Panasonic Connect North America, Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America has released the Toughbook 40, a fully rugged, modular laptop. Toughbook 40 is over a pound lighter than the previous generation despite having a larger display.

With a 14-inch FHD touchscreen display, the Toughbook 40 offers improved readability. The Toughbook 40 is configurable with eight modular user-replaceable locations including four expansion (xPAK) areas, as well as the battery, memory, storage and keyboard, customers have even more options to customize and protect technology investments as needs shift, and modernize at the speed they desire. This allows agencies to build technology ecosystems that are robust, productive and cost effective, the company says.

The Toughbook 40 is delivered with 11th Gen Intel vPro processors, with optional AMD dedicated graphics or Intel Iris Xe Graphics boosting computing power to process large amounts of data, images and video feeds in real-time. The Toughbook 40 boasts the first 5MP webcam in its class. It features a privacy cover for security and infrared capability to support Windows Hello facial recognition.

To support officers anywhere the job takes them, ranging from dense urban environments to rural communities, the Toughbook 40 features multiple cellular and connectivity options, including a 4G modem or 5G modem. The 4G modem supports LTE, LTE-A and speeds up to 2 Gbps. The 5G modem supports 4G (LTE, LTE-A) as well as 5G (mmWave, C-band, Sub6) and speeds up to 5.5 Gbps. It connects to the best available network without any disruption or intervention by the user. Both 4G and 5G modems support FirstNet (band 14), CBRS Private LTE (band 48) and have dual SIM (physical SIM + eSIM) for maximum flexibility.

“The Toughbook team is laser-focused on supporting the mission-critical jobs of our customers who work in the most extreme environments, and the new Toughbook 40 provides them with the perfect balance of performance, modularity, durability and innovation,” said Craig Jackowski, GM of product management at Panasonic Connect North America. “This is our most rugged Toughbook laptop ever and it was designed and engineered uniquely for customers across the enterprise, public sector and federal agencies, leveraging their direct feedback and experience to provide a world-class solution combining hardware, software, accessories and professional services. With up to eight user-replaceable and upgradeable areas, The Toughbook 40 combines power, ruggedness and flexibility to elevate the customer experience now and into the future.”

The Toughbook 40 provides advanced docking support with the industry’s first quad pass-through connectors. Additionally, it offers 4x4 MIMO, faster USB and Ethernet ports to maximize performance, and is the first to offer software selectable pass-throughs for each antenna to give users the flexibility to select the optimal combination based on their needs, the company says.

Toughbook customers work in extreme, hectic and loud environments where sound quality is directly impacted. The Toughbook 40 provides superior voice accuracy with its tetra array microphones and 95db speakers. Designed with the user experience in mind, the Toughbook 40 also features improved screen brightness, a color-selectable backlit keyboard, and backlit power button and keyboard icons for easier night viewing in low-light environments. Programmable buttons can be used to boost productivity and a redesigned interface makes it easier than ever to adjust them, the company says. For enhanced flexibility, Panasonic also reengineered the resistive touchpad to be 60% larger while still being usable in the rain or when wearing gloves.

If operating in a more data-sensitive industry like a federal agency, the Toughbook 40 comes standard with encrypted OPAL SSDs (FIPS is optional), the choice of five different authentication xPAKs, TPM 2.0 and Intel Hardware Shield. The Toughbook 40 is also a certified Microsoft Secured-core PC, prioritizing security needs of officers. Secure Wipe is a new feature introduced to the Toughbook 40, which wipes the contents on the drive in a matter of seconds, rather than minutes or even hours.

Toughbook 40 Key Features and Highlights:

• 14-inch FHD touchscreen, 1200 nit display

• Rugged certifications include 6-foot 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 loud speakers

• 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 now available, MSRP starting at $4,899.

For complete product details and to learn more about the lineup of accessories, please visit na.panasonic.com/Toughbook40 .