Hi All,
This will be a staggered post. I will be describing all sides of the process for any potential buyers... unbiased pros and cons in thanks to all the help I got from everyone on these forums when picking out a machine.
Requirements:
As light and tiny a laptop possible that would still be capable of running basic 2d graphic applications (specifically Photoshop and Illustrator). Wide screen with excellent viewing capabilities, dual monitor support, dvd-rom/cdrw, and as many expansion options as possible.
Final Runners:
Sony Viao and the Fujitsu P7010.
Winner:
Fujitsu P7010A-2
- after a lot of reviews it seemed that this one would have a slightly better screen, and I read good things about the company, I read a mixed reviews on Sony
Buying the System:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Pros:
- difficult to find a retailer in Canada. There were 5 official small shops in town capable of selling the system, 4 of them were sketchy or overpriced. However I found an excellent little shop capable of distributing it. Gave me more than $100 under its competition, got the system to me in 1 day with the upgrades I requested, and is well reputed with the BBB (very clean shop thats apparently been around a long time too, not so common these days... :P) The company was Vancomp, Vancouver, Canada for anyone interested.
- I called Fujitsu Canada they were extremely helpful in helping me find the above retailers. So while they may not be the most widely distributed they seem genuinely interested in selling you their systems. The guy I got on the phone wasn't even a sales rep, but he took 15 minutes out of his day to help me out... top marks!
- $100 mail-in rebate (never hurts!
)
Cons:
- fujitsu web site needs a little work (at least the Canadian one does)... filtering through it for information is a bit tricky... the reason I called them directly
- Taxes... :P
Comments: As I said the shop I bought it off was excellent so a lot of the pluses for the purchasing of the system should be associated with them. Nevertheless, a good overall experience.
Delivery
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Pros:
First impression. This is the lightest box ever!... did they forget to give me the laptop?
Second impression. How come the accessory box weights more then my laptop? :P
- the system comes packaged in a pretty small box... looked like it'd been dropped along the way (small denting on the corners of the box) but the system was fine... it was held up by styrofoam... and there was a thin cushion between the screen and keyboard... all wrapped up in plastic...
Cons:
- packaging was just that... adequate... i've seen much better package jobs in the past... but no damage done... thats fine by me...
Comments:
- comes with a hundred or so page manual... read through it quickly, covers everything critical... its not robust, but addresses everything it should i think... particularly the peculiar features of the system such as the fingerprinting technology
- all cables and the like come with it... so no need to go out and buy anything extra
The System
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
First Impression: This machine is nuts! It is PACKED with addons. There is not a single side of the machine that you can't stick something in.
Second Impression: NO DEAD PIXELS... woot!
The specs:
- Intel® Pentium® M processor Ultra Low Voltage 733 (1.10 GHz)
- 2 MB on-die L2 cache
- 10.6" wide-format Crystal View XGA LCD
- 768 MB micro DIMM DDR333
- 40 GB 4,200 rpm Shockmounted
- Intel 855GME Extreme Graphics 2
- Internal display: 1,280 x 768 resolution, 16M colours
- External monitor: 1,600 x 1,200 resolution, 16M colours
- Dual support for external monitor and internal display
- Realtek ALC203 with 16-bit stereo audio
- Optical Digital Out (SPDIF)
- Headphone and microphone jacks
- Dolby® Headphone Utility
- Modular DVD/CD-RW combo drive
- Integrated Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 BG Wi-Fi® Certified 802.11b/g WPA
- Multinational5 56K6 V.90 modem and 10/100 Base-TX Ethernet
- Touchpad with scroll button
- 82-key keyboard with 18 mm key pitch and 2 mm key stroke
- AuthenTec fingerprint slide sensor (AES2501) with TruePrint Technology
- Two USB 2.0
- S-Video
- VGA
- Modem (RJ-11)
- Gigabit LAN (RJ-45)
- IEEE 1394 (4-pin)
- Type I or Type II (one slot) 32-bit PC CardBus architecture
- Memory Stick®, Memory Stick PRO, and Secure Digital (SD) Card
- Compact Flash card
- Lithium ion battery
- 10.27" x 7.83" x 1.26"/1.38"
- 3.3 lbs. with standard high-capacity battery and DVD/CD-RW combo drive
Spec Comments:
- Screen is crystal clear when looking nearly horizontal to the screen... so angle of viewing is essentially a mute point, very nice surprise... the glare is as suggested much less then the XBrite technology, but has very comparible clarity
- The dual monitor capabilities didn't work at first... I had to reinstall the graphic drivers and then get into them in an odd way. They work wonderfully now.
