ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Panasonic’s new Toughbook 40 Mk2 is out there now through a bunch of featured resale companions from Panasonic’s web site. The worth can differ considerably primarily based on what sort of configuration you go for.
- It has an extremely lengthy battery life, can carry out in excessive temperatures, and even has a pleasant keyboard as well.
- The tradeoff for its sturdiness ends in a low-resolution show, a finicky touchpad, and excessive worth.
Late final yr, I attempted out Panasonic’s Toughbook 55, a rugged laptop computer able to withstanding harsh environments and difficult sufficient to be dropped with out worry of breaking. Not too long ago, I attempted out the corporate’s newest mannequin, the Toughbook 40 Mk2, and I want it over its predecessor for its distinctive toughness and spectacular options.
The very first thing you discover is that it is extra compact than final yr’s mannequin, however it’s nonetheless fairly a chunky pc. It measures 14 inches, is over two inches thick when closed, and weighs a whopping 7.4 kilos. I urge patrons to watch out when dealing with the system so you do not drop it. Not since you’ll injury it, however you would possibly truly injury your flooring. This factor is rock stable.
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Just like the final mannequin, the Toughbook 40 Mk2 helps XPAKs. These are modules you could equip so as to add on further options like a DVD participant or further ports. My overview unit got here with 11 completely different inputs complete together with a USB-A, USB-C, ethernet, and a HDMI port. Help for the XPAK system is the sequence’ shining characteristic and permits some fascinating configurations.
For instance, my unit got here with two batteries, permitting the laptop computer to final over 22 hours straight on a single cost. That’s not an exaggeration; it actually lasted nearly a whole day. What’s neat is the the mannequin comes with a few lights under the keyboard letting you understand when one battery is low so you possibly can swap it out for a contemporary one when you’ve got a number of.
The keyboard has some cool instruments all its personal which will be discovered with the P keys. P2 prompts Hid Mode to immediately dim the show, P3 activates Night time Mode which covers the display screen with a purple filter and adjustments the keyboard’s backlighting from white to an identical reddish hue. P4, nevertheless, is my favourite: it allows you to change the colour of the backlight to one in all 4: white, purple, inexperienced, or blue.
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Panasonic’s machine is powered by an Intel Core Extremely 7 165H processor, a whopping 64GB of RAM, and like many latest laptops, an NPU (neural processing unit) guaranteeing stable all-around efficiency. I had a number of pages open with video taking part in on many and all of it ran as easy as silk.
I ran a few benchmarking checks to see how nicely the system performs, and it achieved a median rating of about 10,700 on Geekbench; not too shabby for a laptop computer geared up with the Extremely 7 CPU. Previous to receiving the Toughbook 40, Panasonic instructed me they designed their machine to carry out nicely below excessive temperatures. I needed to check if this was true.
Following the directions given to me, I threw the Toughbook 40 Mk2 into my freezer for about half an hour for one take a look at. Then on one other day, I put it inside my automobile sitting straight below solar the place inside temperatures reached over 100 levels Fahrenheit. I needed to see if there have been any drops in efficiency. Because it seems, there weren’t.
Scores have been principally the identical on the benchmark checks after taking the laptop computer out of the freezer. However I did discover a small dip within the last rating after being within the sizzling automobile. It appears sizzling temperatures decelerate the Toughbook’s skill to render pictures and net pages, however solely barely. As long as you present sufficient air flow, every thing can be wonderful.
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Though the {hardware} performs decently, I do take problem with the touchpad. It is gradual. Easy duties akin to switching tabs can take a number of seconds as a result of the enter would not at all times undergo. There have been occasions the place I might transfer the cursor round just for it to briefly cease earlier than persevering with. Drawing a circle with my finger generally has the cursor comply with for a bit earlier than going off and making its personal form.
The system’s touchscreen is extra responsive, nevertheless it has the identical issues that the earlier Toughbook had. Whereas the show is roofed in an anti-glare coating, the glass attracts fingerprints so all you see are smudges. Additionally, the decision is not the best, peaking at 1080p.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Costs for Panasonic’s Toughbook 40 Mk2 begin at $4,245. It is costly for positive, nevertheless it’s a higher deal than the Toughbook 55 on account of its compact dimension, insane battery life, and talent to higher stand up to excessive temperatures. Take into account that this is not precisely a laptop computer for the common client; rugged laptops of this caliber are area of interest merchandise for specialised use, however this is likely one of the finest available on the market.
Additionally notice that the ultimate worth can significantly enhance relying on what number of XPAKs you buy for the reason that growth modules are bought individually. Prices vary from $120 to over $1,000 for a 2TB OPAL SSD.
