Harsh work environments aren’t exactly very nice to electronics. Jobs such as firefighters, miners, police officers, and even scientists encounter situations that can break normal electronics. I mention scientists because I worked at a Department of Energy lab for over sixteen years, and many scientists used Panasonic TOUGHBOOK laptops to do work in areas of the lab that were rough.
The physics lab I worked at had very long underground tunnels that were often dank, dark, dirty, and dungeons. So the IT team assigned Panasonic TOUGHBOOK laptops to users working in those areas, they survived much better than the more sleek designs of an office laptop. Now, Panasonic has announced its two latest models, the TOUGHBOOK 40 and 55. Here is what Panasonic’s press release had to say about the key features of these new rugged laptops.
Panasonic TOUGHBOOK 2024
40
- 14’’ FHD touchscreen, 1200 nit display
- Rugged certifications include 6’ Drop, MIL-STD-810H, MIL-STD-461H, C1D2, IP66
- Eight modular user-replaceable locations including four expansion (xPAK) areas, as well as the battery, memory, storage, and keyboard
- 11th Gen Intel® Core i5 or i7 Processor (with Intel vPro® Technology)
- Optional AMD dedicated graphics* or Intel Iris® Xe Graphics
- 512GB-2TB NVMe main storage (quick-release and user-replaceable)
- 16-64GB DDR4 RAM (user-replaceable)
- USB-A and USB-C ports including Thunderbolt™ 4 port supporting 40Gbps data transfer speeds, power delivery and daisy-chaining up to five monitors
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1
- Choice of 4G modem (supports 4G LTE, LTE-A and up to 2 Gbps) or 5G modem* (supports 4G LTE/LTE-A, 5G Sub6/C-band/mmWave and up to 5.5 Gbps)
- 4G and 5G connectivity options support FirstNet® (band 14), CBRS Private LTE (band 48) and dual SIM (physical + eSIM)
- 5MP infrared webcam with privacy cover
- Tetra array microphones and 95db loudspeakers
- 36 hours of battery life (MobileMark 2014) with optional second battery
- Secure Wipe option to easily and securely wipe the entire contents in less than ten seconds
The TOUGHBOOK 40 laptop is available for purchase late spring, MSRP starting at $4,899. For complete product details and to learn more about the lineup of accessories, please visit Panasonic’s website.
55 Mk3
- Available 14’’ FHD 1,000 nit touchscreen
- Seven modular user-replaceable areas
- 13th Gen Intel Core i5 & i7 processors with up to 14 cores
- 512GB-2TB NVMe main storage (quick-release and user-upgradeable)
- 16-64GB DDR4 RAM (user-upgradeable)
- Available Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
- USB-A and USB-C ports including Thunderbolt™ 4 port supporting 40Gbps data transfer speeds, power delivery, and daisy-chaining
- Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
- Infrared webcam with privacy cover
- Dual-array microphones with AI noise reduction
- 92dB loudspeakers with MaxxAudio
- 10 hours of battery life or 20 hours with an optional second battery (MobileMark25)
- Rugged certifications include 3’ drop rating, MIL-STD-810H, and
- IP53
- Securing and deploying new technology can be challenging for organizations due to limited IT resources, tight budgets, and a shortage of staff to manage hardware and software. Now, with TOUGHBOOK as a Service (TaaS) Program, Panasonic offers a subscription model to customers and provides a budget-friendly OPEX solution to help organizations stay current with the latest technology.
- To help customers easily set up and maintain solutions, Panasonic offers staff augmentation and last-mile deployment services that alleviate burdens by providing on-site deployment assistance, TOUGHBOOK product engineering expertise, and customized solutions to meet specific customer needs. These services are entirely customizable and flexible, catering to organizations at various stages of their technology journey.
- The TOUGHBOOK 55 Mk3 i7 is available for purchase now, and the i5 will be available for purchase in February 2024. For complete product details and to learn more about the lineup of accessories, please visit the Panasonic website.
