Sizing Up Fujitsu's LifeBook P Laptop
When it comes to notebook computers, size really does matter and so does weight. I'm not into bodybuilding, so I want the lightest PC I can carry, but I also want it to have a decent keyboard, a reasonable-size screen and the ability to run all the software I need.
These days traveling is hard enough without having to be burdened with an extra 8 pounds of weight. And, if you like to have your PC with you at all times, you want something that fits easily into your carrying case.
With that in mind, I was excited when I unpacked the Fujitsu LifeBook P Series. This ultra-light notebook PC weighs only 3.4 pounds and measures 10.6 inches by 7 inches by 1.6 inches. Yet it is loaded with features.
Unlike many other ultra-light systems, this is a "two spindle" PC, meaning that it has a built-in CD-ROM drive in addition to a hard drive. Actually, it has something better than a CD-ROM. It comes standard with a built-in DVD/CD-RW combo drive that can be used to watch movies and copy CDs as well as to read audio and PC CDs.
All models have a 20 gigabyte hard drive and a 10.6-inch screen as well as a modem, an Ethernet port to connect to a local area network and a 1394 or "FireWire" card to connect to a digital video camera or an external storage device.
For $1,499 you get a system equipped with Windows XP Home Edition and 128 megabytes of memory. For $1,699 you get Windows 2000 and 256 megabytes of memory. For $1,799 you also get a built-in 802.11b wireless LAN adapter. To make that work you need a wireless base station in your home or office, or you can use the machine in a public place that has 802.11b access, which you can increasingly find at airports, hotels and coffee shops, thanks to services like Wayport that charge for public wireless access by the day or the month.
The floppy disk drive is external, plugging into one of the machine's two USB ports.
The P series doesn't have an "Intel Inside" sticker. It's powered by an 800 megahertz Transmeta Crusoe processor. Transmeta's CPUs are more energy-efficient than chips from Intel and AMD, which led Fujitsu to claim that the battery can last up to seven hours. The company is quick to disclose, however, that "actual battery life will vary based on screen brightness, applications used, features selected" and so on.
I'm glad they had that disclosure because the battery on my unit didn't last nearly seven hours, especially when I was using the machine to watch a DVD as I winged my way from California to Florida. I started with a fresh battery as I sat down to watch a two-hour movie, but long before the exciting climax, the battery died, forcing me to finish watching when I got to my hotel room, where I could plug into an outlet.
I didn't even try to watch a movie on the way home, but the fresh battery died somewhere between Palm Beach, Florida, and Houston as I was working in Microsoft Word. Once again, the battery delivered far fewer than seven hours.
To be fair, I had the standard battery. Fujitsu also offers a high-capacity one as well as a way to have two batteries connected at once.
Before you buy any ultra-light machine, be sure to check out the screen and the keyboard. Both are smaller than usual, which may or may not be a problem depending on your eye sight, the size of your hands and your typing skills.
Even though I have relatively small hands, I'm a pretty fast typist, so I was less than thrilled by the smaller-than-normal keyboard. People who hunt and peck won't even notice the difference, and even I was able to get used to it after awhile. I didn't think the smaller screen would bother me, but it did. The movie looked fine on the small screen, but the credits were a bit hard to read.
The system performance -- mostly using Microsoft Office -- was a bit sluggish but acceptable. I wouldn't recommend it for very CPU-intensive tasks like video editing, despite the 1394 port that makes it easy to connect a digital video camera.
The rest of the news about the LifeBook P series is all good. Carrying around a machine that small is truly delightful compared to lugging a full-sized notebook PC. It's so small and light that you can take it anywhere without having to worry about it burdening you as you go about your day. It also has some nice touches like decent audio sound and dedicated buttons for checking e-mail or launching up to two of your favorite applications. Some people prefer electronic touch pads, but I'm glad that Fujitsu used the same type of pointing device as IBM and Toshiba.
The main thing I liked about the machine is the fact that it's small and light yet the DVD/CD-RW drive is built in. I didn't have to worry about carrying a separate drive or expansion chassis or to hunt around for external devices when it came time to install software or to watch a DVD.
A syndicated technology columnist for nearly two decades, Larry Magid serves as on air Technology Analyst for CBS Radio News. His technology reports can be heard several times a week on the CBS Radio Network. Magid is the author of several books including "The Little PC Book." Got a PC question? Visit www.PCAnswer.com.