Panasonic Toughbook G2 assessment: Rugged, compact and configurable

Rugged computing specialist Panasonic’s successor to the venerable 10.1-inch Toughbook G1 (pill) and Toughbook 20 (2-in-1) is the Toughbook G2, a totally rugged pill that is obtainable with a removable keyboard to rework it right into a 2-in-1 system. We had been despatched the pill to assessment, however not the non-compulsory keyboard. This can be a premium-priced product: the pill alone begins at $2,999, with the keyboard and equipment including to this hefty price ticket. Nevertheless, most gross sales are prone to be a number of orders from organisations that ought to be capable to negotiate bulk reductions. 

Geared toward subject staff, warehouse employees, first responders, army personnel and others who function in difficult environments, the Toughbook G2 is a modular system, permitting it to be configured for particular use circumstances. Naturally, it is also extraordinarily strong, with the certifications to show it, in order that this pill ought to stand up to no matter abuse comes its method. And as ordinary with Panasonic’s Toughbooks, there’s an in depth collection of equipment, together with docking stations, car docks, straps and circumstances, most of that are backwards-compatible with the older G1 and G20. 

Design

You will not mistake the Toughbook G2 for something apart from a totally rugged pill. Some ‘enterprise rugged’ gadgets look pretty standard, in the identical method that some 4×4 automobiles appear like common automobiles, however that is the true deal: the ten.1-inch display screen sits inside large bezels and the magnesium alloy chassis is additional protected by robust plastic edging, with additional depth within the corners to supply extra drop resistance. 

The Toughbook G2’s chunky chassis measures 279mm large by 188mm deep by 23.5mm thick and the system weighs round 1.19kg, though it will range relying on the exact specification. All that safety means the ten.1-inch, 16:10 facet ratio display screen seems to be somewhat misplaced inside the chassis, leading to a screen-to-body ratio of simply 56.3%. 

As you’d anticipate, the Toughbook G2 sports activities the certifications to again up its absolutely rugged claims: IP65 for mud and water resistance (‘6’ signifies the pill is ‘mud tight’, whereas ‘5’ denotes that it could possibly address ‘water jets’ from any path) and drop-testing from 1.8 metres to MIL-STD-810H normal. 

There are two variations of the Toughbook G2 – normal and ‘Fast Launch SSD’, the latter geared toward notably data-sensitive use circumstances. We had the usual mannequin with a daily inner SSD. 

Though it is extremely configurable, there are some fixtures on the Toughbook G2. There is a trio of ports on the precise facet, behind a protecting hinged cowl: USB-C (3.1), USB-A (3.0) and RJ-45 Ethernet. Beneath the display screen there’s an array of buttons and indicators: two programmable buttons (A1 and A2) for launching apps, quantity up/down, a Home windows button, a button that disables display screen rotation, a trio of standing LEDs and the ability button. A 3rd programmable button (A3) to the precise of the show (in panorama mode) launches the digital camera app by default. 

There are two cameras: 8MP rear-facing with autofocus and flash, and 2MP front-facing — the latter with infrared help to allow Home windows Whats up face authentication, plus a sliding privateness cowl. The correct facet has a round-pin energy enter behind a sliding cowl and a Kensington lock slot, whereas there is a keyboard/docking connector and a pair of exterior antenna connectors on the underside. We’ll speak concerning the modular parts within the subsequent part. 

Options

The Toughbook G2 runs Home windows 10 or 11 on Intel’s Tenth-generation Core i5-10310U vPro processor with 16GB of RAM (32GB max) and 512GB of SSD storage (1TB max). Graphics are dealt with by the CPU-integrated Intel UHD Graphics module. 

Wi-fi connectivity comes courtesy of Intel’s Wi-Fi 6 AX201 module, which gives dual-band (2.4GHz, 5GHz) 802.11ax wi-fi and Bluetooth 5.1. Cell broadband — 4G and (sub-6GHz) 5G – is optionally obtainable, both through a standard SIM slot or eSIM. GPS is another choice, through a U-Blox MEO-M8 module, though this cannot be put in if the 5G choice is chosen. 

The ten.1-inch display screen is an IPS contact panel with WUXGA (1920 x 1200) decision and 1000 nits most brightness, permitting for good out of doors visibility. The capacitive contact display screen can be utilized with fingers, gloved palms and/or the provided digitiser stylus. The latter meets IP55 mud/water resistance, has two buttons (right-click and erase) and comes with a tether to forestall it straying from the pill. Panasonic’s settings utility lets you choose probably the most applicable touch-screen mode, which incorporates one for when the display screen or the consumer’s finger is moist. 

The usual Toughbook G2 mannequin has two enlargement bays for its xPAK modules. The highest one can settle for a barcode reader, a second USB-A port, a second RJ-45 Ethernet port, a legacy serial port or a FLIR thermal imaging digital camera. The latter is suitable  to be used circumstances together with first responders and tools upkeep. The rear enlargement bay can take an insertable or contactless sensible card reader.

That is not the top of the Toughbook G2’s customisability – removed from it. Equipment embody the keyboard dock talked about earlier, a USB keyboard, pill and laptop computer desktop docks, pill and 2-in-1 car docks, a 4-bay battery charger, plus a display screen protector, SSDs, hand straps, spare batteries and a carrying case. 

Chances are you’ll rack up a hefty price ticket within the course of, however you need to be capable to match out the Toughbook G2 for nearly any difficult use case. 

Efficiency & battery life

The Toughbook G2’s Core i5-10310U vPro processor with 16GB of RAM delivered Geekbench 5 CPU benchmarks of 1058 (single core) and 3689 (multi core), comfortably beating Microsoft’s 10.5-inch Core i3-based Floor Go 3, for instance.  

