Modular Panasonic Toughbookhas 8 replaceable parts,1,200-nit screen

Enlarge (credit: Pansonic/YouTube)

Pansonic's rugged Toughbook line expanded this week with the Toughbook 40. The new laptop carries many of the hallmarks of its predecessor, including military-grade durability specs and swappable parts, with some upgrades in size and display.

Toughbooks have durable designs meant to withstand long drops (as much as six feet, in this case) and challenging conditions, like rain. But another standout characteristic is their modularity. The Toughbook 40 has eight parts made to be easy to repair or upgrade: the battery, RAM, storage, and keyboard, plus four expansion areas. Various types of expansion packs are available, including an optical drive, fingerprint and barcode readers, and extra I/O ports, batteries, and storage.

Modularity. (credit: Panasonic/YouTube)

In a FAQ (PDF), Panasonic said you can access most of the expansion areas with a screwdriver and some screws, while some only require you to use a slide lever. IT managers can lock down the SSD or expansion areas with a screw. According to Panasonic, there are 6,048 ways to build the Toughbook.

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