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August 10, 2006

New Laptop LIFEBOOK T4210

Fujitsu LIFEBOOK T4210

I finally got a new laptop. I've been researching them for a while now. I've been really keen on the possibility of a tablet PC, but the prices were so expensive and I just did not think a tablet alone would suffice. Well lo and behold now convertable tablets are within my price range and I'm finding the need to upgrade to a hefty laptop for some new projects.

I finally settled on a Fujitsu Lifebook T4210. I had many people ask me why I choose this one over others.
It was the size, weight, features, convertable tablet mode and outdoor screen. Feature wise it was on par with computers priced about $300-$500 less. In particular was the newest gateway convertable.

Although priced much less, when I added the beef of a 2GHZ dual core, 80GB HD & dual layer DVD burner it was only $300 less. In all I had to decide where and how I was going to use this and ended up with eht Futjitsu because of the smaller screen and outdoor screen (for subway use). Those seats can be a bit cramped and when I am outside of the subway on the EL, the sun does shine in on the screen. This was the downside of my Compaq N400C.

So the deciding factors were the smaller footprint, outdoor screen and lighter weight.

I could write up a big review of this unit, but others have done this already with the following links.
http://forum.tabletpcreviewspot.com/showthread.php?t=2369&page=1

http://www.tabletpcreviewspot.com/default.asp?newsID=513

http://www.tabletpc2.com/Review-FujitsuLifebookT4210TabletPC.htm

http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/14/fujitsu-lifebook-t4210-convertible-pc-reviewed/

What I'll add are my opinions of points covered and not covered.

Quiet.
This unit is very quiet you can hardly hear the hard drive whirring. Sometimes I do not even know it's on.

Outdoor screen.
There are complaints about the outdoor screen and I would have to agree here. The colors are not always as vibrant and the whites do seem a lil pixley. This is due to the polarized coating. It's not my main computer and it's the price I have to pay for minimal reflections. Cranking up the screen brightness indoors is a must due to the screen sparkle. When viewed up close and at an angle, the 'sparkle' is seen to be caused by a relatively fine texture within the LCD cover... this is obviously to diffuse external light sources, preventing them from hitting the LCD and thus allowing for outdoor viewing. Frankly, after hearing all the bad things about the indoor/outdoor, I was pleasently surprised by it in person. It doesn't really didn't bother me as it may others.

Weight.
I weighed it, It is 5LBS with the CD drive, 4.3 without. Not too bad. My compaq without ANY accessories is 3.6. With my back/sling bag 5LBS is a minimal issue. I've had books alone that weighed more.

Tablet.
This is a really cool feature, yet it takes getting used to.
With this unit the screen can swing both ways (It's BI ! )
Not that it really matters yet, but it makes it less of a thought when switching.
I did notice the screen tends to get smudged.

Speakers/Volume.
The internal stereo speakers suffice but are not loud enough at the highest setting unless you are right next to the unit.
I tried watching a movie from about 4-5 feet and it was barely usable.
Sound quality is adequete. Then again, this is not why I choose it. If I do plan to use it for music, I'll be using headphones or external speakers.
A plus is you do get a stereo effect when in tablet mode. Pretty nifty first time I heard it.

Embedded Bluetooth and wireless.
This is a plus, no more dongles or PCMCIA.

Firewore.
Sad to say, no firewire ports. Guess I'll have to use PCMCIA when needed.
Again, size was a deciding factor for this unit over the gateway, otherwise I would have gotten that one.

Serial/Parellel.
No ports for these, not sure if I need them any longer. I may keep my compaq around just in case.

Battery Life.
Reports 4 hours of use in a full charge. Still more then my compaq which was 2.

Duo-Core 2GHZ.
Fast fast fast. Very comfortable machine to work with. gets a bit warm, but not as bad as Joe's Sagar laptop which gets burning hot!

Table/Stylus.
Works well, tracks well. takes getting used to.

Track Pad.
It's OK, tracks well, takes getting used to after having the pointing stick.
I still find myself using the wireless mouse.
I'll probably invest in a bluetooth mouse and bluetooth headphones.

Keyboard.
The keyboard feels good, although slightly flimsy in certain areas.
I really like the idea of white keys as it shows the keys better in a dark room with the brightness of the screen.
I like the T cursor arrangement, pgup/pgdn and control key placement.
I hate the delete key placement as I tned to be hitting the break/pause key more so then the delete key.

Fingerprint reader.
This is a nice mechanism for managing login/password authentication. Although It had nothing to do with my decision to purchase. Frankly I would forgo it to save a few dollars.

LCD Status indicators.
While this lcd status indicator can prove handy, it would be nice if it was backlit since it can be difficult to read in any environment that has less a than adequate ambient lighting source. I found it difficult to see in many angles and lighting. Fortunate for me, I do not depend on it.

What I need now is a remote control.
Possibly the
GRIFFIN TECHNOLOGY AirClick Wireless Remote or the ZioTek Slim USB Multi-media PC Remote W/ Laser Pointer

Posted by Me on August 10, 2006 04:00 PM

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