bring it inside from a very cold/damp place, I"d recommend you let the TV sit for a while to allow for any condensation to evaporate before plugging it in. An hour should do it.

Do not leave a laptop in a cold car for more than an hour if the temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius. Leaving a computer in freezing conditions can actually cause permanent damage to the battery and LCD screen. Reduce the risk by storing the computer in an insulated box in the trunk.

Laptops have been designed to work within a safe temperature range, typically between 50 to 95 degrees F (10 - 35 degrees C). This range refers to the optimal usage temperature of the outside environment and the temperature the laptop should be warmed to before using.

However, you do need to make sure your electronics are protected from moisture, water, wind, and extreme hot and cold temperatures. You should also make sure your electronics are made for outdoor use and not indoor-only use.

The trick to properly storing electronics in heat and cold is to avoid those temperatures altogether! Electronics are best stored in HVAC regulated environments between 50 and 80 degrees.

LCD stands for liquid crystal display. When temperatures dip below 32-degrees Fahrenheit, liquid freezes which can cause permanent damage to your LCD screen. That"s the number one reason to make sure you never leave your computer in a cold car or even on a cold floor overnight.

Best case scenario, the cooling system needs to be repaired and the internals of the Xbox would need to be cleaned. Worst case, you have a stylish $500 paperweight. I"d advise against leaving the Xbox in the car overnight if it"s 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.

Cold temperatures are not as dangerous to a computer as overheating is, but problems can still occurs. If computers get too cold when left powered off, their components can be damaged upon boot because the electricity heats the circuit.

Generally, once it hits 90° or 95° Fahrenheit, you want to start shielding your laptop and smartphone from the heat. Remember that the inside of your car will get hotter than the outside, too, so even if it isn"t quite 90° outside, you should keep it in your bag or leave it at home.

Extreme heat and cold can damage your battery. For example, don"t leave your smartphone in the glove compartment of your car on very hot or cold days. A common myth is that batteries last longer if they are put in the freezer. This is not correct and can damage your battery.

Safe temperatures vary from when the TV is being used or when being stored. LCD and Plasma Operating temps: 40 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. LCD and Plasma Storage temp: -5 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

What Temperature Is Too Cold for a TV? Ideally, it would be best to store your LCD between 40 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid freezing the liquid crystal fluid. LCD televisions should not be stored below minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. In the cold, an HDTV image"s response time may lag.

Electronics. Most electronics are not meant to stand up to the outdoors, and that"s essentially what your garage is like. Not only will your electronics collect dirt and dust, but they will also become damaged. Humidity and temperature fluctuations will destroy batteries and other operating pieces to your electronics.

Cold weather can damage your laptop in multiple ways, from disabling your display and corrupting your hard drive to shattering your screen if it is warmed up too quickly. Both using and storing your laptop in a cold environment can cause problems.

Since the individual pixels utilize a fluid-like crystal material as the ambient temperature is reduced, this fluid will become more viscous compromising performance. For many LCD displays, temperatures below 0°C represent the point where performance degrades.

Cold weather can damage electronics, best to keep them indoors. While you"re planning to keep yourself warm during the cold weather, make sure you consider your electronic devices, too. Tech experts say the cold can drain your battery in minutes, cause permanent damage and it can also freeze an LCD screen.

Never leave your smartphone, notebook, tablet, or any other mobile device in your cold vehicle for extended periods of time. Even with a case, such extended time can cause permanent internal and external damage.

PC World found that different gadgets can withstand different temperatures of cold, but to be conservative, we recommend taking precautions once the ambient temperature reaches freezing, or 32° Fahrenheit.

Well, most consumer electronic devices use lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and those batteries cannot be charged at subfreezing temperatures (below 32°F or 0°C) without causing damage.

Laptops have been designed to work within a safe temperature range, typically between 50 to 95 degrees F (10 - 35 degrees C). This range refers to the optimal usage temperature of the outside environment and the temperature the laptop should be warmed to before using.

An LCD or LED TV may not perform well under extreme temperature conditions. In the cold, the response time of an HDTV picture may lag. For this reason, many LCD and LED television manuals will specify a safe-operating-temperature range. In most HDTVs, this range is about 50–90°F.

Cold temperatures can degrade the functionality of an LCD/ LED television or cause harm to sensitive electronic components by forming condensation on them.

