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Panasonic’s updated Toughbook 20 will put your laptop’s battery to shame

Panasonic’s updated Toughbook 20 will put your laptop’s battery to shame

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Weep at the estimated 17 hours of battery life

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Panasonic has announced an updated version of the company’s smaller 10.1-inch form factor Toughbook, the CF-20 Mark 2.

Like the original CF-20, the Mark 2 features a 10.1-inch screen in a rugged, 2-in-1 convertible tablet form factor — think of it as a smaller, more portable version of the 12-inch Toughbook 33 that the company announced last year.

New on the Mark 2 model are some more modern features, like a Windows Hello-enabled front camera (with both visual and IR sensors), keyboard keys that are 8 percent larger, an improved camera, and an extended 17-hour estimated battery life thanks to a second battery that now comes standard in the keyboard half of the computer. Its predecessor was rated for 10 hours of battery life in tablet mode.

The specs aren’t quite as impressive as those on its bigger counterpart, with the CF-20 kitted out with a seventh-generation Intel Core i5-7Y57 vPro processor, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD. And the 10.1-inch screen is only 1920 x 1200 pixels, although the touchscreen does work with gloves on, unlike most consumer options. Also available is optional 4G LTE connectivity, which makes sense given that most of these models are designed to be used out in the field by police, firefighter, construction, and military users.

Like Panasonic’s other Toughbook models, the CF-20 is rated for military grade MIL-STD-810G specification (which tests “drop, shock, vibration, rain, dust, sand, altitude, freeze/thaw, high/low temperature, temperature shock, solar radiation, salt fog, humidity, [and] explosive atmosphere.”) and is IP65 certified against dust and water.

Unfortunately, the Toughbook 20 isn’t being sold direct to consumers — you’ll have to pick it up from authorized Panasonic resellers. And the rugged design doesn’t come cheap, either, with models starting at $3,099 — but if you’re someone who is really concerned about breaking your laptop, it might be worth the extra cash.

Update March 5th, 4:25pm: The model described here is specifically the UK model. The US model is slightly different — it supports, but does not automatically include a second battery, and does not have the slightly larger keys.