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Friday, May 12, 2006

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Fujitsu P1510D Video Review

- Dennis Rice

In this video review, I take a look at the Fujitsu P1510D Touch Tablet PC. In particular , I take a tour of the tablet, the software, compare it in size to the TC1000, examine handwriting issues, and issues involving tablet pc functionality and touch in general.

For those interested in Ultra Mobile PC solutions, but don’t want to give up a keyboard, look no further than the P1510D. With an 80 gram digitizer, it is finger friendly, but could cause issues in handwriting for some people. It has DialKeys, RitePen, and EverNote bundled in with the tablet.

Overall, I was very impressed with the P1510D. It is light and a pleasure to hold. With 1024 x 600 resolution and an 8.9” screen, I was surprised at how much working room there was. I highly recommend it for those looking for an ultra mobile solution. I would strongly suggest that you order a demo of this unit first to see how it handles your handwriting. It is a mixed bag out there with some experiencing a lot of interferance with their hand while writing, and others with no issues at all.

Special thanks to Allegiance Technology Partners for providing this Tablet PC so we could demo it for you.

BTW: After receiving several requests, I have encoded this video as a .wmv and made it available via direct download instead of streaming via Flash. Please let me know which you prefer.

UPDATE: I understand the streaming quality is a bit poor right now, possibly due to our media hosting provider. I’d suggest you right click the Watch link below and save it to your computer for the best viewing experience.

Watch the video ( 23 minutes, 77mb, Windows Media via direct download). For best viewing quality, right click the link and save to your computer.
Visit the Fujitsu site
Visit Allegiance Technologies Partners

Starting price (with Tablet PC features): $1599

Fujitsu | InkShows | Fujitsu | Tablet PC

5/12/2006 11:15 PM MST

Fujitsu P1510D Video Review Comments [12] | Digg This | del.icio.us | Citations

Saturday, May 13, 2006 5:54:02 AM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

Hi Rob:

My vote is for .wmv files.

Mike Danforth

Mike Danforth

Saturday, May 13, 2006 9:33:12 AM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

Hi, I too prefer directly downloadable video files!

Andreas

Andreas

Saturday, May 13, 2006 6:13:25 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

I happened to be near a MicroCenter today and knowing they had thed P1510 stopped into take a look. The size of the tablet is nice. If you are looking for a small form factor tablet I think this would be the way to go. It is small and the keyboard is cramped. But unless you have really large hands I don't think it would be a problem.

The only problem is the viewing angle. This is a problem I currently have with my M200. If I'm in a meeting and the tablet is laying on the table in front of me, the screen is unreadable. I have to pick up the tablet to be able to work with the tablet. I took the Fujitsu in tablet mode and tried to view it from the low angle and it was very washed out. By comparison there was a X41 there also and it doesn't exhibit the same problem. It was viewable from all sides from a low angle.

So I think you would have to plan on holding the tablet in order to work in ink.

Rob, maybe you can shed a little more light on this since you have both.

--Cary

Cary Phillips

Saturday, May 13, 2006 7:57:13 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

Rob,
My vote is with the downloadable videos. It was too difficult for me to watch 15 seconds of video and then waiting 20 seconds for the stream of the next 15 second instalment.

Is there any chance that you may convert some of your old content into downloadables; I might be able to get to the end of the LS800 review!

Mel Buckpitt

Saturday, May 13, 2006 8:18:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

the one I had had the regular screen and the viewing angles were pretty bad. the x41 is much better.

however, they do sell the p1510d with a wide angle option

I'll try to see what I can do about getting the old ones converted over. no promises

Rob Bushway

Tuesday, May 16, 2006 9:50:31 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

Just finished watching your video review and I have to say that it was absolutely spot on with my own experience with the unit. It is completely hit or miss as you said with respect to the digitizier. My experience was an overall negative. A project manager in my office absolutely loves it.... go figure.