Do not leave a laptop in a cold car for more than an hour if the temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius. Leaving a computer in freezing conditions can actually cause permanent damage to the battery and LCD screen.

LCD stands for liquid crystal display. When temperatures dip below 32-degrees Fahrenheit, liquid freezes which can cause permanent damage to your LCD screen. That"s the number one reason to make sure you never leave your computer in a cold car or even on a cold floor overnight.

LED TVs can be stored in cold weather as long as it"s not in use. Samsung recommends that their LCD TVs are stored at temperatures ranging from -4° to 113° Fahrenheit.

Electronics are best stored in HVAC regulated environments between 50 and 80 degrees. Humidity control is another important factor in climate controlled indoor storage as moisture can be one of the biggest culprits for electronics damage.

Cold weather can damage your laptop in multiple ways, from disabling your display and corrupting your hard drive to shattering your screen if it is warmed up too quickly. Both using and storing your laptop in a cold environment can cause problems.

Can a regular TV be used outdoors? Even if it is well placed out of direct rain, a regular TV should not be used outdoors unless it is properly protected with some type of specific built-to-last outdoor TV enclosure. There are many weather and environment threats like rain or bugs to consider.

Safe temperatures vary from when the TV is being used or when being stored. LCD and Plasma Operating temps: 40 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. LCD and Plasma Storage temp: -5 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ambient temperature below 35 F/1.7 C: Generally speaking it"s too cold to operate at this point. You"re dangerously close to freezing and that"s when the physical properties of computer hardware change by flexing (usually). It"s just not a good idea to operate a computer below this mark.

While many electronics are designed to withstand up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit, the recommended temperature limit is 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Consistent high temperatures can lead to permanent damage to your device. Some devices will power themselves down to avoid this risk.

Don"t put it in a fridge. Condensation will kill it eventually. If you really can"t upgrade the machine, use an airconditioner. Put the laptop near the vent, and it will do what you need.

Circuit systems within electronics work best at lower temperatures. Allowing systems to run for prolonged periods of time in high temperatures can decrease the longevity and reliability of devices. Solid-state electronics actually begin to break down and fry at temperatures much above 120 degrees.

You can protect your electronic devices from damages due to cold weather by merely keeping them inside. Most electronic devices are designed to work between the 32 and 100 degree temperature range. Make sure that your device stays in that range when you have to bring it out in the cold.

All electronic components are subject to failure due to overheating. Any increase in temperature can result in a reduced lifespan. This includes increase in temperature due to ambient temperature of the environment, heat produced by the device itself, and the product"s efficiency at heat removal.

The ideal operating temperature of a computer"s environment ranges from 50 degrees F to 82 degrees, though it should be as close as possible to room temperature, 72 degrees. Laptops should operate between 50 and 95 degrees.

While you"re planning to keep yourself warm during the cold weather, make sure you consider your electronic devices, too. Tech experts say the cold can drain your battery in minutes, cause permanent damage and it can also freeze an LCD screen.

Both Apple and Android companies are warning customers to bring their electronics inside, and not leave them in their vehicles for an extended period of time because the cold air can cause permanent damage, and in certain cases cause items to explode.

The temperature in New York City on Tuesday was a high of 19°F and a low of 4°, which is being blamed on the Polar Vortex that is ravaging most of the country with icy weather.

Stepping into the bitter cold, you may have noticed such bodily effects as numbing of the extremities and difficulty breathing. But people are not alone in battling the effects of the cold. Some of our most prized possessions also react to the dipping thermostat: our mobile devices.

Smartphones are known to withstand cold temperatures much better than hot; however, extreme cold temperatures can have adverse effects on our favorite gadgets. Studies have shown that many Android devices fare better in the cold than Apple devices, but smartphones across the board appear to succumb equally at about -40 Degrees, where all functionality ceases.

Though it may just feel like its -40 out, recent temperatures are actually low enough to elicit negative effects on smartphones. Here’s a list of issues than can arise in your smartphone due to the cold.

Battery drain is one of the most immediate effects of cold weather. Devices may spontaneously shut down with a dead battery in the extreme cold. Over time, extended exposure to cold temperatures can kill a smartphone battery all together.

