Panasonic has officially unveiled its new Toughbook H1, ”the first fully-rugged mobile clinical assistant (MCA) and the first device of its kind to integrate the low power Intel® Atom™ processor”. While not exactly a netbook and well out of the netbook price range at a whopping US$2,999, it does share some features.

The model is primarily designed for medical professionals, hence the cost, but sports some very impressive features, most notably an Intel Atom 1.86GHz processor, 1GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch shock mounted hard drive, as well as Bluetooth support. Its battery life is approximately six hours per charge and the models comes with a magnesium alloy chassis designed to protect it against water and dust.

Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Health Group, said “By putting innovative technologies such as the Toughbook H1 MCA in the hands of clinicians, we are providing them with the tools they need to have the right information at the point of decision. Intel is committed to collaborating with companies such as Panasonic to help enable high quality, economical, and accessible healthcare.”

The Toughbook H1 will be available worldwide from January of 2009 and as mentioned, will carry a daunting $2,999 price tag.