I love laptops with old school features like this, it makes them far less disposable too. Amusingly enough I'm watching this in the background while upgrading the SSD in my laptop lol.
The last time I was in Japan was in 2017. When I saw this laptop in person, I was pleasantly surprised! By the way, it's funny how in Japan you can still buy laptops from brands like NEC, FUJITSU, PANASONIC, SHARP, VAIO, TOSHIBA, etc... I'd like to see Japanese brands back on the world's shelves one day.
I have a HP Elitebook Folio 9470m which has the exact feature set apart from USB C/Thunderbolt and newer internals since it's from 2013. Last year I splurged around $90 to spend on a new Keyboad, a new battery, a new display, a fan and a ram Upgrade from 8GB to 16GB. this little beast is still going strong and parts are readily available... In NAIROBI of all places. I surprisingly use all the IO despite people saying some, like VGA is outdated. Plus it has a docking station, HP Ultraslim Docking station that gives me all IO I could ever dream of
That's exactly what I hope to hear about on these actual business class machines. I love my new Surface, but it means NEEDING a mess of adapters to do the same work.
this laptop is designed around the workforce in japan, but I can't help but feel that we missed something along the way when switching to ultra-thin no ports laptops.
Well and it's a joke that other "thin" machines really aren't that much thinner, and they're HEAVIER than this laptop. I can handle a millimeter of depth when this weighs the same as an LG Gram 😅
So, weirdly, RUclips REALLY wanted me to watch this video. Normally, I have to go to my subscriptions tab to find your new videos, but for whatever reason the algorithm really liked this one. At least for me, it kept coming up in my feed repeatedly. Good video btw, I really like it. If they won't sell it retail, maybe I can score it used on eBay.
You know the drill, see his face, click the vid. As you know deeply, he will never disappoint. We are so privileged to have him and his content. But it is cool that you gave him the heads up on the algorithm on this, thanks.
Dell latitude e6540 user. Replaced my original extended 97wh battery when it started to be degraded. Now I have an aftermarket extended 97wh battery PLUS a 97wh slice battery that attaches to the motherboard. What a road warrior!
So they are literally pushing "updated" japanese laptops. A quick ebay search and you'll find many similiar computers with old inputs like VGA. Its the circle track pad thats very japanese.
It's how starved for competition we are in the USA tho. I don't look at it as just a lazy iterative "push" like they're dumping this on us. It takes a not insignificant amount of effort to bring service and parts and distribution to this country.
@@SomeGadgetGuy Oh no I am all for it. I was already looking for one but at like $2,000?! Definitely not a deal. I would be cheaper to go to japan and get a second hand one lol
bought a Chinese Chuwi laptop some years back (i have some review on my channel that i have done back in the day). Recently I noticed my battery got inflated because it was literary pushing my trackpad out of it's place (that's what I get or can expect after buying a cheap Chinese laptop some would say, I assume) and "figured" it needs an urgent replacement. Ordered the battery from aliexpress, as I got my laptop from there as well... in the end even if i needed to fight with some screws and glue tape and be careful not to pull out a wire or so, I still managed to easily replace it and considering it was my first time replacing a laptop battery, I'd say it was not that big of a challenge. I guess though for kids probably the parents might have to handle the change if they are "discouraged" by the process...
THIS is what I'm looking for in a laptop. I'm furious that laptops now just take away everything and that a genuinly good feature filled laptop like this isn't out there for consumers
I still had Panasonic CF-SZ6 And Using Windows 11. For Light Use Such as Office and Browsing This Machine Works Very Smoothly. The Keyboard is also very soft, better than my Fujitsu U9310. You will be surprised when you see Japanese laptops now. Although they are now thin and very light (Fujitsu U9414 weighs Only 600 gtam) but they still have internet port.
Not gonna lie, i saw the laptop in the thumbnail and thought this was an older Panasonic model like 2010 to 2012-ish and thought "oh it'll be a classic laptop retrospective" especially with the comment about the removable battery. Oh how pleasantly wrong i was and i am pleased this has a removable battery and a decent port selection instead of one or two USB-C ports with the "buy your own dongle" mentality
I'm still using my 2017 dell 5285 tablet because it does what i need it to and is super repairable. The tablet was meant to be taken apart. One night i was sleepy and my foot got caught in the cable and the thing fell. The case was badly damaged and the kick stand didn't close anymore. I bought a new case and with no heat gun, i took the screen off in 1 minute and transferred all the parts over into a new case i got on eBay for $25. Before this happened I removed the case and replaced the battery. Another time i replaced the hard drive and upgraded it to 1tb. For me, 16 GB of RAM and a tb of storage is more than fine. My steam deck handles gaming and anything more serious my desktop handles that. I can't justify replacing the tablet because it just works so well and I can easily and cheaply keep it going for years. If i was ever to replace it I'd need a tablet just as repairable. This laptop seems great though, my sister needs one. I think i can recommend this to her. I just don't believe in this throw away mindset. I'm from the Caribbean and we fix everything instead of just junking it.
