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The new Panasonic Toughbook 55 is a semi-rugged notebook that supports modular expansion (Updated)

By Wong Chung Wee - on 21 Nov 2019, 5:50pm

The new Panasonic Toughbook 55 is a semi-rugged notebook that supports modular expansion

Note: This article was first published on 10th September 2019 and is now updated with local availability information.

Image source: Panasonic

Panasonic has announced its new Toughbook 55 semi-rugged notebook. It’s designed with a modular expansion system that offers customization to enterprise users who want to future-proof hardware investments as their extreme operational requirements vary accordingly.

Image source: Panasonic

The expansion packs available offer additional features such as “I/O ports, a fingerprint reader, dedicated graphics and a second storage drive.” The main storage drive, as well as the optional second storage drive,  is designed with quick release features for easy access. Both keyboard and RAM of the Toughbook 55 are user-upgradeable.

The Toughbook 55 is touted to have the longest battery life of any Toughbook to date. It has a hot-swappable optional second battery, without the need to power down the device. It has a rated 40 hours of operation with this second battery.

The general specifications of the Toughbook 55 are as follows:-

  • Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
  • CPU: Intel Core vPro i5-8365U, or Intel vPro Core i7-8665U
  • Durability: Semi-Rugged
  • Display: 14” HD; optional full HD 1000 nit touch model
  • Battery: Up to 20 hours (40 hrs with optional second battery)
  • Ports & Expansions: USB-A x 2 (optional 3rd port), USB-C (optional PD), optional Rugged Fischer USB, microSDXC, HDMI, optional VGA, Ethernet (optional 2nd), optional serial, audio in/out, nano-SIM, optional DVD Drive, optional Blu-ray Drive
  • Wireless: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, optional 4G LTE (EM7511 Band 14), optional GPS
  • Weight: 2.07kg (HD model), 2.22kg (touch-enabled full HD model)
  • Certification: MIL-STD-810H, IP53
  • Warranty: 3-year limited warranty, parts and labour

In addition, the Panasonic Toughbook is also positioned as the first semi-rugged notebook to offer a USB Type-C port (optional), with support for HDMI 2.0 and Bluetooth 5.0. The notebook has a “tetra-array microphones for unmatched speech recognition accuracy”. It’s also backward compatible with the previous generation Toughbook 54 desktop and vehicle docks for hassle-free replacement.

Image source: Panasonic

The Panasonic Toughbook 55's chassis features MIL-STD and IP53 certified magnesium alloy design with a built-in carrying handle. It’s currently on sale in the United States from authorized Panasonic resellers at the SRP of US$2,099.

Updated as of 21st November 2019:-

The Panasonic Toughbook 55 will be available in Singapore from 21 November via authorised distributors. They will come in three versions – HD, Full-HD and Full-HD Touch Screen. The pricing is as follows:-

  • Non-touchscreen HD model starts at US$2,227 for a base Core i5 processor with a 256GB SSD running Windows 10 Pro.
  • Full HD with touchscreen model with the same specifications start from an SRP of US$2,605. Pricing of the non-touchscreen edition will be advised at a later date.

Source: Panasonic via Businesswire

Read Next: Getting up-close with the Panasonic Toughbook 55

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