To gauge the Toughbook G2’s efficiency on a variety of workload sorts, we ran PCMark 10, which delivers an general rating, plus sub-scores for Necessities (app start-up, video conferencing, net shopping), Productiveness (spreadsheets, writing) and Digital Content material Creation (photograph modifying, rendering & visualisation, video modifying). Here is the way it stacks up in opposition to the PCMark 10 advisable ‘good’ scores:   

It is clear that the Toughbook G2 is completely succesful when operating undemanding workloads (Necessities, Productiveness), however something extra demanding (Digital Content material Creation) is prone to see efficiency undergo. That should not be an issue, on condition that this pill’s essential duties are prone to contain knowledge gathering within the subject, with solely restricted processing horsepower required.

Our normal Toughbook G2 got here with a detachable 4360mAh/50Wh battery, which Panasonic charges nearly as good for round 12 hours. We really obtained slightly below 14 hours from the battery — however solely by leaving the pill idling on the Home windows desktop. On the different finish of the size, the Toughbook G2 managed round 4 hours and quarter-hour when operating the PCMark 10 benchmark suite near-continuously. In each battery rundown exams, display screen brightness was set to 50% and the Panasonic Energy Administration plan chosen. 

On the idea of those exams, a full day’s work (~8 hours) needs to be achievable with a reasonable workload combine. Choices embody an prolonged 6300mAh/68Wh battery and a bridging battery to allow scorching swapping.

Consumer expertise

The Toughbook G2 weighs round 1.2kg however is fairly comfy to carry and use for prolonged durations. The 1000-nit IPS panel is vivid sufficient for out of doors working in sunlit circumstances, and the display screen is not overly reflective. The contact choices for finger, glove and stylus enter are all efficient. Nevertheless, the ten.1-inch display screen’s 1920 by 1200 (224ppi) decision means you could want to regulate the scaling in Show Settings for sure duties, as textual content and different on-screen parts could also be simply too small for consolation.

The front-facing digital camera dealt with Home windows Whats up face recognition successfully, and its 2MP/1080p decision is okay for video calls. Panasonic’s PC Digital camera Utility helps night-mode capturing on the entrance and rear cameras, plus burst mode and video recording, optical character recognition, barcode studying and flash modes (on/off/torch) on the 8MP rear digital camera.

The audio system, which flank the array of buttons beneath the display screen, are nothing to get enthusiastic about, however are ample for the use circumstances this pill is prone to deal with.

Conclusions

Panasonic’s Toughbook G2 is a totally rugged 10.1-inch pill that may be changed into a compact 2-in-1 with the addition of a keyboard dock. The pill itself has two enlargement bays (three in case you go for the Fast Launch SSD model) that may settle for a variety of modules. Panasonic additionally affords an array of exterior equipment, permitting this system to be configured for a number of difficult use circumstances.

The Toughbook G2’s efficiency is properly matched to the duties it is prone to deal with, and the usual battery ought to ship a full day’s work within the subject, away from a mains energy supply. If the G2’s 10.1-inch display screen is just too small, different choices can be found from Panasonic within the form of the 12-inch Toughbook 33 (2-in-1) and 14-inch Toughbook 40 (laptop computer).

Panasonic Toughbook G2 specs

Processor Intel Core i5-10310U vProGraphicsIntel UHD GraphicsOSWindows 11 Professional (Home windows 10 Professional downgrade obtainable)RAM16GB (32GB max)Storage512GB OPAL NVMe SSD (1TB non-compulsory)Display10.1-inch sunlight-viewable Lively Matrix (TFT) IPS color LCD- Decision WUXGA (1920 x 1200, 224ppi)- Brightnessup to 1000cd/m²- Touchscreen10 finger capacitive multi-touchscreen + digitizer with glove and rain modesWi-FiIntel Wi-Fi6 AX201 (802.11ax)Bluetooth5.1Mobile broadband4G or 5G (non-compulsory eSIM help)GPSU-Blox NEO-M8N (not obtainable on 5G mannequin)Audiostereo audio system, 2x microphonesCamerasfront: 2 MP with IR/privateness shutter (Home windows Whats up compliant) • 8MP with autofocus and LED flashConfiguration port optionsserial port, 2D barcode reader, 2nd USB 2.0, 2nd RJ-45 LAN, FLIR thermal cameraRear enlargement bay space optionssmart card reader, HF-RFID (NFC) readerPortsUSB 3.1, USB-C, RJ-45 LAN, energy in, port replicator connector, knowledge antenna connectorBattery capacitystandard: 4360mAh (50Wh) • prolonged (non-compulsory): 6300mAh (68Wh)Battery life (claimed)normal: ~12h • prolonged: ~18.5hAC adapterinput: 100V – 240V AC, 50Hz/60Hz • output: 15.6V DC, 7.05ASecurityTPM (TCG V2.0 compliant) • password safety (supervisor password, consumer password, exhausting disc lock) • built-in {hardware} safety lock slotDimensions279mm x 188mm x 23.5 mm (11.0in. x 7.4in. x 0.93in.)Weight~1.19kg /2.64lb ( depends upon configuration)Testing standardsIP65 (mud/water resistance) • MIL-STD-810H (drop resistance, working temperature)Customary configurationToughbook G2, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, normal battery pack, IP55 digitiser penIn the boxpower provide, energy wire, show cleansing fabric, consumer manualPricefrom €2,450 / £2,218 (ex. VAT) / $2999

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