A lot of tough books have made it to market over the years. Some of these laptops were nothing more than glorified ultrabooks. Others did, indeed, withstand some serious wear and tear. Panasonic’s latest entry into the tough book category is the latter type. Take this tough book with you everywhere you go, and watch how it holds up against all kinds of obstacles.

Just How Tough Is It?

Panasonic says that this laptop is tough, but what does that mean? Well, according to the literature that comes with the tough book, you can drop this laptop from six feet without making a dent. You could also ask someone who’s 300 pounds to step on your laptop, and it would be just fine. What about weather? The Panasonic Tough Book has you covered there too. This laptop can take six inches of rain per hour without rotting from the inside. Shock, temperature tests, vibration capacity? Go ahead and give this tough book a workout, you’ll find that it’s really hard to crack it.

Of course, not being able to get inside of your new Panasonic Tough Book could also be a nightmare if you want to update your system. Imagine trying to pry open something that was meant to withstand 300 pounds – not an easy task. On the flip side, the tough book wasn’t really meant to be messed around with. This is one laptop that was built with law enforcement agents and spy-types in mind.

Features – Hidden But There

The thing about a tough book is that ports and such have to be hidden and protected well. If this weren’t the case, leaving your laptop in the rain would be a disaster. With that in mind, the Panasonic Tough Book comes with a DVD RW Drive, Express Card, SD memory reader, PC Card, and Smart Card openings. In addition, four USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, Ethernet, and a 250GB hard drive are all part of Panasonic’s lineup. If you feel like channeling James Bond or just need something that’s really secure, this tough book also has a fingerprint reader.

Operating System

Panasonic decided to preload the tough book with Windows XP. However, it is possible to purchase Windows 7 on disk (and Panasonic will probably included this edition). There’s also the option to upgrade to Windows 8 when it arrives, but that might not be something you’re concerned about if you are shopping for a tough book. So, how does Panasonic’s newest and toughest laptop perform? Well, if you are really into gaming and audio editing, this isn’t the laptop for you. But, it is an excellent option if you want something that’s really rugged and won’t slow you down. The Panasonic Tough Book isn’t the fastest laptop on the market, though it did fairly well when tested.

Panasonic has slapped a $4843 price tag on the Tough Book. That’s a lot of coin, but it’s hard to find a loaded tough book for less than $100, so keep that bit of information in mind.