A new laptop from Panasonic is available, although it differs slightly from other laptops on the market. And unless you are in the military, police, or work in a warehouse, you might not want it.
With its brand-new Toughbook 40, commonly referred to as the “ultimate Toughbook,” it expands the capabilities of modularity into the completely rugged laptop market. With a starting price of Rs 3.75 lakh, Panasonic’s Toughbook 40 is far more expensive than other professional laptops available today. The manufacturer argues that the cost is reasonable for a laptop that meets specialised niche needs and is a fully robust, contemporary Windows 11 PC.
The new Toughbook 40, built with a magnesium alloy chassis and weighing a whopping 3.37 kg, has an IP66 classification for dust and water resistance, MIL-STD-810H temperature, humidity, and vibration testing, as well as 1.8m drop tests.
The Toughbook 40 appears identical to every previous Toughbook Panasonic has released in the past. It features a recognisable appearance, a carrying handle reminiscent of a briefcase, and several ports. It is 2.1 inches thick and 2.1 inches wide (53.3mm). Almost five MacBook Airs can be placed on top of one another like that.
The Toughbook 40 benefits from that size, though, if you take the modularity aspect into account. According to Panasonic, the notebook makes use of xPAK modular technology, which enables customers to replace out the primary battery, RAM, and SSD storage. To install a Smart Card Reader, DVD drive, or barcode reader, there are four locations on the device: the left and right sides, the back, and the palm rest. Customers may use a basic screwdriver to fix or replace the keyboard, memory, storage, and battery. According to the manufacturer, the Toughbook 40 can run for 18 hours on one battery and twice that amount on two batteries.
The tough laptop has Intel Core i5 or i7 vPro 11th-generation CPUs, 16GB of RAM (up to 64GB), and 512GB of quick-release SSD storage (2TB max). A FHD touch screen with glove mode and up to 1200 nits of brightness is used as the display, which has integrated graphics (Intel UHD or Iris Xe Graphics). A 5MP Full HD webcam with Windows Hello IR and a privacy shutter are also included.
In India, Panasonic serves clients in the industrial, automotive, and pharmaceutical industries. The market for rugged devices is thought to be worth between 220 and 250 crores, with Panasonic dominating with a market share of more than 60%. Tablets are among the rugged and semi-rugged gadgets that Panasonic provides.
