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Fujitsu U810 Lifebook Review – From the GBM Forums

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imageFujitsu U810 Lifebook Review
By Jeff Christiana 10/17/2007

(First Impressions)
Today I received a wonderful treat . What sits before me is a little bundle of joy from Japan. My newly adopted Fujitsu U810 Lifebook! When I removed the plastic from the little package, I saw before me the smallest laptop I have ever seen. There are no pictures that can truly show off what a marvelous piece of hardware this is. I have seen all the galleries and I have seen countless videos, but nothing compares to actually holding one in the palm of your hand.

The U810 has a classy sharp look to it. Very solid feeling with a nice non-scratch/smear finish (won’t show your friends greasy fingerprints after they touch it). This Laptop SCREAMS Sexy Well at least to me it does… You will not be ashamed to use this in public. It is almost guaranteed to draw a crowd. The size and weight with the extended battery does not seem to be bad and is hardly noticeable. The flip/swivel hinge on the screen feels very solid, and looks to be engineered exceptional well. The screen pivots only one direction.

I have placed the optional leather cover on the unit and it fits nice and snug. Everything feels and fits very nice.
U800 Executive Black Leather Portfolio

(First ““SETUP” Boot up)
I pressed the power button. ““Vista is preparing itself for the first time… Please wait”
So far the screen is very sharp and bright, a few minutes pass and the unit reboots it self again after displaying Fujitsu’s license information. Looks like it is now booting into Windows, so far it has asked for no input.

image The Windows Vista Business screen comes up and asks language, and then the follow standard Vista startup questions. This is my first time using the cursor control (I am not using the touch screen\pen yet.) With the Lifebook sitting on my desk I find myself using my thumb to move the pointer around with ease and using my other thumb to press the left and right buttons. The cursor control pad seems to have very good control over the pointer.

Now I get to type my name and information. Navigating the keys is a bit tricky. Holding down the FN key to move the Arrows and also to Tab, and will take some time getting use to the ultra tiny keys. So far the fan noise barely noticeable. Now I have my standard Vista mountain/lake background it is looking very sharp and bright. Vista is checking my system performance and telling me how wonderful my life will be now that I have accepted Vista as my Operating system. ;-) Now I wait for all the drivers and user preferences to be loaded. Ok now for the first real boot. Get those stopwatches ready

(First after Setup Boot)
This boot up only took 2 minutes from pressing the power switch to a ““ready to use state”. ““No spinning wait cursor”

(Wireless setup and taking updates)

I am now going to configure my U810 to my home Linksys wireless and take all vista updates.
Connecting to my home AES encrypted home wireless was effortless. I was browsing the internet is seconds, Using the cursor control, and the scroll up and scroll down keys I was able to navigate the internet with ease. Now to take the updates to Vista and see how it affects my boot time.
One note while using your cursor control you can just tap it to click on an object, instead of using the left click button.

While waiting for the 30 updates to download and install I navigated all over opening and exploring getting a good feel for the Control Curser and I found myself holding the laptop in my hands and working the controls with it with both thumbs feels much more natural than operating it on a flat desk.

(Second Boot after taking all Vista updates)

This boot contained all the updates so I am going to do a third boot.

(A full shutdown)
Takes 26 seconds

(Third Boot)
Time to take the stopwatches out again From power switch to no spinning wait cursor it took 1 min 40seconds to boot.

You can actually move the mouse and start to move around and open applications at 1min 14 seconds.

(Standby Mode)

The unit goes in and out of standby mode around 18 seconds. This is the mode I will be using the laptop in most of the time. I need a device that will be ready when I am ready. I do not want to boot up every time I need to take a note or check an e-mail. Going in and out of Standby mode has not affected my internet or network ““wireless” connection.

(Hibernation Mode)

Going into Hibernate mode it took 43 seconds
Going out of Hibernate mode it took 39 seconds
And the same with standby mode my network and wireless connections were seamlessly re-connected.

