The Panasonic TOUGHBOOK FZ-55 rugged notebook has a unique series of accessory upgrades Panasonic calls the “xPAK”. This allows the user to upgrade their computer with new capabilities as their needs evolve. These upgrades are broken into three specific categories: Left Expansion Area, Right Expansion Area, and Rear Expansion Area. The xPAK upgrades available in each expansion area are mutually exclusive within that expansion area. You can have up to 1 xPAK installed in each expansion area but you could not install two xPAKs into the left expansion area. One great benefit of the xPAK system is the ability to easily replace a port without having to send the computer in to the manufacturer or replace the laptop. It is fairly common for commercial users to have to insert a USB diagnostic tool or thumb drive several times a day. Consumer grade laptops are not made to have this volume of use for the ports. Rugged computers are and with these xPAK systems you can swap out ports in the field or replace them with ease saving you down time.
xPAK Left Expansion Area
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FZ-VBR552M Barcode Reader
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This allows the rugged computer to have a 2D barcode scanner. This is very common for municipal use when a drivers license may need to be scanned. It is also frequently used in security check in locations or process quality control applications.
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FZ-VSC552W Insertable Smart Card
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This allows the rugged laptop to have insertable smart cards used for authentication. This is extremely common for enterprise, 2 factor authentication for CJIS police application, or military authentication.
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FZ-VSD55153W 2nd SSD Drive
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This allows the rugged notebook to have a 512GB OPAL 2nd hard drive that can be installed for additional space.
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FZ-VSD551T3W 2nd SSD Drive
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This allows the rugged computer to have a 1TB OPAL 2nd hard drive hard drive that can be installed for additional space.
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FZ-VDM553W DVD Drive
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This allows the rugged laptop to have a DVD drive.
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FZ-VBD553W Blu-ray Drive
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This allows the rugged notebook to have a Blu-ray drive installed.
xPAK Right Expansion Area
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FZ-VFP551W Fingerprint Reader (MSFT SC-PC)
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This allows the rugged computer to have a fingerprint reader installed for authentication. This type is traditional but becoming less common. It allows the computer itself to record the fingerprints which is fine for a single user but if you want to issue a laptop out to different people and have the authentication cross referenced over a security server it would not work.
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FZ-VFP552M Fingerprint (Active Directory)
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This allows the rugged laptop to have a fingerprint reader installed. Being compatible with Active Directory means a database of users can be kept and updated on a security server. This is beneficial when a company does not want to issue each person a specific computer and allow them to be used from a pool.
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FZ-VNF552M Contactless Smart Card
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This allows the rugged notebook to have a Contactless Smart Card reader installed. Contactless Smart Card readers are a very short range RFID tag, often the same or similarly to “NFC” technology found on cell phones.
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FZ-VSC551W Insertable Smart Card
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This allows the rugged laptop to have the Insertable Smart Card on the right side. There is also a Left Expansion Bay Insertable Smart Card reader available. It is beneficial to have the two types so the user can fully customize their use. They may need 2D barcode or DVD so allowing an insertable in another location adds to the full customization of the Panasonic TOUGHBOOK.
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FZ-VZSU1HU 2nd FZ-55 Battery
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This allows the rugged computer to have a 2nd battery. This is excellent as it allows for 10+ hours of continuous use.
xPAK Rear Expansion Area
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FZ-VCN551W VGA + Serial (true) + USB-A
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This allows the rugged notebook have an additional USB port, VGA, and true serial (RS-232) port.
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FZ-VCN552W VGA + Serial (true) + LAN
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This allows the rugged laptop to have a 2nd LAN installed. This is helpful and often used in vehicle applications like License Plate Readers (LPR) where cameras send high amounts of data to the computer through an RJ-45 cable but another may be needed for internet connectivity. This also adds a VGA video connection and an RS 232 true serial connection.
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FZ-VCN553W VGA + Serial + Fischer USB
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This allows the rugged computer to have a VGA video port, serial port, and Fischer USB port added. A Fischer USB port is a special kind of USB that threads into the device. It is more secure physically and used often in environments where there is moisture.
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FZ-VCN554W USB-C + USB-A
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This allows the rugged notebook to have an additional USB-C and USB-A port. This may be one of the best xPak adapters for general use. The USB-C is the very quickly standardized port of preference for USB cables. It is faster and easier to use since it can plug in any way.
