Panasonic preps Toughbook 20 starting at $3,099

Panasonic on Monday outlined updates to its Toughbook 20 rugged detachable laptop as it faces increasing competition from the likes of Dell.

The Toughbook 20, like its predecessor, is a 2-in-1 device that's designed to be used in the field by police, military, field service, logistics, oil and gas and transportation. The Windows 10 Toughbook is facing off against Dell's recent ruggedized tablet, which ZDNet recently abused in a review.

Panasonic pioneered the rugged notebook, which can be a liberating if not heavy laptop. According to Panasonic, the Toughbook will be available in February through its reseller network.

According to Panasonic, the Toughbook 20, which weighs in at 3.9 pounds, will have the 6th generation Intel Core vPro processor, a 128GB solid state drive, 8GB RAM and Windows 10 Pro. There will be an option to downgrade to Windows 7 Pro. The detachable tablet weighs 2.1 pounds.

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Like previous Toughbooks, the device meets military standards for electromagnetic interference and working through drops and extreme conditions. The case is magnesium alloy and includes a built-in handle that can be used as a kickstand or to hang the notebook. The detachable tablet also adheres to those military standards.

Panasonic included a backlit keyboard that is 16 percent larger than the Toughbook 19. The screen can be viewed in sunlight with multitouch capability with gloves. A stylus is waterproof.

As for battery life, the Toughbook 20 can work through a shift in the field and there's an optional second battery in the keyboard dock. Options include a magstripe or barcode reader, GPS and LTE.

The Toughbook 20 starts at $3,099.