Smartphones with LCD displays are more susceptible to the cold than those with AMOLED displays. With LCD displays in particular, users may experience delayed touchscreen reactions as well as smudging and ghosting of text and colors. Display panels are also more susceptible to shattering when dropped as the cold makes the panel rigid.

In extreme cold temperatures smartphones may begin to register various errors of a their internal components. Devices may have difficulty reading a SIM card or executing a number processing functionalities.

As said, extreme cold causes components of smartphones, both internal and external, to become rigid, which could lead to physical damage like spontaneous screen shattering. Drops or blunt movements can also crack a screen and dislodge or damage internal components. Devices left in extreme cold temperatures for an extended time can be susceptible to permanent damage, especially when left in ‘sleep mode.’

Smartphones are susceptible to liquid condensation underneath their displays if they are used soon after being brought into a warm area after an extended time in the cold. This can cause various liquid damage issues and can also make the screen hard to read.

Don’t take your smartphone out in the cold/limit use in the cold. Leave your smartphone in your pocket, jacket, bag or purse. Leaving devices in a pocket close to your own body heat is most recommended.

Protect your smartphone with a heavy duty, weatherproof case such as an OtterBox or Lifeproof case. Such cases are dirt proof, waterproof and drop resistant.

Use warming gloves when handling a smartphone in the cold. Whether gloves are warmed or not, protecting yourself in the cold will also help prevent accidental drops due to your own physical reactions to the cold.

Don’t leave your smartphone in a cold vehicle for extended periods of time, especially not overnight. Such extended use can cause permanent internal and external damage.

Keep your smartphone away from or protected from snow related activities such as shoveling or sledding. In addition to the cold, the opportunity for the device to get wet is also great and extremely damaging.

Use headphones or a Bluetooth earbud and mic in order to keep smartphones put away while out in the cold. Not only do many Bluetooth devices have call answer buttons, many smartphones have quick answer options, which will allow users to take calls without handling the device.

Charge your smartphone before going outside. If your battery is fully before going out into the cold, it is less likely to experience battery drain. Keep a mobile charger around for long trips as well as an extra battery for backup.

If your smartphone happens to be exposed to extreme cold, the best thing to do is to turn the device off and allow it to warm back up to room temperature before turning it on again for use. This not only helps prevent condensation, but also helps prevent any other damage that might occur while the device is warming up.

No way in heck would I leave my scope (a Rigol) out in the garage. I have most of my stuff in an unheated storage unit at the moment and while I"m not using the scope for anything currently, it is still waiting patiently in my bedroom. I think you made the right choice by being more careful with yours as well.

When I said earlier that LCDs don"t like the cold... they can actually crack or otherwise completely break. I wasn"t just referring to sluggish performance, though sluggish performance is almost a definite in the cold whereas cracking is just a slight possibility (if your equipment is good).

Across the Midwest today, hundreds of schools and businesses are closed, dozens of flights and trains have been canceled, and the governors of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan have declared states of emergency as a bone-chilling, breath-taking Polar Vortex bears down on the region. While I slept in Minneapolis, overnight wind chills in the city topped –50 degrees. With temperatures like that, you can’t stay outside for more than five minutes without running the risk of frostbite.

As a native Midwesterner, I’m used to the annual assault of winter weather on the human body, hairless and adapted over millennia to indoor living as we are. Despite our thermoregulatory shortcomings, we’ve managed to survive extreme cold through technology—from insulating clothing to systems that pump hot air and water around our homes.

But much of the tech that facilitates our connected modern lives itself loses functionality as temperatures drop below freezing. Batteries, screens, sensors, lightweight materials—the things that power our modern mobile lifestyles—just don’t work when it gets this cold. Here’s what to expect of your gear.

Think about all the gadgets that you regularly plug into a power strip. It’s a lot, right? Besides everyday items like a phone and laptop, you might also have a fitness tracker, smart watch, Bluetooth headphones, digital camera, e-reader, vape pen, drone, or rechargeable bike lights, just to name a few. Most if not all of them are powered by lithium-ion batteries, whose high energy density and ability to handle both low and high currents have made them the industry standard for personal electronics. But those same properties become a problem as soon as temperatures dive below 32 degrees F.

