Panasonic unleashes Toughbook F9 rugged laptop computer; $2,899

Panasonic has added yet another member to the Toughbook rugged laptop collection. This time it is the 3.6-pound Toughbook F9, which promises strong durability without weighing you down.

The Intel Core i5-powered Toughbook F9 is meant for the business-minded, with serious specs and a serious price tag.

To get an idea of just how rugged this Toughbook notebook is, Panasonic reports that it can survive drops from up to 30 feet and at least 26 drops on every side (including the face) from 12 feet high crashing down on top of a "non-yielding surface." To keep your data as protected as possible, Panasonic has installed a shock-mounted, removable 320GB hard drive disk as well.

For those of you more likely to spill your coffee on the keyboard than toss this thing out of a window, there is a spill-resistant keyboard that can handle nearly seven ounces of liquid.

There's also plenty of wiggle room when it comes to this notebook, as Panasonic has left several of the major details open for customization. Here's a breakdown of what is inside that magnesium alloy casing:

• 14.1-inch WXGA+ LCD LED-backlit widescreen display (1,440 x 900 resolution)
• Windows 7 OS (Optional XP downgrade)
• Intel Core i5-520M vPro 2.4 GHz processor (Up to 2.93 GHz with Turbo Boost)
• 2GB of DDR3 1,066MHz memory (Up to 6GB)
• DVD Super-MULTI dual-layer drive
• Battery life: Up to seven hours
• Optional 3G and WiMAX
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR
• Optional: Fingerprint and SmartCard readers

The Toughbook F9 will be available in the U.S. on July 1, with a starting price set at $2,899. All of those fancy upgrades will surely cost more, so pay attention when customizing.