(Windows Aero)
I turned on Widows Aero and the Lifebook seemed to not have any performance issues. It did however cause the startup and shutdown times to increase. Startup 3min and shutdown 1 min. The Aero desktop however looks very cool. I will have to experiment with it a bit more before I pass judgment on it. But it looks as though it can pull it off. I will have it turned off for all my tests.

image (Tablet Mode)
I am not a power tablet user, so this is my first and only experience with inking on a laptop. So someone else might have a better ““experienced” review on this feature.

Navigating with your finger does not work well. Unless you use your finger nail it is not even close, and you have to press down hard. Going into tablet mode was as easy as flipping the screen and pressing the rotate button. With the extended battery it offers a real nice firm grip for your hand ““portrait mode”. I am also able to use the leather cover while in tablet mode. Your hand passes through the battery opening on the flap, but that depends on what hand you use and what you prefer.

The stylus is a telescoping model and fits the hand well when doing some simple writing.

When you touch the screen a picture of a mouse appears. It allows you to do a right or left click.

You can also click and hold for a right click or a quick double click for a left click, if you don’t want to use the virtual mouse ““helper” feature.

The Stylus inks very smoothly, and is very accurate. With using Microsoft One Note I noticed you can place you palm on the screen while you write but very LIGHTLY, or it will cause your inking to vector to the side, and holding the tablet with the battery away from you ““landscape mode” seems to work the best for writing. I will however need to use this tablet function more to get a better idea of what it can do and possible settings.

Not much more on the tablet mode. Seems to work great, the write to text conversion works great, and I will have to see how I can use it in my daily note taking. I will see if it becomes my preferred input over the keyboard, but it is nice having the option of either.

(Tested Battery Life)
Well let’s take a look at battery life

With wireless on using default POWER SAVER mode Total time = 5hr 49min
With wireless on using default BALANCE mode Total time = 4hr 30min
With wireless on using default PERFORMANCE mode Total time = 4hr

These values seemed to hold true while streaming a move or playing an online game to keep the wireless running the entire time

(Real Hard Drive Space)
Out of the box with windows Vista Business you have 23.8GB of free space left on the C drive and 1.01GB of free space on the D drive.

Actual useable hard drive space is 35.76 GB

image (CF and SD slot)
I am thinking of getting a 16GB CF card . To give me some extra space, and I also wanted a 16 GB SD card so I called Fujitsu and the SD slot does not support SDHC 16GB cards. So I believe the most you can do is 4GB SD. But you can still do the 16 GB CF Card.

(This section is for you Second Life fans)
With the laptop set to PERFORMANCE OR BALANCE I was able to launch Second life. With all Second life graphics settings set at the absolute minimum I was able to walk around and visit my favorite 80’s dance club, where there is always a room full of people. It streamed music and did a fair job at animating my dance moves. I would not buy this laptop to run second life, but it does run if you are desperate and if you can put up with the slow movement.

I will keep you updated as I continue to optimize Second Life to perform better.

(Streaming video/music)
I loaded Winamp on this unit and was able to stream movies and music while running other applications at the same time with no issues. The built in speaker sounds fine.

(Portability)
This section I will have to get back to you on. So far it looks like it will be a great device to carry with me everywhere I go, but time will tell. I will post something in a week from now after using it at work, and coffee shops, plane, car and so on

(Built in Camera)
The web cam uses software called ArcSoft. You can Capture, Monitor, Edit and Chat. I am interested In the motion sensing function… Looks like the Resolution is 320×240 at 0.3 Mega pixels.