“Lithium-ion batteries suffer so badly in freezing temperatures because they have very little internal resistance,” says Hanumant Singh, an electrical engineer at Northeastern University who builds cold-weather robots for places like Antarctica and Greenland. Less resistance means these batteries generate less waste energy as heat (a good thing in more mild climes). But the absence of waste heat also means they’re more vulnerable when temperatures plummet. The colder it gets, the slower the metabolism of the chemical reaction inside the battery. The battery drains faster as a result. If you’ve ever been texting someone at a healthy-looking 25 percent charge only to have your phone die mid-eggplant emoji two seconds later, you’re familiar with how steep the drop-off can be. “It’s very dramatic,” says Singh. Carrying around a smartphone in any weather colder than –35 degrees F, he says, will kill it completely in 5 minutes—right around the time frostbite would strike the hand holding it.

Such deficiencies are particularly pronounced in devices like smartphones, which are designed to sit mostly inactive for long periods of time throughout the day. Their batteries never draw enough current to heat themselves. But vehicles like drones and electric cars, which demand very high power for shorter periods of time, can generate enough warmth to keep the batteries going, just at a greatly reduced level of performance. While cold weather is a challenge for all electric vehicles, the small size of electric scooters can make them especially vulnerable to failures, as noted by several “juicer” forums on Reddit. Companies like Lime monitor the performance of their fleets, including battery life, but say they are not yet aware of any trends coinciding with this week’s plummeting temps.

The performance of individual products will of course vary based on the manufacturer, battery model, and wear and tear on the device. Apple suggests not operating its phones below 32 degrees F. Amazon says the same for the Kindle. Fitbit, on the other hand, recommends a minimum ambient operating temperature no colder than 14 degrees F for its wellness wearables, which should maintain better temperature control based on continuous contact with your skin. But the same general rules apply to anything that uses lithium-ion battery technology.

I have an inexpensive flash-based MP3 player that I got for skiing, and finally got around to using it this weekend with Giro Tune-ups (which work really well, FYI). Temps were 5-15 degrees. Player was in my pack on the first day, no problems, and was in my jacket for the second (colder) day. At the end of the second day, the LCD screen on the MP3 player had developed a big blotch across the middle, such that 80% of the display was no longer legible. After warming it back up inside, overnight, the screen is still 80% gone. Player works fine -- just can"t see anything on the screen. I"m returning it for another one.

Anyone have this happen with any LCD device in very cold weather? I"m glad it was a cheap MP3 player, under warranty, rather than my camera. I would"ve thought that it would remain warm enough inside my jacket, but maybe not.

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"We"ve got families actually turning their cookers off, their televisions, their heating. The only thing they"ve got on is a fridge," says Billy McGranaghan, founder of Dad"s House, a charity supporting single fathers in the UK. He also runs two foodbanks, open to anyone, in London.

"It"s destroying a lot of families" relationships," he adds. Some households are "walking on eggshells" because there"s no money to pay for a child"s much-needed new shoes, for example. While tensions rise, parents watch the money in prepayment gas meters tick steadily downwards, knowing that the heating will soon run out again, McGranaghan says.

He can tell that the people he speaks to are embarrassed about this. That they feel anxious. He says it"s obvious from their tone of voice, their body language.

Back in Belfast, on a second visit to Foodstock, I meet Doherty outside a small church hall on a quiet residential street. The church leaders have loaned him the key and, when the metal shutter rolls up and he opens the door, we step inside to an incredible bounty of heat.

In just a few weeks, this will be the site of what Doherty describes as a warm community space. Every Monday, the venue will be open to locals, including those who aren"t able to heat their homes. A nearby supermarket has promised to donate buns and cakes. Doherty excitedly explores the kitchen to one side of the hall where people will be able to make coffee and tea. There"ll be arts and crafts and other activities so visitors will have lots of reasons to come and enjoy the warmth. He and his fellow volunteers are organising two additional warm spaces besides this one.

The prospect of so-called "warm banks" springing up in places across the UK this winter, including in public libraries, churches and galleries, has prompted disbelief from some members of the public. But Doherty says the need is real. Many of the people Foodstock supports live alone in cold houses, he explains. A warm, friendly space provides a sociable alternative. (People in the UK looking for warm places to use over the winter can now find examples of such sites near to them via a virtual map, set up by the Warm Welcome Initiative.)

Doherty has also spent the summer stockpiling donations of winter clothes – fleeces, thermal underwear, coats, scarves, gloves and more to be packed in tote bags and distributed to people in the community. This won"t be the first year Foodstock has distributed "warm packs" but demand could be particularly high this winter, Doherty says.