It's a bit silly. But for a brand like Panasonic, it's better than just an alphabet soup of letters and numbers. Silly, but refreshing that it has an actual name, you know?
I love my framework laptop, but one thing I wish it had was a swappable battery that didn't require me to open the whole thing up. Battery life is the main reason I moved to ARM laptops for my daily carry, but if I could have had a swappable battery like this in my framework I probably would have just kept living the x86 life, just with more battery swapping. Yes, obviously these days it's easy to have an external battery pack to charge the device, but I like the sleekness of laptops and having to hang a power brick off the side bugs me. I dunno, maybe I'm just crazy
@@SomeGadgetGuy hahahahaha true! I do wish they had enough clout (or enough friendly businesses) to get Intel/AMD to make socket laptop CPUs again, that's the real dream, back to upgradable systems so we don't have to worry about what to do with our chunks of metal and glass when we're done with them
This makes me miss my first laptop -- a Fujitsu Lifebook T5010. I miss hot-swappable batteries as well as priority on function. Like Panasonic, it's a shame Fujitsu also doesn't have a direct-buy for individuals in some countries.
My problem with let's Note series is that it's ridiculously expensive to buy brand new. Base model with Core Ultra 5 and16GB of ram cost the same as Proart PX13 that come with newer Ryzen AI 9, 32GB of ram and 4060 here in Japan. Also, Microsoft 365 and extra battery pack cost extra. Come on Panasonic if you going charge this much, you better bundle in more stuff.
So like why isn't Panasonic, Lenovo, Framework, and ODMs all collaborating on laptop models with quick-swap batteries and other interchangeable components?
@SomeGadgetGuy yeah no duh. Louis Rossman ranted one day about the IP spaghetti in the laptop industry and how Chinese ODMs just copy&pastes various features and design elements in many SKUs between all their clients no matter if it's Dell, HP, Asus, Lenovo, LG, MSI, or Samsung. So if there already are open hardware standards for all fundamental sub-components and ODMs half-carelessly mixing & matching IP already then why not actually cooperate like OEMs in desktop & server and offer customers a truly diverse "DIY Laptop" ecosystem of endomodular chassis and interoperable components across multiple brands? I would ask the same in the smartphone world between Fairphone, ShiftPhone, HMD Global, and other smaller players like LG (now just a component maker), HTC, Sony, and their partnering ODMs.
Ooohh... 3:2 display and removable battery? Multiple ports and Ethernet?! That's very tempting. Add a thumbstick (that lovely nipple) and this can be a dream developer experience.
Well and it's hilarious that this is really thin AND one of the lightest devices on the market AND it has ports and a removable battery. There's really no excuse for a thin, glued shut machine.
![Gunna - HIM ALL ALONG [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/w7Wf0h1Q8a4/mqdefault.jpg)
I love laptops with old school features like this, it makes them far less disposable too. Amusingly enough I'm watching this in the background while upgrading the SSD in my laptop lol.
RIGHT ON! You have no idea how happy that makes my geeky little heart.
The last time I was in Japan was in 2017. When I saw this laptop in person, I was pleasantly surprised! By the way, it's funny how in Japan you can still buy laptops from brands like NEC, FUJITSU, PANASONIC, SHARP, VAIO, TOSHIBA, etc... I'd like to see Japanese brands back on the world's shelves one day.
I'm so jealous. I wish we had more of those labels here.
Most of these are fake, owned by Lenovo or Foxconn. Only Vaio and Panasonic are still 100% Japanese.
C'mon Panasonic, just sell these like ThinkPads!
@@xmlthegreat RIGHT! I think they'd go over well with consumers.
I have a HP Elitebook Folio 9470m which has the exact feature set apart from USB C/Thunderbolt and newer internals since it's from 2013.
Last year I splurged around $90 to spend on a new Keyboad, a new battery, a new display, a fan and a ram Upgrade from 8GB to 16GB. this little beast is still going strong and parts are readily available... In NAIROBI of all places.
I surprisingly use all the IO despite people saying some, like VGA is outdated. Plus it has a docking station, HP Ultraslim Docking station that gives me all IO I could ever dream of
That's exactly what I hope to hear about on these actual business class machines. I love my new Surface, but it means NEEDING a mess of adapters to do the same work.
this laptop is designed around the workforce in japan, but I can't help but feel that we missed something along the way when switching to ultra-thin no ports laptops.
