Panasonic Returns To Smartphone Arena With Toughpad Handset For Corporate Clients

[Ron Burgundy]

By Sophie Knight and Reiji Murai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese electronics supplier Panasonic Corp said it will make a partial return to the smartphone market with two high-cost models, marketed at business customers as counterparts to its hard-wearing Toughbook laptops and Toughpad tablets. The handsets, now on display at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, extend Panasonic's shift toward corporate clients rather than retail consumers. Squeezed by weak sales of consumer electronics like TVs, the company lost $15 billion over two years before embarking on a restructuring that should see it return to profit this fiscal year. Having pulled out of the consumer smartphone business last year, Panasonic said on Monday it is aiming to make 40,000 Toughpad handsets per year.

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