Fujitsu LifeBook U810 Tablet PC First Look Review (Video)
When Fujitsu announced the LifeBook U810 battery mini Tablet PC, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and guess what, we just got one in our office. This tiny tablet is amazing. I can't say it would be a permanent replacement to a full-size tablet or notebook, but it is a great travel companion. It runs on Intel's A110 processor and has a 40GB hard drive. The 5.6-inch WSVGA display is small, but still up to Fujitsu's standards, meaning it looks great.
Fujitsu LifeBook U810 fpcbp155 Tablet PC specs as reviewed (price as tested $1,099)
- Intel Processor A110 800MHz
- Intel 945GU Express Chipset
- Windows Vista Business with Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
- 5.6" WSVGA Crystal View display with passive touch screen
- 1GB DDR2 400MHz SDRAM memory
- 40GB (4200 rpm) hard drive
- 10/100 Ethernet (with included cable)
- Atheros Super AG Wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g)
- Integrated Bluetooth wireless
- Integrated Fingerprint Sensor and embedded TPM
- 1 x USB
- SD slot
- Type I/II Compact Flash slot
- Microphone and headphone jack
- Main battery: 4-cell Lithium-Ion (5200 mAh, rated up to 5.5 hours)
- Dimensions: 6.73”(W) x 6”(D) x 1.26”(H)
- Weight: 1.8lbs with 4-cell battery
- One-year International Limited Warranty
Design and Build
The U810 original battery code Fujitsu FPCBP148 Fujitsu FPCBP89 Fujitsu FPCBP160 Fujitsu FPCBP195 Fujitsu FPCBP182 is a solid little tablet. The chassis is sturdy and I didn't notice any flex. The mini-keyboard has a little flex, which reminded me of the LifeBook T4020 battery . After a while though you wouldn't want to type on this keyboard because it really is too small. Fujitsu planned out every inch of this design. There is a pointing stick on the right corner and the mouse buttons on the left, just incase you don't want to use the pen or touchscreen.
It takes awhile to get used to the mouse, but the passive touchscreen isn't always as responsive as I wish. Sometimes your finger doesn't register on the screen unless you push hard, so I opted to use the pen, which let me navigate faster. The 5.6" screen isn't that hard to read and the display is great. It has nice bold vivid colors, with little graininess. I wouldn't want to work on this all day, but for those one-day business trips it would be perfect.
Since the keyboard is so small some of the keys are combined like the Home, Tab, Page-up and Page-down. It isn't a problem though. The U810 converts into tablet mode easily thanks to its solid hinge and the screen automatically changes orientation. It really is small enough to put in a purse or small case and since it only weighs around 1.8lbs with the battery, I am sure you won't notice the weight. It has a glossy gunmetal colored lid, which hides dirt well and black suede patches on the bottom to reduce heat, a Fujitsu trademark
Performance
The U810 lifebook u1010 battery sports Intel's A110 800MHz processor. It has 1GB of RAM and a 40GB hard drive. Not to bad for such a tiny tablet, but I think I would rather have Windows XP Tablet PC Edition instead of Vista. Don't get me wrong Vista works fine on the U810, but you would gain more performance from Windows XP, which is an option.
Super Pi
In the below results of Super Pi, where the processor is timed in calculating Pi to 2 million digits: The U810 lifebook s6510 battery didn't do bad at all considering it's built on a different platform then the rest of the notebooks. Remember it has a different processor, small hard drive and it's running Vista.
It takes over a minute to boot-up. I almost forgot I turned it on until I heard it beep. I haven't ran any benchmark tests yet except Super Pi and probably won't run to many since we know this isn't made to be some high-performance gaming tablet. There will be a few tests covered in the full review to come next week, so stay tuned for those results. I will be testing out Fujitsu's battery claim of 5.5 hours also. I hope it lasts that long and so far it seems pretty close.
First Impressions
Overall I am impressed with the U810 lifebook a6110 battery . It has a nice array of features including one USB 2.0, docking connector, headphone jack, microphone jack, a Type I/II Compact Flash slot and Smart Card slot. It also has the option of External monitor/VGA and Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) on the included cable. All of this is packed into such a small tablet. Although I do wish it had just one more USB port. It even has nice wireless options including Atheros Wireless LAN 802.11 a/b/g and BlueTooth 2.0.
The U810 lifebook a6120 battery connected to the Internet with no problems, but it does have poor signal strength in some areas. The Bluetooth comes in handy if you want to connect a mouse, which some users will because this tablet is so small. It also has an included VGA plug, so you can connect it to another monitor as well. The U810 fujitsu p7230 battery is a great travel companion and could be used for those important presentations. The battery life seems good so far, but I will be testing it under other conditions in my full review. So check back next week to see more pictures and benchmarks on this tiny wonder. It has been a big hit in our office so far!