Well and it's a joke that other "thin" machines really aren't that much thinner, and they're HEAVIER than this laptop. I can handle a millimeter of depth when this weighs the same as an LG Gram 😅
So, weirdly, RUclips REALLY wanted me to watch this video. Normally, I have to go to my subscriptions tab to find your new videos, but for whatever reason the algorithm really liked this one. At least for me, it kept coming up in my feed repeatedly. Good video btw, I really like it. If they won't sell it retail, maybe I can score it used on eBay.
WOW! I'm glad to hear that. YT usually buries my videos.
You know the drill, see his face, click the vid. As you know deeply, he will never disappoint.
We are so privileged to have him and his content.
But it is cool that you gave him the heads up on the algorithm on this, thanks.
Dell latitude e6540 user. Replaced my original extended 97wh battery when it started to be degraded. Now I have an aftermarket extended 97wh battery PLUS a 97wh slice battery that attaches to the motherboard. What a road warrior!
@@corey7219 doin it right.
I would have guessed a 16:9 display from the title but 3:2 is perfect. 🙂
It is a nice touch. I don't hate on 16:9, but I have come around to preferring 3:2.
Love your take on all of this. I liked all of the comments by your passionate fans.
The world needs more Juan's.
@@gmosc 😊
So they are literally pushing "updated" japanese laptops. A quick ebay search and you'll find many similiar computers with old inputs like VGA. Its the circle track pad thats very japanese.
It's how starved for competition we are in the USA tho. I don't look at it as just a lazy iterative "push" like they're dumping this on us.
It takes a not insignificant amount of effort to bring service and parts and distribution to this country.
@@SomeGadgetGuy Oh no I am all for it. I was already looking for one but at like $2,000?! Definitely not a deal. I would be cheaper to go to japan and get a second hand one lol
ugh I want this so badly
I was sad to send it back.
bought a Chinese Chuwi laptop some years back (i have some review on my channel that i have done back in the day). Recently I noticed my battery got inflated because it was literary pushing my trackpad out of it's place (that's what I get or can expect after buying a cheap Chinese laptop some would say, I assume) and "figured" it needs an urgent replacement. Ordered the battery from aliexpress, as I got my laptop from there as well... in the end even if i needed to fight with some screws and glue tape and be careful not to pull out a wire or so, I still managed to easily replace it and considering it was my first time replacing a laptop battery, I'd say it was not that big of a challenge. I guess though for kids probably the parents might have to handle the change if they are "discouraged" by the process...
Glad RUclips recommended this video to me. Love the look of this laptop. I do wish more laptops had the 3:2 aspect ratio.
Framework already proved that laptops can be self-repairable and self-upgradeable. We just need to see big players bringing it back.
THIS is what I'm looking for in a laptop. I'm furious that laptops now just take away everything and that a genuinly good feature filled laptop like this isn't out there for consumers
I wish it was in retail channels, but you can buy one through the Panasonic sales team, but that feels like a hassle, so a lot of folks won't.
Seeing all of those ports warmed my soul and my heart is elated ❤
I miss devices with features
@@davidburns8113 me to David! Consumers really have to speak out as a whole.
Removeable battery 😮😮❤❤. I'm having an experience right now.
Oh yeah. I was feeling a certain kinda way about it...
DC barrel jack REEEEEEEEEE
I just loved the design of this laptop, very functional especially the power button l. I hope Panasonic would make this a global product.
I still had Panasonic CF-SZ6 And Using Windows 11. For Light Use Such as Office and Browsing This Machine Works Very Smoothly. The Keyboard is also very soft, better than my Fujitsu U9310. You will be surprised when you see Japanese laptops now. Although they are now thin and very light (Fujitsu U9414 weighs Only 600 gtam) but they still have internet port.
Not gonna lie, i saw the laptop in the thumbnail and thought this was an older Panasonic model like 2010 to 2012-ish and thought "oh it'll be a classic laptop retrospective" especially with the comment about the removable battery. Oh how pleasantly wrong i was and i am pleased this has a removable battery and a decent port selection instead of one or two USB-C ports with the "buy your own dongle" mentality
RIGHT! It's sad we just gave up on ever getting these features back.
It's not a ThinkPad, but it knows how to Think.
Unlike today's ThinkPad/ThinkBooks which don't.
It's the little ideas from the toughbook that make me so excited.