Like you, the dialkeys application was generally disappointing. It worked, but I did not find that it made working with the device easier. Perhaps with more usage, my opinion will change.

Absent an active digitizer, or as you mentioned, one of the dual passive/active screens, I don't think this device will gain broad acceptance. But judos to Fujitsu for the product they did create. It wins in weight, form factor and battery life.

Stephen Feger

Sunday, May 21, 2006 12:40:10 AM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

I just saw this tablet in the store today. It is certainly a great
size and weight, I think this is probably the smallest tablet pc with
a keyboard there is (i.e., at about 2.2 lbs and 9.3"(wide) x 6.57" (deep) x
(1.36" high)).

I think one of the only problems with this tablet is the keyboard
size, it was pretty hard to type using it, I kept making mistakes,
including using the space bar. It might be the case that one would get
used to it (I tried it in three rounds, and I was definitely more
accurate on the 2nd and 3rd round), but I'm not sure. It would be
great if somehow they could fit a normal size keybaord on it (so
there'd be no context switch time going from this unit to anohter
machine).

Does anyone know if a tablet pc is out there soon in the
ultra-portable size of say the Sony Vaio Tx770p/t or Fujitsu Lifebook
P7000? In other words, are there any (or will there be any soon)
tablet PCs out there with dimensions of: 10.28" wide x 7.83 " deep x
1.26 " high (or so), with a weight of no more than around 3.5 lbs? Such
a unit would be perfect for me.

Thanks!

anonymous

Sunday, May 21, 2006 12:46:20 AM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

The only that meets your specs the closest is the TC1100 - you can still get it from cdw.com and other HP, but it is discontinued.

That 10" is certainly a nice sweet spot

Rob

Monday, June 12, 2006 10:03:54 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

Rob,

For the unit you tested did it have XP Pro or XP Tablet PC Edition? Is the OS the only major difference between the models listed here http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=P15D? What are the advantages/disadvantages for both?

Thanks for the video review and any insight you can offer above.

Jay

Sunday, July 23, 2006 6:42:00 AM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

I rang up Fujitsu here in Australia to ask if a demo unit was available. They referred me to a local distributor who just wasn't interested in my business. They wanted me to put down a 20% deposit before they'd order one! There's no way I'm committing that much cash on the chance that I'll have no problems with the touch screen.

Interestingly, the Fujitsu support person said the sensitivity of the touch screen could be configured in settings (similar to mouse sensitivity). You didn't mention that possibility in your review - could you confirm if that is the case?

The lack of an active digitiser is definitely pushing me away from the P1510 - it's a pity they don't offer a model that has it.

Thanks for these great video reviews! They are really helping me to choose the best model for my needs.

Grant

Sunday, July 23, 2006 7:32:51 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

To best of my recollection, there is a utility to control the sensitivity. However, I think I remember looking for it and didn't see it.

Rob Bushway

Friday, August 04, 2006 5:10:44 AM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

I got my hands on a demo P1510 this afternoon in Brisbane. The sales guy made a call to a technical contact at Fujitsu and was told that there is no way to adjust the sensitivity of the touch screen. He will make further enquiries however.

I was very impressed with the Lifebook - what a great device. Unfortunately I too was affected by the dreaded lines while writing. But after a short time I adjusted how I was resting my hand on the screen. I think after a week or two, it'll no longer be an issue. That said, an active digitiser version would be so much better - after using a tablet for a while, I missed the hover ability.

Surfing at the native landscape resolution of 1024 width is great - no horizontal scrolling while viewing web sites. I think UMPCs will struggle because of their 7 inch screen restrictions - 1024 pixels on a 7" would be too small for me.

Typing on the small keyboard isn't something I'd use often - it would take a lot of practice to get up to speed with it and then I'd have problems with a normal sized keyboard. I intend to use the Lifebook as a tablet rather than a laptop anyway.

Grant

Comments are closed.