These are more or less emergency interventions. Perhaps the only things some people will have to prevent them from freezing at home. The British government has also offered financial assistance, to a point, with energy bills and organisations such as the Fuel Bank Foundation offer pre-paid top-up cards via local retailers for people who have run out of money for gas, for example. Matthew Cole, head of Fuel Bank Foundation, says he has already noticed soaring demand well before the arrival of winter.

Changing attitudes towards heating, in which it is increasingly viewed as a luxury, concern him, he adds: "This acceptance that it"s OK now to be without energy, that"s the norm – that worries me, actually, because it"s not normal."

For much of the country, "too cold" is when you can no longer stay outside comfortably without protective clothing. Your phone agrees. You probably know that a phone can get too hot, but you might not know it can also get too cold. Most phones are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which begin to perform differently once the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

No matter what phone you use, you can find the technical specifications online. For example, the newly announced iPhone 11 has an operating ambient temperature between 32 degrees and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Its "non-operating temperature" are below -4 degrees and above 113 degrees Fahrenheit. There"s a small gap between these temperature ranges where your phone will continue to operate, but not at its best.

If your phone reaches -4 degrees or 113 degrees, a warning message will appear. If you don"t adjust the temperature, the device will shut off to protect the internal components. Hanumant Singh, an electrical engineer at Northeastern University, tells Wired magazine, "Carrying around a smartphone in any weather colder than -35 degrees Fahrenheit will kill it completely in five minutes."

The technical reason is that the cold slows the chemical reactions that power the battery. Sensitive components in the LCD screen can also be damaged by too low (or too high) temperatures. Your phone is built with safeguards to protect it, but it"s good to know how to circumvent these.

Keeping your phone in your pants pocket (or an internal jacket pocket) rather than in a purse or a messenger bag will keep it warmer, longer. A bag offers some protection, but keeping your phone against your body allows your body heat to keep it from reaching critically low temperatures.

The Apple support page warns that charging a phone in extreme temperatures can permanently damage the battery, but says that the loss in capacity due to cold temperatures is temporary. To make the battery last longer, warm your phone to its normal temperature range before you try to charge it.

If you regularly work in an extremely cold environment — outdoors in cold climates or in a facility where temperatures are kept low — invest in an insulated case to protect your phone and keep it warm. This is a great alternative if you need to use your phone in frigid temperatures.

The best way to protect your phone from long-term damage is to turn it off, especially if you plan to be in extreme temperatures for an extended time. Store it in a pocket until you"re somewhere warmer and can use it without risk of damaging the internal components.

Your body heat will warm the phone safely without the risk of any damage from external heat sources. Keep it in an internal pocket and away from the cold. If you need to heat it quickly, hold it under your arm or between your thighs — areas where body heat is naturally higher.

If your phone gets wet or experiences condensation due to the cold, turn it off and dry it completely before you turn it back on. To avoid water damage, make sure any moisture inside the phone has evaporated before you try to use the phone.

If you regularly use your phone in cold weather, follow these tips to keep the battery safe and the components running properly. If you"re in the market for a new device, Xfinity Mobile has a variety of phones available to suit your needs.

You’ve left your TV in your unheated garage this winter, and temperatures reached below zero. When you finally return, you’re about to turn on the TV, but something stops you.

If you live in a place with cold, icy winters, it’s best to store your TV inside your heated home, rather than leaving it in your humid, below-freezing garage or basement.

You may already know from middle school physics that materials expand in the heat and contract in the cold. The same philosophy applies to your TV’s internal hardware.

Your TV is made up of delicate and complex logic boards, wires, and other carefully placed metal parts. When frozen, these metal pieces will contract and pull away from each other, which could lead to wires detaching and breaking.

This could completely break your TV and pose a fire hazard when you try to turn it on. If your TV has condensation inside, you may notice water inside the screen.

Fixing water damage on a TV is a complicated process that yields low success rates and often requires you to completely take apart your TV. This is risky if you’re unfamiliar with a TV’s anatomy and you could struggle to put it back together correctly.

This could make tasks like changing the channel or volume quite frustrating and may make it almost impossible to game as the input lag would be too slow.

