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| Fujitsu LifeBook Q2010 Ultra Portable Notebook Review |
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We’re having a look today at the LifeBook Q series of
ultra-portable notebooks from Fujitsu. The specific model we’ve been given is the Q2010, a very stylish example, and considering its size, jam packed with features.
The Q2010’s Main Specs
· Intel Centrino Core Solo U1400 (1.2Ghz ULV, 2MB Cache, 533Mhz FSB)
· 12.1” Wide Superfine WXGA TFT (1280x800 Pixels)
· 1GB 533Mhz DDR2 RAM
· 80GB ATA-100 HDD
· Dual Layer DVD-R/RW/RAM Drive (On docking station)
· Bluetooth v2.0
· Intel 802.11g 54MB/s Wireless Ethernet Adapter
· High-Definition Audio, with built-in stereo speakers and dual digital array microphone
· Fingerprint Sensor
· 3-cell Li-Ion Battery (1150mAh) for 1.7Hours Life, AND 6-cell Li-Ion Battery (5200mAh) for up to 7 hours life.
· Ports – 2x USB, Firewire, Headphone, Mic, SD Card Reader, Type-II PC Card Slot, Dongle port for RJ45 and External VGA + (On docking station – RJ45, VGA, 4x USB, Headphone/Mic)
· 2 Year Pickup and Return Warranty, first year with international coverage.
· Windows XP or Vista Capable
This is just the main rundown, Fujitsu have the specs in far more detail on their website here.
The Q2010 is certainly a good looking, well designed notebook, with a light on dark grey colour scheme, that looks a lot more chic than many other notebooks on the market today. The Q2010 has a side-on profile of just 19.9mm, and weighs in at just on 1Kg – this is what they’re talking about when they say ‘Ultra-Portable’.
The Q2010 Side Profile
The Q2010 is bundled with a docking station, which is necessary at times, because in the notebook itself there is no optical drive to load your software or play movies, so you must attach it to the docking station for that purpose.
The docking station can also be used as a charging base, or the charger can be plugged into the notebook itself if you’re out and about and running low on juice. The docking station is also recessed at the rear to accommodate the additional large capacity battery that is included as standard with the Q2010. It may seem an obvious inclusion, but we’ve seen worse omissions in the past with other notebooks.
The docking station also includes a few ports that the notebook unit does not, such as a network port and an external VGA port for running dual screens or running a projector. VGA and network connections are available without using the docking station through an included dongle that has both ports. Extra USB ports are also included on the docking station. The docking station also includes four extra USB ports.
The omissions of the optical drive and VGA/network ports from the main unit are made to keep the notebook as small, light and power friendly as possible. Even its CPU is a ULV (ultra low voltage) model, running at just 1.2Ghz to reduce power consumption. With the standard battery Fujitsu claims it will last for 1.7 hours, and up to 7 hours with the high capacity battery, but if you light have your screen brightness all the way up, take a bit off both these figures.
Unfortunately having such low Power consumption means it suffers in the performance side of things, meaning it’s certainly not going to challenge your desktop for speed, but if you’re going to buy a tiny, ultra portable notebook such as the Q2010, or anything else similar for that matter, that’s the sacrifice you have to make.
Whilst this notebook is not going to be ideal to play the latest 3D games or render cinema quality animation, it still holds its own very well when running normal windows applications. The inclusion of 1GB of DDR2 RAM as standard helps IE and Firefox windows open very quickly and let you surf the internet without even the most detailed web pages lagging behind. Office applications, presentations, DVDs, Xvid files and so on, all run flawlessly, so how much more power do you really need?
There’s no modem built in the Q2010, and I don’t mind that at all... dial-up internet is all but dead, it was recently only useful for connecting when you’re out on the road, and even then usually only when you’re stopped at your hotel or someone else’s office etc. But now, any decent hotel you stay at will have either a network port for you to connect to or even better, a wireless broadband service, which most office workplaces you might be visiting will have as well, so you can use the Q2010’s built-in Intel Wireless adapter instead. So why on earth would you still need a dial up connection?
Bluetooth is built in to the Q2010, a good thing too, because if you’re doing a presentation and don’t have at least 3 Bluetooth accessories hanging off various parts of your body, your clients just aren’t going to respect you are they? But seriously, it is a valuable inclusion, making it easier to interface with your PDA, mobile, or even just your new wireless Bluetooth mouse.
Even with its small size, the Q2010 still incorporates a standard (for notebooks) 84-key keyboard, and a touchpad of a useable size. A fingerprint reader is located below the touchpad, useful for securing your laptop and also doubles as a window scroller (like the scroll wheel on a mouse). 4 Hot keys are included to the left of the main keyboard, which by default are set to Calculator, Notepad, Internet Browser and Email, but they can be changed to open any program you choose.
The Q2010's Hotkeys
The build quality of the notebook is excellent, despite its small stature and light weight, it has a very solid feel, most likely due to its magnesium housing, which makes it strong but keeps the weight down. A good test of notebook quality is how well their screens fold up and down. When I lift up the screen on my LG LS70 notebook, it can move freely forwards and backwards up to an inch, but with the Fujitsu Q2010 it is solid, there is no free play at all, which inspires confidence.
As with most brand name notebooks, the Q2010 has a large amount of software preinstalled from the factory, the list provided by Fujitsu includes:
Softex Omnipass, CyberLink PowerDVD, CyberLink PowerProducer, Roxio Digital Media SE, Roxio DLA, Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0, Fujitsu UpdateNavi, Fujitsu FlashAid, Fujitsu Hardware Diagnostic Tool, Fujitsu Display Manager, Sun Microsystems Java Runtime, IntelliSonic DXEC.02, 1 year Full Licensed Norman Virus Control with Sandbox Technology and Norman Personal Firewall, Acronis True Image 8.0 Personal Edition.So certainly a lot is included to add value to the notebook, which is good because with an RRP of AU$4299 (available online for around $3680), it’s certainly not cheap. As a general rule with notebooks, the smaller you go, the more you pay, and this one’s about as small as it gets while still remaining very functional, and not priced out of the market by any means when compared to similar sized and spec IBMs and HPs, it’s certainly a lot lighter than any of HP or IBM’s models as well.
Overall, a very small, good looking, well built and well featured notebook with lots of value added extras makes the Fujitsu Lifebook Q2010 one to keep in mind for your next notebook.
This product can be purchased online at www.techbuy.com.au
