Interchangeable housing panel components for a display housing of a portable computing device. The interchangeable housing panel component is sized and dimensioned to be received by a receiving portion of the computing device. A first interchangeable housing panel component is quickly installed by a user to customize the appearance of their computing device and, when desired, is also quickly removed, from the computing device. A second interchangeable housing panel component can then be installed on the same computing device, transforming the appearance of their computing device. When desired, the second interchangeable housing panel component can be removed and the first interchangeable housing panel component can be reinstalled, returning the computing device to its previous appearance. The housing panel components and computing device include provisions for easy removal and installation of the components.