If you’re thinking of mounting your TV in your garage, it’s best to monitor the temperature and humidity levels to make sure it’s a safe environment for your TV.

This Haozee Smart WiFi Temperature and Humidity Monitor connects to an app on your phone, so you can monitor how cold and humid your garage gets at night without having to get out of bed and check it yourself.

Instead, bring your TV inside your home and let it come back down to room temperature. This will give the metal components time to expand back to their original size. It will also allow any condensation to evaporate.

Extremely cold temperatures could severely damage your TV, leading to hundreds of dollars worth of repairs. In the worst-case scenario, you may even have to purchase a replacement.

Yesenia Achlim is a technical copywriter and editor with a focus on AV equipment. She aims to break down complicated topics and make technology accessible, no matter your technical expertise. When she’s not teaching you how to replace a projector lamp, you can find her reading and baking.

If the picture responds to input but displays a messy image, such as jumbled multicolored squares, the AV (audio visual) board may be damaged. This is usually a rectangular circuit board located near the audio and visual cables. Replace obviously damaged parts using a soldering iron, or order a replacement board and carefully install it to the same screws and ribbon cables.

The main control buttons may be faulty. Clean them with a metal cleaner, or jostle to attach a loose connection. If necessary, locate the circuit board they are attached to and re-solder any broken connections.

Check input cables for damage, or try other cables of the same type. If necessary, inspect the circuit board they are attached to and re-solder damaged connections.

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The Panasonic Toughbook FZ-T1 is part of the latest fully-rugged handheld series from Panasonic and I know that when thinking about the toughest phones, most people will point to the Samsung Active series (or some other Chinese brands), but Toughbook devices are simply on another level in terms of ruggedness. I found it a bit amusing when Panasonic was referring to its 5-inch handsets as tablets that can make phone calls (which is not really wrong) and the Toughbook FZ-T1 is now a handheld and the Wi-Fi/4G version has all the functions of a normal smartphone. The way it is built and the additional features it has, clearly sets it apart even from the rest of the rugged smartphones and the closest device that I could find is the Cat S61 (due to its thermal imaging camera).

I held myself back for a while to include this product for more than a couple of reasons: it is unfortunately not suitable for the usual consumer and it’s specifically built for industry workers (mostly due to the integrated barcode scanner). That’s right, the Toughpad FZ-T1 features a thick case (which measures 3.0 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches including the barcode reader section – significantly slimmer than the N1 model), a fairly rounded back panel to keep the device comfortably in your hand and the black matte finish does help with the grip (so you don’t drop it). On the front of the device, just above the display, there’s a small battery indicator (when it’s red, the battery level is 10% or less), the ambient light/proximity sensors and the microphone.

Underneath the display, there is a mono speaker (can go up to 95dB) and a microphone – yes, the three physical buttons (Back, Start and Search) are now gone and replaced by the on-screen alternative. I think that all rugged smartphones should keep the physical buttons and not migrate towards a display-only approach, but I’m willing to give Panasonic a pass due to the glove mode (allows you to use the phone with thick gloves) and rain mode (makes sure that there are no misoperations if the display gets we – (the process involves limiting the touchscreen multi-touch usability from 10 fingers to just one finger).

The sides of the Toughbook FZ-T1 are a combination between the gray plastic that stretches towards the front bezels and a black rubberized material (this combo does help move the Toughbook FZ-T1 slightly outside the industrial look).

Furthermore, on the left side, a protective cover hides the microUSB port (there is no USB-C), on the top, there’s a 3.5mm headset jack which sits next to a 1D/2D barcode reader, while on the right, there’s the Power button, a programmable Side button and the volume buttons (on the bottom of the device, there is an expansion bus for attaching an optional cradle – useful in an industrial environment where you can easily misplace the device). The rear side of the FZ-T1 is quite interesting since there is a slightly inflated portion towards the top (to accommodate the barcode reader) with the camera embedded within it, while towards the bottom, there is a latch which, once operated, will expose the removable battery.