The first clamshell convertible in a form factor, Fujitsu's LifeBook U810 lifebook p7120 battery is a strong contender in a growing field, despite some quirks. We're still apprehensive about this mini-PC category, and we'd like to see a mobile broadband option, but at only $999, the U810 lifebook s7110 battery has a lot to offer highly mobile users who are in the market for a companion to a primary PC .
Our tested configuration came in white, but only black units will be available in the U.S. If not for the four-cell battery hanging off the back, this notebook would be about the size of a small Mead notepad. As it is, the 1.6-pound, 6.7 x 6 x 1-inch U810 as lifebook t4220 battery and lifebook t4210 battery is small enough to fit in a large purse or a side pocket in a shoulder bag.
Fujitsu packs in lots of buttons and external controls, starting with the mouse pointing stick on the right, above the keyboard. Next to that are two scrolling buttons and a Function toggle. On the left are the mouse buttons and a small speaker. Navigating the system with the mouse and buttons was intuitive when we held the system in our hands. On a desk or table, however, navigation became awkward. And in both situations, our hands started to cramp after only a few minutes. Also, we had to slow the mouse-tracking down a notch to gain accuracy; its default setting made us miss the mark too many times.
Below the bright 5.6-inch Crystal View SVGA display, you'll find three buttons: one to control lights that shine on the keyboard for typing in the dark, one to launch the onscreen keyboard for the Tablet interface, and one to control the four-way screen orientation. On the right is an Alt button and the fingerprint reader, and above the screen, you'll find a 0.3-megapixel webcam and a microphone for videoconferencing. We like the separate volume dial on the left, although it could have been more responsive. The U810 has only one USB port, but you'll find slots for both SD and Compact Flash cards, as well as a Wi-Fi toggle on the left.
The small keyboard takes some getting used to. It's too small for regular typing but too big for thumb typing, which means you need to set the system down and peck with your pointers. We don't mind that for quick e-mails, but we certainly didn't have the patience to type this review on it. The small keyboard is to be expected, but packing as many as three functions on a key is too much. Also, the Tab key is combined with the too-small space bar, and there's no right-Shift key. The function commands are combined with the number keys, and--our biggest gripe--the arrow keys require the function command to work, since they're combined with the period and backslash keys.
As a Tablet, the U810 lifebook t4010 battery is acceptable. The swivel screen goes only one direction, and the super-slim stylus is tricky to get in and out of its holster. But once you lay the screen flat, put the battery side closest to your elbow, and switch the orientation, it's pretty decent. If you're right-handed, all the buttons end up along the left-hand side, which would be backward for larger Tablets, but because this one is so small, you're more likely to hold it in your hand and push the buttons (Fn, Scrolling, onscreen keyboard, and orientation switcher) with your thumb. The passive touchscreen worked okay with a stylus, but it doesn't work with your fingers at all. On several occasions, we found ourselves trying two or more times to make selections, but it responded to flicking gestures well.
Performance from the U810 lifebook t4215 battery was mixed. We haven't run MobileMark 2007 on many machines yet, but we've run it enough to know that a score of 39 isn't good (the 150 to 250 range is typical for larger notebooks). The 800-MHz Intel A110 processor handled day-to-day productivity tasks well enough, though. Just don't expect to use or do any multitasking. Its 3DMark03 score of 538 means you're limited to Spider Solitaire and the like for gaming, but its integrated Intel 945 graphics chipset handled video well enough to allow us to watch a movie on a plane.
There's no optical drive, so we downloaded the action-packed Transformers trailer and were impressed with the results. We saw some latency and choppiness, but not enough to detract from the clip. Sound was very loud, although it was standard-fare tinny notebook quality with distortion at high volumes. We like that the U810 lifebook p8010 battery never got hot. After a few straight hours of use, it still felt cool.
Wireless performance and endurance are high points for this mini PC. We got 5 hours and 14 minutes of battery life on our MobileMark 2007 rundown test (just 16 minutes shy of the rated 5:30). And the U810's lifebook t5010 battery 802.11a/b/g connection managed 17 and 13.7 Mbps of throughput at 15 and 50 feet from our access point, respectively. Mobile broadband isn't yet available for the U810, which limits its usability. If you're going to take this with you everywhere, you need to be connected everywhere. Fujitsu says it will offer an HSDPA version in February of 2008.
With all this mobility, security is most important, and along with the fingerprint reader, Fujitsu includes TPM circuitry, a BIOS password, and Boot Sector Write Prevention, which protects the U810 from the most dangerous viruses. Fujitsu backs the system with a one- or three-year limited warranty ($179) and 24/7 toll-free support.
As far as UMPCs go, the U810 lifebook q2010 battery is a pretty strong contender, and you can't beat the price for a unit with a usable built-in keyboard and Tablet functionality. It's sleeker than the FlipStart, which is the only other clamshell unit on the market and costs $1,000 more but offers EV-DO. The is even sleeker but costs about $300 more with integrated EV-DO. If you've been thinking about dipping your toe into the UMPC waters, the Fujitsu LifeBook U810 fujitsu p1510 battery is an affordable way to do so, but some may want to wait for the mobile broadband version