I don’t plan on using this feature, but in case I get into video conferencing it is nice to have the option.

image (Other Features)
Fingerprint sensor
Uses the omnipass fingerprint application; the software is not installed by default. You can install it from the third party folder on the desktop.
Keyboard light
Press the / Tablet PC Button to turn on/off the Keyboard ““headlights”
Dedicated {Ctrl+Alt+Delete} button
Is located on the lower right under fingerprint sensor

(Conclusion)
So far I have had the U810 for a little over 24hrs and I am very impressed. I have been able to do far more than I would have thought possible with the given hardware specs. I will be loading Microsoft Office 2007 this week but looking at other user reviews of Microsoft Office, Word and Excel open within 3 seconds. So I don’t believe there will be any problems there. I would like to see someone come out with a memory hack to add a total 2gigs of memory. I am sure someone will figure it out. Other than that this will be a great in between PDA/LAPTOP replacement. And with being able to run second life I am excited to try other applications and see what the quality and performance is.

Please feel free to post your questions to the forum I have started. https://www.gottabemobile.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4352

Here is a link to the full U810 Lifebook Manual.
https://www.fujitsupc.com/www/content/pdf/SupportGuides/U800_UG_B5FJ-4211-01EN-00.pdf

(Generic Specs from Fujitsu Web Site see below)
Microprocessor
Intel ® A110 processor (Refer to the system label to determine the speed of your processor).
Chipset
•Intel 945GU Express
•Intel ICH7-U Controller Hub
Memory
System Memory
•DDR2-400 MHz SDRAM dual-channel memory module.
•Total of 1 GB pre-installed. No DIMM slots for expansion.
Cache Memory
512 KB L2 cache on-die
Video
Built-in color flat-panel TFT active matrix LCD display with simultaneous display capability.
Video Color and Resolution
5.6″ Crystal View Wide SVGA display
•Internal: 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, 16M colors
•External: 1280 x 1024 pixel resolution, 16M colors
•Simultaneous: Windows Vista mode: 1024 x 600 pixel resolutionWindows XP Tablet PC model: 1280 x 1024 pixel resolution118 – Specifications
Video RAM
Intel ® 945GU Express with Intel ® ICH7U I/O Controller Hub. Up to 224 MB shared video memory
Audio
•Audio Realtek Codec ALC262 with High Definition (HD) audio.
•Headphones: Stereo headphone jack, 3.5 mm, 400mVrms or less, minimum impedance 32 Ohms
•Microphone: Stereo microphone jack, 3.5 mm, 100 mVp-p or less, minimum impedance 1.2K Ohms
•One built-in speaker, 16 mm diameter, mono
•One built-in digital microphone
Mass Storage Device Options
Hard Drive
•Parallel ATA, Ultra DMA 100, 4200 rpm, 1.8”, 5 mm
•Shock-mounted
Features
Integrated Pointing Device
Cursor control button
Communications
•Internal LAN: Internal wired 10/100 Ethernet LAN
•WLAN: Integrated Atheros Super AG (802.11a/b/g)
•Bluetooth: Optional Bluetooth device for wireless personal area network communication 119 — Specifications
Device Ports
On the LifeBook notebook:
•Secure Digital (SD) Card slot
•One Compact Flash (CF) slot
•One USB 2.0 (Universal Serial Bus) connector for input/output devices
•One DC In connector
•Port Replicator connector (also accommodates external video/LAN cable adapter)
•One stereo headphone jack
•One stereo microphone jack
Keyboard
Built-in keyboard
•Total number of keys: 56
•Function keys: [F1] through [F12] when used in conjunction with [Fn] key
•Two Windows keys: one Start key, one application key
•Key pitch: 14 mm; key stroke: 13.0 mm
•Built-in cursor control button with left and right buttons and scroll buttons.
•External USB keyboard/mouse support
Dimensions and Weight
Overall Dimensions
Approximately 6.73″(w) x 6.06″(d) x 1.04”/1.26”(h) (171.0 mm x 154.0 mm x 26.5/32.0 mm)
Weight
Approximately 1.56 lbs. (707 g) with battery
Environmental Requirements
Temperature
Operating: 41 to 95 F (5 to 35 C). Non-operating: 5 to 140 F (—15 to 60 C)
Humidity
Operating: 20% to 85%, relative, non-condensing. Non-operating: 8% to 85%, relative, non-condensing
Altitude
Operating: 10,000 feet (3,048 m) maximum

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