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| Fujitsu LifeBook T4215 Tablet PC Review |
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Today we’re looking at a Tablet PC from Fujitsu, the LifeBook T4215, one of the fastest and best featured tablet
PC’s we’ve seen on the market to date. Priced at around AU$3,300 in online stores, it’s certainly not aimed at the budget end of the market, but is it value for money?
We’ll kick off with the specifications of the T4215:
- Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU
- 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM, 667Mhz
- 120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
- Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+/-R/RW/RAM)
- 12.1” TFT Active Screen (1024x768)
- Integrated Intel Graphics
- Built-In Card Reader (SD, Memory Stick)
- Bluetooth
- Fingerprint Reader
- Gigabit Ethernet, 56k Modem, 802.11g 54Mb/s Wireless
- Weight: 1.98Kg
As you can see from the basic specs listed above, the T4215 includes all the speed, RAM, Hard Drive space and connectivity you’d expect in a high end notebook or tablet, so there’s little need to add on any additional upgrades when making your purchase. If you really want to though, the T4215 will take up to 4GB of RAM, but you would need to replace the existing 2 x 1GB sticks that are already present inside, so it’d be quite a costly upgrade, and 2GB SODIMM chips don’t come cheap.
The T4215 is classed as a ‘convertible’ form factor, meaning it can be used as either a normal notebook PC, or flip the screen over and use it as a tablet PC. Fujitsu do make a number of ‘slate’ form factor Tablets, which have no keyboard and can only be used in Tablet mode, but the T4215 gives the best of both worlds, albeit suffering a small weight disadvantage over its slate brothers.
The Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 at the heart of the T4215 sure gets this thing up and running, coupled with the 2GB RAM and Serial ATA Hard Drive, even your more intensive applications will be open in a heartbeat and run smoothly all day. The T4215 gets a score of 3470 in PCMark05, compare this to a 1.86Ghz PM-740 with 1.5GB of RAM that I’m using right now that only gets a score of 2336, the T4215 certainly has some power. Excelling particularly in compression and encryption tests, as well as web page rendering, which shows the CPU and file system is light years ahead of the old technology in my current notebook.
The 3D performance though is almost non-existent, using integrated Intel Graphics this is certainly no games machine, and won’t be running Aero under Vista. 2D Performance is reasonable, but certainly not brilliant by any means, but good graphics performance is just not what a tablet PC is all about, it’s all about the screen...
The T4215 uses a 12.1” TFT Screen at a resolution of 1024 x 768, which can be a bit limiting with some applications and web pages, but keeps everything at a readable size on the rather small screen.
Turn the screen on its hinge and fold it back and we get to the interesting part, it is no longer just another notebook, it’s now a Tablet PC.
The included stylus pen is comfortable and not as thick as many other brands, due to it not requiring a battery. The T4215’s screen uses technology from Wacom (well known for their graphics tablets) for a battery-less stylus operation, while still giving you all the features of competing brands and more, such as pressure sensitivity, reversible operation (use the top of the pen as an eraser) and two buttons on the side of the pen for left and right click, tapping the screen will still give you a single left mouse click.
As there are less electrical components inside the pen than most other brands, there are fewer things to go wrong and cause you to either send it back for warranty or shell out big bucks for a new stylus pen. So many tablets I’ve used in the past have had their pens stop working, and if they’re out of warranty can cost several hundred dollars for a replacement.
The operation of the stylus on the T4215 is extremely accurate, there’s no lag when performing fast movements, and always clicks properly when you tap the screen, a very nice surprise compared to others I’ve used in the past, and also considering this stylus doesn’t use a battery like most others it’s even more impressive.
Around the outside of the screen are 5 hotkeys to help you perform certain functions whilst in tablet mode, two that double as shortcut keys and scroll keys, one to change the orientation of the screen, one to bring up a Fujitsu settings menu and toggle the other shortcut keys, as well as an ‘alt’ key. These really come in handy with the absence of a keyboard.
Also around the screen is a small LCD status panel, to give you the status of your battery, wireless connection, hard disk activity, caps lock etc. All contained in one small panel rather than having 10 different lights at the top of your keyboard, which wouldn’t be much use on a tablet PC anyway.
Secure Digital and memory stick card readers are becoming common in notebooks nowadays and the T4215 is no exception, with the card reader given a prominent and easy to access position in the front and centre of the notebook. There are only 3 USB ports, but they are positioned in different places around the body, giving easy access no matter what mode or position you have the screen in. The modem, network and VGA ports are secluded behind rubber shields to give the body of the T4215 a clean, uncluttered appearance.
Security features are abundant on the T4215 with the user able to use built-in BIOS locks, such as BIOS passwords, boot passwords and hard drive lockout passwords. A fingerprint reader is included to lock your windows system, though windows will still let you in with just a password, so it’s more a gimmick than anything else. The fingerprint reader does double as a scroll wheel, which is handy when in tablet mode. A smartcard slot is also included as a security feature, however no software is included to control it, a bit of a strange move on Fujitsu’s part. Two Kensington security lock holes are also included to chain the system down to a desk if that strikes your fancy.
Conclusion:
Overall this is a very fast, feature packed notebook/tablet PC with an excellent screen and stylus setup. The model we tested had Windows XP Tablet Edition, but Vista Business or Home Premium is available as a no-cost alternative. The only downside to this model is the price, RRP is AU$3700, but they sell online for AU$3270 at the time of writing this review, which is a lot of money, but if you’re looking for a high-end tablet PC, I’d recommend you thoroughly consider the LifeBook T4215.
Pros:
- Fast CPU
- Lots of RAM as standard (2GB)
- Very bright screen
- Good sound
- Good battery life (up to 4.5 Hours)
- Stylus is battery-free, very responsive and accurate
- Lots of included data security features
- Full size laptop keyboard and touchpad
Cons:
- Rather expensive
- Only 3 USB Ports
- No FireWire port
- Poor 3D performance
OzHardware Rating: 8/10
This product can be purchased online at www.techbuy.com.au (Direct Link)
