The Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3 Has Arrived
Panasonic has revealed its 3rd Gen semi-rugged laptop, the Toughbook 55 Mark 3, aimed at professionals conducting on-site inspections, managing infrastructure, and responding to emergencies.
It comes with multiple configuration options, starting with the 13th Gen Intel processors. A choice can be made between a Core i5-1345U (2P+8E cores, 4.7GHz boost) or a Core i7-1370P (6P+8E cores, 5.2GHz boost).
It can have 2 DIMMs of user-upgradable RAM (16 – 64GB DDR4-3200MHz), or a main OPAL NVMe SSD (512GB to 2TB). There are more storage options, however it’s more complicated than a second SSD bay.
It has a 14-inch display, either 1,366 x 768px or 1,920 x 1,080px with touch. Both are IPS panels, but the high resolution touch panel also has a peak brightness of 1,000nits, with anti-reflective, and anti-glare coatings.
The device is also equipped with an extra loud 92dB Waves MaxxAudio speaker system, and it has dual-array mics, with AI noise reduction.
Panasonic has called it “semi-rugged,” however it’s actually pretty rugged, rated for drops up to 3’ (MIL-STD-810H), as well as shock, vibration, altitude, freeze/thaw, and temperature shock.
It’s also rated IP53 for dust and water resistance, and the main SSD has a heater, allowing it to operate in cold environments.
The body has been made out of a magnesium alloy, with an integrated handle. The keyboard is spill resistant, and the display has a raised bezel for protection. There is also a replaceable screen protector.
For connectivity, t has a Thunderbolt 4 port, with up to 40Gbps data transfer, as well as a DisplayPort and Power Delivery support. It even has support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
There are three expansion slots, rear, left and right. Each can accept various modules, so users can add serial and LAN ports if needed.
They can also add a fingerprint reader, barcode reader, smart card reader, optical drives, more SSDs and a second battery. This boosts the battery life from 10 hours to 20 hours. It could even be more as the second battery is hot-swappable.
For integrated options, there’s a gigabit Ethernet port, dual-SIM connectivity (one nano-SIM & one eSIM) with a 4G modem, complete with FirstNet & CBRS Band 48 compatibility.
Additionally, there’s a dedicated GPS receiver, an infrared camera and more. There are customisable keys on the keyboard, which can launch specific apps or trigger certain actions including shortcuts.
The Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3 with a Core i7 processor is currently available in North America, with Australian availability still not announced.
The Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3 with an i5 processor will arrive in February 2024. It’s unclear if this will be just the US, or elsewhere as well.