Panasonic has announced the launch of it’s latest edition to the company’s Toughbook line.

The last few months have been jammed with announcements about ultra mobile PCs, each one smaller and more compact than the next. However, this time around we’re seeing something that is just a little bit different.

The CF-U1 Toughbook offers all the portability of your run of the mill UMPC and then adds on the fact that this device is designed to be more durable than the average nettop. Panasonic has designed a UMPC for suitable for use on construction sites, warehouses and any other place where you’d be afraid to bring an expensive piece of kit. It’s rain, spill, dust and vibration resistant and has a 4 foot drop approval.

As is almost the norm these days, the Toughbook packs the Intel Atom processor. It also comes with a 16 GB (32 GB optional) removable SSD, 1 GB of memory, a 5.6" WSVGA sunlight viewable touchscreen (1024 x 600), it’s got one USB port, one SD slot and integrated options include 3G, camera, fingerprint scanner and GPS.

Unfortuantely, you’re going to pay for all that durability. As is the continuing trend, UMPCs seem to be getting more and more expensive, with the base model CF-U1 checking in at $2,499. Yikes. The Toughbook will be available worldwide in August of this year.