Panasonic might be getting outshined a little at CES 2013 as competitors like LG and Samsung show off their unique takes on 4K-resolution TVs, but that doesn't mean it didn't find its own creative use for 4K technology. On the show floor, the company demoed a new 20-inch tablet that runs Windows 8 on a 4K resolution ISP-alpha display.
The tablet certainly attracted a crowd of onlookers at Panasonic's CES booth, likely drawn by its monstrous screen. The tablet has been designed with a wide viewing angle so 4K content can easily be shared with others.
The screen displays images at a 3840 x 2560 resolution in a 15:10 aspect ratio, which leaves the pixels almost imperceptible from up close. It uses a 1.8 Ghz Intel Corei5 processor to smoothly run applications on Windows 8 Pro, including Adobe Photoshop. An accompanying digital pen can be used for precision and to record natural handwriting, but a finger works just as well for swiping through pages and general navigation.
It's quite a bit heavier than other tablets on the market at 5.3 lbs (2.4 kg), but that's to be expected with the much larger screen. On the other hand, its 0.4-inch thickness rivals many smaller-sized tablets on the market and Panasonic claims it is the lightest and thinnest 20-inch tablet currently known to the public (not that the competition is fierce in the 20-inch sector).
Panasonic is aiming the tablet towards consumers in professional graphics fields, like photographers and architects. Its booth provided many examples for how the tablet could be put to use in a work environment, such as creating interactive marketing demonstrations, monitoring a live camera during a photo shoot, or altering architectural blueprints on the fly to share remotely with others.
The samples being shown at Panasonic's booth responded beautifully to touch commands and displayed some of the sharper images we've seen at E3 – quite a feat given the number of 4K screens being shown. It's size may be a bit outlandish, but the company is definitely putting its best foot forward with this one.
Panasonic has not finalized all aspects of the tablet just yet, but here are the specs for the samples shown at CES:
- 20-inch IPS-alpha display panel
- 3840 x 2560 (230ppi) resolution
- 15:10 aspect ratio
- Windows 8 Pro OS
- Intel Corei5 3427U vPro 1.8 Ghz CPU
- NVIDIA GeForce Graphics
- 4GB memory (max is 16 GB)
- 128GB SSD storage
- High resolution digital pen (Anoto live pen)
- IEEE802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth V4.0 wireless
- USB 2.0 x 1
- micro SD card (SDXC) x 1
- Embedded camera with HD 720p Max. resolution, 1280x720 pixel (front)
- Up to 2 hours battery life (using internal battery)
- 18.7"(L) x 13.1"(W) x 0.4"(H)
- 5.3 lbs
Unfortunately, Panasonic has not revealed any pricing just yet, but the new tablet is expected to be released later this year.
