Hands-on Review: Fujitsu LifeBook P1610

Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:44AM EST

See Comments (6)

I've been eyeing the Fujitsu LifeBook P1610 for some time now and was happy to review this nominee for our Last Gadget Standing competition. What do I like about it? Its portability. When I travel, I always take a laptop with me, and though the MacBook Pro is pretty light, it's just not light enough. I've considered buying one of those UMPCs currently drawing "ooh"s and "aaahh"s everywhere, but I prefer a physical keyboard. For this reason, I was attracted to the ultra-portable Fujitsu LifeBook P1610.

I would recommend this laptop to those who need to be connected, already have a computer, and travel frequently. The real challenge for me came when I left my personal laptop at home on a recent business trip to Vegas and packed the P1610 instead to test how well it met my needs. The keyboard is tiny, so I relied heavily on a stylus to navigate the web. I have small fingers, and even I had some trouble hitting the right keys. I'm not a fan of sensitive "cursor controls," so I utilized a wireless mouse while working. Since it's impossible to get this laptop at eye level when typing, I wasn't able to spend too much time working without getting a neck ache. This laptop is so small, it fits easily in an oversize handbag. I was able to whip it out at the airport to check email, surf the web, and go over hotel reservations. Going through airport security was a breeze, and working on the plane wasn't that bad. It also garnered a lot of attention from strangers.

Despite its small form factor, this 2.2-pound Core Solo tablet had an integrated 80GB hard drive, a super bright 8.9-inch LCD, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and loads of software, including a full version of Windows XP. Plenty of ports and card slots are available, including an SD memory slot, a PCMCIA slot, two USB drives, a VGA-out for a second monitor, and headphone and microphone jacks. Add an optional port replicator, and you got more plugs. You'll need an external DVD/CD combo drive to load software or watch movies on the small screen, which can be a hassle if you're traveling.

In a completely quiet room, I noticed the machine was a bit noisy and distracting at times. When rotating the screen, the picture automatically changes orientation making it easy to hold as a notebook, but you can view the screen in landscape or portrait mode if you wish. An onscreen keyboard also helps typing a quick URL or email if you don't feel like rotating the screen back around. Reviewers of the P1610 often complain about heating problems, but I think it stayed pretty cool when I used it for prolonged periods. Overall, I think most applications performed as expected.

Despite the minor complaints, I really liked this PC tablet, and if the price was right, I would go out and get one tomorrow. Unfortunately, I just can't justify paying even $1,600 (30GB model) for a second laptop.

What do you think? What keeps you from buying an ultra-portable laptop?

Related:

Hands-on Review: Fujitsu LifeBook Q2010
Hands-on Review: Fujitsu LifeBook N6420

Comments on Hands-on Review: Fujitsu LifeBook P1610

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  • 1 Posted by dentalalf on Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:39PM EST Report Abuse

    I think the form factor is phemomenal, and when you factor in Fujitsu's superb 24/7 tech support, and an average wait time of a minute or two, the price doesn't seem so high. The missing optical drive is a negative, but I don't really use one that often. AL

  • 2 Posted by brettmansdorf on Tue Jan 2, 2007 10:16PM EST Report Abuse

    Have the P1510 and with out a doubt - recommend it above and beyond all others. I've had my share of lightweights - and this is the key to success.

  • 3 Posted by bobschmerda on Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:46PM EST Report Abuse

    The swivel screen is still an issue for me. Call me a weenie, but I don't want to do-the-twist. When going to tablet mode, I'd rather do a slide-back (as in Acer), or a flip-back-over. Small size, however, could make this P1610 and easier sell for do-the-twist. I own the nicely engineered and reliable Gateway T/PC that is a do-the-twist. It's one of the biggest units for a swivel screen. I'm a one-motion-user in portable gear. Let me come out of notebook mode and into tablet mode, with one slide down of the screen over keyboard, or just flip the screen completely over the backside of the keyboard. I'd use a slide-back or flip-back-over design, 10X more than the swivel, do-the-twist. Another thing, the touchpad _has_ to come into these small tablets, somewhere, somehow. I'd even prefer touchpads on desktops. I only want to slide my right hand down, use touchpad, and get back onto the keyboard. How to do it on really small tablets? I'd make a touchpad, to pop out of the front of the keyboard. With a push in, like when you eject an SD card. Then when I'm done with the touchpad, just push it back into a locked position, like when a storage card is docked. Offer this in addition to the cursor eraser head, for when I don't have the space for the pop-out touchpad.

  • 4 Posted by da_pudge21 on Fri Mar 2, 2007 6:36PM EST Report Abuse

    i already have a mac and i dont think any type of PC can top a mac because of all the features and things that you could do with a mac... plus macs are more reliable and meet everyones needs..

  • 5 Posted by bodyspirit2000 on Sat May 26, 2007 8:09AM EDT Report Abuse

    Hi, hours later, just above, I was thinking that one can get HandWritRec out of this WunderKind. We might if we now (May '07) can down load Vista (home, business or pure) Premiun on it; for then the Tablet features would be available. Then a few routes can be taken. Use a pen mouse, like i-pen, if it is Vista-ready (it clealy, accord. to www.zyonshop.com is XP usable; but that might get one to use only the Tablet apps that have no Vista features: Journal XP, not Vista; OneNote XP, not the Vista version. Or V-pen (see pen-mouse.com, which is advertised as Vista-ready with 1000 dpi (i-pen has 800 dpi but software that is good only for XP)and can be used on a clipboard 5 feet away or the screen. Now, if Wacom's digitizer, which I have used on a full-fledged Tablet with the digitizer screen, not the LCD or Plastic of a pure Notebk, can be used on the Notebk screen [big if], [and not just on its digitized Tablet screen on the side (tied by Usb cable to the mother computer and throwing the result on Mommy's face)], then we get 3000+ dpi, and the best HWR. Else we may get truncated HWR, with just V-pen or i-pen, tho they claim great accuracy because of better HWR software than MS Tablet's. Then one can put on Phatware.com's Calligrapher products on P1610 (or even P1510?) and get pretty good results. Joe Send comments!!

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