Itron to Utilize Panasonic Toughbook 30 Notebooks as Part of its Industry-Leading Mobile Collection Solution

Itron - 10.27.2009

Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today an agreement with Panasonic Computer Solutions Company (NYSE: PC) to deploy its fully-rugged Toughbook® 30 notebook as a part of Itron’s industry-leading mobile collection solution, offering electricity, gas and water utility customers greater dependability and affordability in collecting their meter reads.

Leveraging Panasonic Toughbook 30 laptops, Itron’s industry-leading MC3 mobile solution offers a dependable and cost-effective data collection system. It also provides access to Panasonic’s robust professional services network. The partnership affords a lower total cost of ownership for utilities, a five-year warranty period and, in many cases, two-day turn times on repair or service. Built to meet the military’s most demanding specification (MIL-STD-810G), the fully-rugged Toughbook provides unmatched reliability in mission-critical situations.

“Panasonic Toughbook mobile solutions are designed to thrive in the most demanding environments and applications imaginable. Our product development and engineering teams continually evaluate our customers’ needs to ensure delivery of innovative products that fill a particular market need,” said Jason Smith, senior business development manager, Panasonic Computer Solutions Company. “Our relationship with Itron helps ensure that the energy and water industries can count on a world-class solution, from two great solution providers, for years to come.”

Available for both sled- and pedestal-mount MC3 configurations, the Toughbook 30 has already been certified for use with Itron’s mobile collection hardware and software applications. The fully-rugged notebook features Windows XP®, a 13.3” optional sunlight-viewable touchscreen display, Intel® Centrino® 2 processor, a 160GB shock-mounted hard disk drive, and embedded Gobi™ mobile broadband connectivity.

MC3, part of Itron’s ChoiceConnect™ suite of automated meter reading (AMR) solutions, is a powerful mobile collection system for electric, gas and water providers. It offers advanced radio technology for unsurpassed performance along with a sophisticated mapping application that provides a visual indication of endpoint locations and optimized route management.

“Panasonic is recognized as the leader in ruggedized mobile computing technology,” said Russ Vanos, Itron vice president of marketing. “With this partnership, we can offer best-in-class solutions to our customers around the world for effective and cost-efficient mobile meter data collection.”

MC3 orders have already begun shipping with Toughbook 30 laptops to customers in North America.

About Itron:

Itron Inc. is a leading technology provider to the global energy and water industries. Our company is the world’s leading provider of intelligent metering, data collection and utility software solutions, with nearly 8,000 utilities worldwide relying on our technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Our products include electricity, gas, water and heat meters, data collection and communication systems, including automated meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI); meter data management and related software applications; as well as project management, installation, and consulting services. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.

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 Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC). Panasonic has delivered reliable, durable mobile solutions through its Toughbook® 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, Panasonic controls 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.

All brand and company/product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies. All specifications are subject to change without notice. Information on Panasonic’s full line of notebook PCs for the mobile professional can be obtained by calling 800-662-3537 or at http://www.panasonic.com/toughbook.

Media contacts:

Kim Papich
Itron Communications and Marketing
(509) 891-3590
kim.papich@itron.com

For Panasonic Computer Solutions Company:
Chip Dehnert
Cohn & Wolfe
(415) 365-8533
chip.dehnert@cohnwolfe.com

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