By Michelle Thatcher
08/09/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050488,43986262p,00.htm

Combining a screen that's roomy enough to avoid eye strain and a weight that's still reasonable enough to carry to the coffee shop or on the occasional business trip, 13.3 inches may be the most perfect size for a laptop. How much better, then, that Fujitsu has issued the LifeBook T1010, a tablet whose 13.3-inch display rotates and folds down over the keyboard to let you take handwritten notes? Viewed as a laptop, the LifeBook T1010 seems fairly average, with a typical assortment of features and the entry level of Intel's latest Centrino 2 components. Viewed as a tablet, however, the LifeBook T1010 seems more compelling: it's priced lower than many 12.1-inch tablets, yet provides a little extra screen real estate. We think it's a good choice for students and executives who prefer to take handwritten notes in lectures and meetings.

Editors' note : This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design

We like the look of the Fujitsu LifeBook T1010, which includes a glossy, silver lid with an abstract, almost bar code-like pattern as well as a matte-silver interior. Its squared-off corners are consistent with Fujitsu's reputation for slightly boxy laptops, but the 13-inch screen means its overall footprint is compact and appealing. At 2.4kg, the Fujitsu is heavier than other 13.3-inch systems, such as the Dell XPS M1330; and more than 12.1-inch tablets such as the Toshiba Portege M700. Nevertheless, the Fujitsu's weight is reasonable for semi-frequent travel and for regular trips to the coffee shop or library.

Like any other convertible tablet, the Fujitsu LifeBook T1010's display connects to its base on a single hinge that lets you swing the screen around (in either direction) and fold it over the keyboard to take handwritten notes on-screen. Unlike other convertible tablets, the LifeBook T1010 incorporates a 13.3-inch widescreen display. The size is not only our preferred compromise between portability and usability, but it also provides a comfortably roomy amount of space for writing notes by hand.

Features

The screen's 1,280 x 800 resolution is fairly typical for a display of this size, and its matte finish cuts down on distracting reflections--a huge plus for taking notes in a meeting room or lecture hall. The screen surface provides a pleasing amount of drag when you're writing with the included stylus, and five buttons in the display bezel--up and down arrows, screen rotation, a Function key, and an Alt key--help you navigate without the keyboard while in tablet mode.

Rather than an active digitizer that requires a specific stylus, the LifeBook T1010's touchscreen display accepts input from any pointing device--even your fingers. As we used the tablet, we found ourselves relying less on the touchpad (which seems a tad small, though functional) and more on the touchscreen, even in laptop mode. We still type faster than we write, though, and the LifeBook T1010's broad keyboard feels solid and responsive.

The LifeBook T1010 offers the average selection of ports and connections you'd expect to find on a laptop of its size. Unsurprisingly, the laptop's built-in speakers produced tinny, unbalanced sound.

Performance And Battery Life

We tested an early, preproduction configuration of the LifeBook T1010 that was built with Intel's 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU, integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, 1GB of 1,066MHz RAM, and an 80GB, 5,400rpm hard drive. Currently shipping configurations offer many of the same specs, but with 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, for $3,188. Even with half the RAM, our preproduction LifeBook T1010 bested the previous generation of 13-inch systems and scored in line with the Centrino 2-based ThinkPad SL400 on the Multitasking and iTunes portions of CNET Labs' benchmarks. The results were less stellar on our Photoshop test, where the early LifeBook T1010's RAM allotment held it back; we fully expect the 2GB configuration that's currently being sold to perform in line with the ThinkPad SL400.







On our video-playback drain test, the LifeBook T1010 lasted 2 hours, 31 minutes using the included six-cell battery. That's average for a laptop of its category, though we'd hoped to see closer to 3 hours of battery life from the Centrino 2 platform. Nevertheless, our drain test is particularly grueling, so you can expect to see longer life during typical Web surfing and productivity work.



System configurations:


Fujitsu Lifebook T1010
Windows Vista Business Edition SP1; 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 4700MHD; 80GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

Lenovo ThinkPad SL400
Windows Vista Business Edition; 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS; 160GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

Dell Vostro 1310
Windows Vista Business Edition; 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7250; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS; 160GB Fujitsu 5,400rpm

Service And Support

Fujitsu LifeBook has a one-year international warranty with second-year and third-year local warranty. At Fujitsu's support Web site, LifeBook owners can register their warranty online as well as download the latest drivers. For simple problems, the company offers a helpline and email address for troubleshooting. Should the unit require further diagnosis or repair, the customer will have to send the unit to any service center worldwide during the first year. Subsequently, Fujitsu will only honor the notebook's warranty of two remaining years at the original country of purchase. For users who use their laptops for time-critical work with no margin for downtime, it must be noted that most Fujitsu service centers in Asia Pacific operate only during office hours. There is no option to upgrade the warranty terms.