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Fujitsu's Lifebook series is known for being unique in its shape and size. Although they currently are not as prevalent in retail stores compared with other brands such as Dell or Toshiba, Fujitsu notebooks are still a viable option for it's uniqueness. You may have seen those incredibly small Lifebook notebooks which are about the size of a small textbook. The Fujitsu S7010 has actually been out for quite a while, but still offers an attractive package. The laptop carries the Centrino label and does offer a set of features which are competitive against current existing notebooks in the market today. |
The laptop overall has a black and silver-blue design which make the laptop look clean and professional. The cover of the laptop has the silver-blue color with a shiny plastic edge. The rest of the laptop is mainly black underneath. The shiny black plastic edge is the only part of the laptop that tends to pick up fingerprints more easily, but for the most part can't be seen at a distance. Without this edge, the laptop would look plain. I looked closely at the silver-blue color at the front of the laptop and I suspect that it can fade easily if you don't take care of the laptop. Right at the center of the lid is the Fujitsu Lifebook logo which identifies the brand of the laptop.
These are the exact specifications of the laptop:
-Intel® Pentium® M Processor 745 (1.80 GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 400 MHz FSB)
-Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
-14.1" SXGA+ TFT display
-512 MB (2 x 256 MB) DDR333 SDRAM memory
-80 GB hard drive¹
-Modular Multi-Format DVD Writer
-Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG (802.11b/g), multinational² 56K³ V.90 modem and Gigabit Ethernet
-Integrated Bluetooth wireless
-Integrated fingerprint sensor
-Dual pointing with Touchpad and Quick Point
-One-year International Limited Warranty
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When opening the laptop, you will immediately notice the white colored keyboard keys. The white keys are more of a darker white to help prevent dirt being seen over time. At the top of the keyboard, there are several multi-use function keys as well as a small LCD display which shows the status of the laptop such as a battery indicator, and hard drive activity. I found that this laptop can use a better hard drive indicator. Even with slight hard drive activity, the hard drive indicator will stay fully lit. I read in other reviews that the keyboard was flimsy, this was not the case this time. The keyboard on this laptop is overall very quiet and is solid.
What was interesting is that this laptop contains the QuickPoint mouse typically seen in IBM laptops. This mouse sits right at the center of the keyboard. You use a single finger on the QuickPoint to control the mouse. I personally find this type of mouse on a laptop much easier to use. The problem with using the QuickPoint mouse is that you have reach with your thumb in order to reach the left and right mouse buttons. Therefore, it can be awkward to use with just a single hand.
The touch pad mouse is located below the keyboard with the left and right mouse buttons located below the touch pad. The left and right mouse buttons are semi-circular, therefore, they are easy to press. Surprisingly, the scroll wheel is both a scroll wheel and a fingerprint reader. To use the scroll wheel, you just slide your finger across the gold contact area in the appropriate direction. You must use the appropriate software in order to get the fingerprint reader to work properly.
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When booting into the laptop the first time, I was confused at first because the screen looked slightly blurry. It was running at 1024x768 resolution. Only until I increased the resolution to a maximum of 1400 x 1050 resolution did the display look crystal clear. The display does look very detailed, bright, and clear. It is a quite impressive screen for a slim notebook.
When I looked at the back of the laptop, I found no support for legacy devices. This means that there is no LPT1 port if you have an older printer or not even a PS/2 port. If you have any older devices that use these kinds of ports, the only way to use them with this laptop is to purchase the extra dock for this laptop. The dock is another $100-$150.
When you initially power on the laptop, the internal fan will power up for a few seconds and then the laptop will become dead quiet. It is so quiet that it even takes some effort to hear the hard drive. Only after a long period of use does the fan turn back on for a while. The battery life is what I had expected for a Centrino-type notebook. The advertised 7 hours is an overestimation that is only feasible if you plan on just doing word processing. Otherwise, my typical use of using the wireless network to browse the Internet with occasional word processing led to a more realistic 4 hours of typical use.
The software package included in this notebook varies according to the software packages you order with the notebook. Nevertheless, the notebook does have the necessary software for you to get you up and running. Unlike other manufactures, there isn't really any unnecessary software that is provided just to make you think you're getting a better deal. This is a no frills package, that is fairly simple.
Conclusion
The Fujitsu Lifebook S7010 notebook is a notebook packed with the latest features such as Bluetooth, wireless technology, and even a fingerprint sensor. The performance of this notebook was above average. The only minor problem with this notebook is the lack of legacy ports. Unless you still rely on the use of older ports, this notebook may not be for you. Otherwise, if you are looking for a slim, small notebook which is packed with performance, then this is for you. This notebook is very easy to carry around and use all the time, which is the advantage over larger notebooks.
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