Read Before Buying A Toughbook
You may have heard something about the Panasonic Toughbook. It's the notebook computer that'll take anything you can dish out. However, it comes with a price tag that can make potential buyers less sure about it.
It's natural for people to wonder if a computer can really offer performance to justify this kind of price tag. Let's take a look at the fully rugged line of Toughbooks and see if they're up to it.
When we talk about natural selection, we're generally not talking about laptops. However, if you left a handful of laptops in a stark environment, it'd be the ToughBook that made it.
There are quite a few different types of Toughbook, and these computers come from semi rugged to fully rugged. Fully rugged Toughbooks cost the most, but are capable of dealing with almost anything.
You can drop these machines from almost a meter up, leave them in the rain, drop them in the dust or cover them in mud. They're used by the US military, and it's even been said that a ToughBook saved a soldier's life.
Newer Toughbooks, despite their size and durability, are even quite light and relatively small. They're not as light as the thinnest new laptops, but at 2.25 kilograms, these new notebooks are very slim for their strength.
Built to be used in extreme environments, fully rugged new Toughbooks use touch screens and styluses, a solid metal catch to secure the lid, and bright screens that can be read in full daylight or in darkness. Housings are magnesium alloy, and screens themselves can be dropped without a scratch.
Some of the newest Toughbooks also offer a release catch below the screen that'll let you rotate the display for tablet use. This is a great choice for people who want to use theirs as a data logging device, and the custom build option lets you choose software to customize yours to the use you need.
You can get models with regular keys or larger keyboards for gloved typing, and every port or connector is protected from dust and water. Two hinged doors on the right side of the chassis keep the removable battery and hard disk safe.
Shock resistant cages for hard disks prevent them from breaking, even when dropped, and all slots are well protected. Performance for these machines is a little behind the cutting edge, since they need to use well tested hardware known for its durability, but in most cases, you won't mind using slightly lower speed hardware when you know it'll last.
Toughbooks also come with wireless capabilities, including integrated Bluetooth and high quality wi-fi adapters providing support for multiple bandwidths. Wireless has been around in Toughbooks since long before the rest of computing knew about it.
A long battery life means you can use your Toughbook all day without a recharge, too. There's almost nothing a Toughbook can't deal with.
These little notebooks are a little costly for the average person, but the user who really needs it will find that they're worth it. If you want portable computing that'll last, a Panasonic Toughbook is the machine you need.