- A note on the graphics card... it lists UP TO 64 Megs... its actually 32 Megs, with RAM offloading... just so you know... it seems to run fine... but don't think its 64 Megs... :P
- System speed is adequate so far, very quick boot up sequence. It does time out a bit on occasion I'm going to look into the spin down of the hd later tonight to see if this can eradicate the problem. Only problem I have so far. All hardware seems to be running excellent, and its very easy to read even at maximum resolution.
- touchpad scrolling feature is a bit quick for my taste, but works well.
- I ran a full dvd off of it (Bad Boys II)... the battery actually lasted for it, died shortly afterwards... which was a pleasant surprise especially since I started it at 91%... I hope this is consistant. Battery life for normal use for myself seems to be 5 hours or so. Much longer then expected, however I haven't taxed the system too much yet.
- network card work excellent... I bought this model specifically because it has the Intel NIC, the other one offered has a history of being troublesome... network was up instantly.
- another nice surprise... 10 networks within range! oh the temptation... lol... i didn't realize it would have the range for that... :P
Future Editions:
- Testing of 2D Graphic Applications (Photoshop and Illustrator), I'll be running multiple 30 meg files through it... and cranking the filters to see where it breaks (if it does)
- I'll also be testing World of Warcraft and Halflife 2 on it in a bit. Not to actually use, but just out of curiousity and to see how it holds up. Pretty sure they're be fine, but we'll see...
Troubleshooting:
Dual Monitor Support:
Note that the laptop only supports VGA, so an adapter is necessary for DVI inputs.
If you go into display properties -> settings you will have to option to "extend the desktop to this monitor"... with the laptop these setting wouldn't stick... I spoke with technical support, after updating the drivers, you need to access the "Intel Extreme Graphics 2" tab under "Advanced" in the display properties -> settings area. HOWEVER, I could not access this tab by hitting "Advanced"... if you doubleclick the primary monitor icon in the display properties -> settings area it will load up the Advanced options with the appropriate tab visible. Extending the desktop in this area will lock. An additional bonus with this laptop is there are function keys to activate dual monitor, single monitor, or laptop only mode so you should only have to do this once.
Technical Support:
Very patient technical support staff at Fujitsu, didn't even sound grumpy when I was taking my sweet ass time. They also answered the phone very quickly in the middle of the day. Plus they fixed the problem methodically which was a nice change from the "try the quickest solution first, then try the more complicated ones, and finally blame it on something/someone else" I usually get with other companies.
Final Comments:
Final comments... this laptop... when all is said and done... owns... the little screen is clearer then my desktop system which is a much better system... the system is virtually silent, seems to run a long time... and seems to meet all the criteria I needed it for... I also understand its pretty decent with other things such as games (from reading other threads), but since thats not its intended purpose I can't review that just yet... the addons are nuts, and its easy as hell to hot or cold swap the modular drives... If I can correct the HD problem I'll give this an 11 out of 10 rating... at the moment I'd say 9.5 out of 10... a very very pleasing experience... and one of the best buys I've made in a long time...
Thanks once again for everyone's help... I'll update this in a few days when I have a chance to test it out a little more thoroughly...
Cheers,
Owen
This will be a staggered post. I will be describing all sides of the process for any potential buyers... unbiased pros and cons in thanks to all the help I got from everyone on these forums when picking out a machine.
Requirements:
As light and tiny a laptop possible that would still be capable of running basic 2d graphic applications (specifically Photoshop and Illustrator). Wide screen with excellent viewing capabilities, dual monitor support, dvd-rom/cdrw, and as many expansion options as possible.
Final Runners:
Sony Viao and the Fujitsu P7010.
Winner:
Fujitsu P7010A-2
- after a lot of reviews it seemed that this one would have a slightly better screen, and I read good things about the company, I read a mixed reviews on Sony
Buying the System:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Pros:
- difficult to find a retailer in Canada. There were 5 official small shops in town capable of selling the system, 4 of them were sketchy or overpriced. However I found an excellent little shop capable of distributing it. Gave me more than $100 under its competition, got the system to me in 1 day with the upgrades I requested, and is well reputed with the BBB (very clean shop thats apparently been around a long time too, not so common these days... :P) The company was Vancomp, Vancouver, Canada for anyone interested.