Saw these everywhere in Japan especially by salary men. Love the trackpad design
I'm still using my 2017 dell 5285 tablet because it does what i need it to and is super repairable. The tablet was meant to be taken apart. One night i was sleepy and my foot got caught in the cable and the thing fell. The case was badly damaged and the kick stand didn't close anymore. I bought a new case and with no heat gun, i took the screen off in 1 minute and transferred all the parts over into a new case i got on eBay for $25. Before this happened I removed the case and replaced the battery. Another time i replaced the hard drive and upgraded it to 1tb. For me, 16 GB of RAM and a tb of storage is more than fine. My steam deck handles gaming and anything more serious my desktop handles that. I can't justify replacing the tablet because it just works so well and I can easily and cheaply keep it going for years. If i was ever to replace it I'd need a tablet just as repairable. This laptop seems great though, my sister needs one. I think i can recommend this to her. I just don't believe in this throw away mindset. I'm from the Caribbean and we fix everything instead of just junking it.
I wish more folks in the USA thought like that.
@SomeGadgetGuy yeah, but here in the states consumerism is strong.
Is it me being a grumpy, or is *Let's Note FV4* a super cheesy model name? 😄
It's a bit silly. But for a brand like Panasonic, it's better than just an alphabet soup of letters and numbers. Silly, but refreshing that it has an actual name, you know?
@@SomeGadgetGuyHmmm! Good point. 😊
Is the ram and ssd upgradable? That would make this a perfect laptop
Oh wow, they geeked all out
I really want one of these w/o having to import from Japan, like the only other option is the VAIO or Framework Laptop
You can buy one direct, but you have to go through the Panasonic sales team, which is a bit of a bummer.
I love my framework laptop, but one thing I wish it had was a swappable battery that didn't require me to open the whole thing up. Battery life is the main reason I moved to ARM laptops for my daily carry, but if I could have had a swappable battery like this in my framework I probably would have just kept living the x86 life, just with more battery swapping. Yes, obviously these days it's easy to have an external battery pack to charge the device, but I like the sleekness of laptops and having to hang a power brick off the side bugs me. I dunno, maybe I'm just crazy
Like, how crazy is it that framework is seen as this radical experiment JUST because it's a little easier to fix 😄
@@SomeGadgetGuy hahahahaha true! I do wish they had enough clout (or enough friendly businesses) to get Intel/AMD to make socket laptop CPUs again, that's the real dream, back to upgradable systems so we don't have to worry about what to do with our chunks of metal and glass when we're done with them
This makes me miss my first laptop -- a Fujitsu Lifebook T5010.
I miss hot-swappable batteries as well as priority on function. Like Panasonic, it's a shame Fujitsu also doesn't have a direct-buy for individuals in some countries.
I want one so bad but I cant find one to buy, also nice video. Any tips on getting one?
I wish they were in retail. You can buy direct if you contact their sales team.
@@SomeGadgetGuy wait really, how much are they charging?
3:45 the dream
Right!
@SomeGadgetGuy yep
My problem with let's Note series is that it's ridiculously expensive to buy brand new. Base model with Core Ultra 5 and16GB of ram cost the same as Proart PX13 that come with newer Ryzen AI 9, 32GB of ram and 4060 here in Japan. Also, Microsoft 365 and extra battery pack cost extra. Come on Panasonic if you going charge this much, you better bundle in more stuff.
I know people who swear by these but I never could jive with the circular trackpad.
It's weird. I think I'd rather have a LARGER touch pad, but it is fun in a retro way.
So like why isn't Panasonic, Lenovo, Framework, and ODMs all collaborating on laptop models with quick-swap batteries and other interchangeable components?
Money.
@SomeGadgetGuy yeah no duh. Louis Rossman ranted one day about the IP spaghetti in the laptop industry and how Chinese ODMs just copy&pastes various features and design elements in many SKUs between all their clients no matter if it's Dell, HP, Asus, Lenovo, LG, MSI, or Samsung.
So if there already are open hardware standards for all fundamental sub-components and ODMs half-carelessly mixing & matching IP already then why not actually cooperate like OEMs in desktop & server and offer customers a truly diverse "DIY Laptop" ecosystem of endomodular chassis and interoperable components across multiple brands?
I would ask the same in the smartphone world between Fairphone, ShiftPhone, HMD Global, and other smaller players like LG (now just a component maker), HTC, Sony, and their partnering ODMs.
Probably can make a decent Linux laotop? Also the laptop's directed towards older people who like consistent designs, thus the 2000s style trackpad.
Ooohh... 3:2 display and removable battery? Multiple ports and Ethernet?! That's very tempting. Add a thumbstick (that lovely nipple) and this can be a dream developer experience.
Damn how I miss that little Lenovo stick...
Nice laptop 😊
The barrel charging port is probably more durable than USB-C
That's true. I just hope we don't lose other ports first.
But Juan you have to loose features to get it thin and light.
🤔
more of this more removable batteries and replaceable devices they don't have to be thin and stylish all the time
Well and it's hilarious that this is really thin AND one of the lightest devices on the market AND it has ports and a removable battery.
There's really no excuse for a thin, glued shut machine.