The large part of the front side is occupied by the 5-inch display, which has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels (a bit disconcerting for a 2-year old rugged phone), a pixel density of around 294ppi and up to 500cd/m2 brightness levels (seems to be the same as on the far older Toughpad FZ-E1). Yes, the display is outdated and I know that the focus was more towards functionality and less about entertainment, but even so it’s a bit ridiculous considering the price tag (the CAT S61 is also fairly industrial, but has a far batter display). That being said, the pixel density is low, the colors aren’t really as vibrant as what other cheaper phones from the competition have to offer and the viewing angles aren’t that great. Now, since this is a rugged device, it is expected that the screen won’t shatter easily and this is true for the most part since it can be dropped from 10 feet without taking any damage (the thick border that surrounds the display plays an important part) and it will survive without problems a lot of drops (yes, even face-first ones – it’s surprisingly difficult to destroy this device).

Furthermore, the Toughbook FZ-T1 is also MIL-STD-810G certified, so it can handle both high and low temperatures (the operating range is between -4 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit), explosive atmosphere, humidity, sand and dust, vibration (including loose cargo transportation), shock, freezing rain, acidic atmosphere and more. As expected, the Toughbook FZ-T1 is also waterproof and dust resistant, being both IP66 and IP68 rated, so you can submerge it down to 5 feet underwater for about 30 minutes. Inside the case, the Panasonic Toughbook FZ-T1 is equipped with a quad-core Qualcomm 210 MSM8909 chipset (the clock rate can go up to 1.1GHz), an integrated Adreno 304 graphics card, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of eMMC storage memory – you can add up to 64GB by using a microSD card. The device is also compatible with the following wireless and Voice&Data standards: IEEE802.11 a/b/g/n/d/h/i/r, Bluetooth, 4G LTE, HSPA+, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS and GSM. Seeing these specs, it does feel like Panasonic took a significant step backwards since the Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 MSM8909 is the entry-level SoC for Android smartphone, so the performance is not going to be that great (some resource-heavy apps are not going to work properly, but multi-tasking is decent due to the 2GB of RAM and especially thanks to the display resolution); the Adreno 304 paired with the 720p should be fine, but even so, most games will not run smoothly.

The ToughPad FZ-T1 uses Android 8.1 Oreo and it’s an interesting choice, considering that past devices from Panasonic relied on the Windows Mobile and it made sense since it had a better integration with various software from tech and industry companies. The Android OS is going to feel more comfortable for most users and I suppose this handheld rugged device doesn’t really need any special apps – as with other manufacturers of rugged smartphones, Panasonic doesn’t seem to like to update the OS on its devices.

The FZ-T1 is equipped with an 8-megapixel rear camera (with LED flash and auto-focus) and no, there is no front-facing camera on this smartphone (a bold decision, considering that even in an industrial environment, people may want to make video calls).

The rear camera will take reasonable photos in good lighting and especially outside in a sunny day (although there was a bit of overexposing), but indoors and during the night, the photos were blurry and full of noise. Overall, this is a tablet-level camera and won’t really satisfy if you want to use the phone as a main camera on holidays (not that anyone would want to do that) – it should be fine for scanning QR codes or for photographing schematics or other type of documents.

One of the most important aspects of any smartphone or tablet (rugged or not) is the battery life and truth be told, I was expecting a large battery, something similar to the Toughpad FZ-E1 (6200mAh), but no, the FZ-T1 has a 3,200mAh battery which is both replaceable and hot swappable. Panasonic claims that the battery can last up to 12 hours when scanning barcodes three times per minute (mixed with some light WiFi use and cellular calls). Furthermore, the Toughbook FZ-T1 should take about 2 hours and a half for charging the battery from 0 to 100% (depending on the ambient temperature, it can take more).

Verdict: Why isn’t the Panasonic Toughbook FZ-T1 the first in the list you may ask, since it’s such a great rugged device? Well, because it doesn’t really follow the same guidelines as the usual smartphones (or tablets, for that matter) and, while it’s true that rugged cell phones, in general, are more niche devices, the Panasonic Toughbook FZ-T1 is even more narrow into the targeted audience. To be more specific, this belongs in a warehouse with industrial workers and I highly doubt I’ll ever see an active person running with this mammoth strapped to their arm. That being said, the Panasonic Toughbook FZ-T1 is pretty much the pinnacle of ruggedness, having a screen resistant to shock, the case can handle pretty much everything you throw at it, it has some awesome features (suitable for an industrial environment), but there are some minuses, since software is a bit outdated, the camera is nothing to brag about (and the front-facing one is completely missing), the device is quite thick and the most important negative is the incredibly high price.