Panasonic’s Android Toughbooks can swap batteries on the fly
Panasonic has launched two new handheld Toughbooks for the workplace, and in addition to being rugged, they also have removable batteries. To be precise, the company says their batteries are “warm swappable,” which likely means they can be replaced without rebooting the devices. The Toughbook T1 phone has a 5-inch display and runs Android 8.1 Oreo — it’s obviously a lot chunkier than other phones on the market, but that’s to be expected for something that’s part of Panasonic’s range of rugged devices. The Toughbook L1, on the other hand, is a 7-inch tablet, which also runs Android 8.1 and is protected by thick corners and bezel to make it drop-resistant.
Both models have NFC, GPS and can come with an optional integrated barcode scanner to make inventory a lot easier. While neither claims to have Toughbook 20’s 17-hour battery life, they can both last for a dozen hours or so before a user has to swap their batteries with fresh ones. Both devices also come in WiFi-only and LTE-enabled flavors, with the latter available through Verizon’s and AT&T’s networks. Like other Toughbook models, though, the devices are a bit on the expensive side — prices start at $1,499 and go up depending on the add-on features included with the purchase.
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