Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Panasonic for Technology Leadership for Wireless Broadband Toughbook® Mobile PCs

Business Wire, Oct 15, 2007

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Based on its recent study on the global handheld devices markets, Frost & Sullivan presents Panasonic Computer Solutions Company with the 2007 Award for Technology Leadership in the mobile handheld devices market. This Award is testimony to the company's decade long involvement in the development and implementation of leading edge embedded antenna capabilities.

Panasonic Toughbook[R] notebooks have had internal or embedded antennas for wireless Internet access for over ten years. These internal solutions are not only less obtrusive than external wireless data access cards, but also deliver an increased likelihood of receiving a network connection and faster download as well as upload speeds. This increase in transmission speeds means less time spent computing for today's on-the-go enterprise employees, greatly increasing productivity.

"While, external solutions are an after the fact stop-gap solution, the embedded alternative offers many key benefits including faster connection speeds, increased network range, lower energy use, and decreased likelihood of hardware failure," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Daniel Longfield. "Computing is no longer just about processing speed and memory; it is about mobile enablement and connectivity."

Panasonic Toughbooks withstand more abuse than any other laptop and their internal antennas help users to download and upload information faster than external alternatives. The full line of reliable Toughbook notebooks have a much lower incidence of problems than the average enterprise laptop and are covered by Panasonic's leading service and repair coverage.

Going forward, it is Frost & Sullivan's belief that embedded solutions will grow in popularity with consumers and enterprise buyers. Wide area networks will follow the lead of WiFi rollouts where users first accessed the services through external solutions. As the services grow in popularity, end users will begin demanding unobtrusive embedded solutions.

"Wireless broadband access grew at a compound annual growth rate of 3500 percent in the U.S. from June 2005 to June 2006, ending the period with over 11 million subscribers," says Longfield. "This rapid growth in wireless broadband service also highlights embedded wireless solutions as a key component in the end user decision making process when selecting a laptop."

Each year Frost & Sullivan presents the Technology Leadership Award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in technology leadership within their industry. The Award recognizes technology leadership through excellence in all stages of the technology life cycle - incubation, adaptation, take-up and maturity - that ensures a continuous flow of improvements. By innovating leading-edge concepts the company has pioneered client applications.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Panasonic Computer Solutions Company

Panasonic Computer Solutions Company empowers the mobile workforce. The company is a unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America, which is the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE:MC). Panasonic has delivered reliable, durable mobile solutions through its Toughbook[R] line of notebook computers for fifteen years and has expanded the boundaries of wireless communications technology through a broad portfolio of products, ranging from fully rugged, industrial strength notebook computers and tablet PCs to business-rugged thin and light and ultraportable notebooks. A core manufacturer, Matsushita and its subsidiaries control the entire process of design, manufacture, quality assurance, service and support. As a result, Panasonic Toughbooks are known for having the lowest failure rates in the industry. Government, industrial, and commercial users -- from Fortune 1,000 companies to small businesses -- rely on solutions from Panasonic, wherever their work takes them.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Consulting Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's Growth Partnership Services, Growth Consulting and Career Best Practices empower clients to create a growth focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan's Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.awards.frost.com.