- I called Fujitsu Canada they were extremely helpful in helping me find the above retailers. So while they may not be the most widely distributed they seem genuinely interested in selling you their systems. The guy I got on the phone wasn't even a sales rep, but he took 15 minutes out of his day to help me out... top marks!
- $100 mail-in rebate (never hurts!
)Cons:
- fujitsu web site needs a little work (at least the Canadian one does)... filtering through it for information is a bit tricky... the reason I called them directly
- Taxes... :P
Comments: As I said the shop I bought it off was excellent so a lot of the pluses for the purchasing of the system should be associated with them. Nevertheless, a good overall experience.
Delivery
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Pros:
First impression. This is the lightest box ever!... did they forget to give me the laptop?
Second impression. How come the accessory box weights more then my laptop? :P
- the system comes packaged in a pretty small box... looked like it'd been dropped along the way (small denting on the corners of the box) but the system was fine... it was held up by styrofoam... and there was a thin cushion between the screen and keyboard... all wrapped up in plastic...
Cons:
- packaging was just that... adequate... i've seen much better package jobs in the past... but no damage done... thats fine by me...
Comments:
- comes with a hundred or so page manual... read through it quickly, covers everything critical... its not robust, but addresses everything it should i think... particularly the peculiar features of the system such as the fingerprinting technology
- all cables and the like come with it... so no need to go out and buy anything extra
The System
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
First Impression: This machine is nuts! It is PACKED with addons. There is not a single side of the machine that you can't stick something in.
Second Impression: NO DEAD PIXELS... woot!
The specs:
- Intel® Pentium® M processor Ultra Low Voltage 733 (1.10 GHz)
- 2 MB on-die L2 cache
- 10.6" wide-format Crystal View XGA LCD
- 768 MB micro DIMM DDR333
- 40 GB 4,200 rpm Shockmounted
- Intel 855GME Extreme Graphics 2
- Internal display: 1,280 x 768 resolution, 16M colours
- External monitor: 1,600 x 1,200 resolution, 16M colours
- Dual support for external monitor and internal display
- Realtek ALC203 with 16-bit stereo audio
- Optical Digital Out (SPDIF)
- Headphone and microphone jacks
- Dolby® Headphone Utility
- Modular DVD/CD-RW combo drive
- Integrated Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 BG Wi-Fi® Certified 802.11b/g WPA
- Multinational5 56K6 V.90 modem and 10/100 Base-TX Ethernet
- Touchpad with scroll button
- 82-key keyboard with 18 mm key pitch and 2 mm key stroke
- AuthenTec fingerprint slide sensor (AES2501) with TruePrint Technology
- Two USB 2.0
- S-Video
- VGA
- Modem (RJ-11)
- Gigabit LAN (RJ-45)
- IEEE 1394 (4-pin)
- Type I or Type II (one slot) 32-bit PC CardBus architecture
- Memory Stick®, Memory Stick PRO, and Secure Digital (SD) Card
- Compact Flash card
- Lithium ion battery
- 10.27" x 7.83" x 1.26"/1.38"
- 3.3 lbs. with standard high-capacity battery and DVD/CD-RW combo drive
Spec Comments:
- Screen is crystal clear when looking nearly horizontal to the screen... so angle of viewing is essentially a mute point, very nice surprise... the glare is as suggested much less then the XBrite technology, but has very comparible clarity
- The dual monitor capabilities didn't work at first... I had to reinstall the graphic drivers and then get into them in an odd way. They work wonderfully now.
- A note on the graphics card... it lists UP TO 64 Megs... its actually 32 Megs, with RAM offloading... just so you know... it seems to run fine... but don't think its 64 Megs... :P
- System speed is adequate so far, very quick boot up sequence. It does time out a bit on occasion I'm going to look into the spin down of the hd later tonight to see if this can eradicate the problem. Only problem I have so far. All hardware seems to be running excellent, and its very easy to read even at maximum resolution.
- touchpad scrolling feature is a bit quick for my taste, but works well.
- I ran a full dvd off of it (Bad Boys II)... the battery actually lasted for it, died shortly afterwards... which was a pleasant surprise especially since I started it at 91%... I hope this is consistant. Battery life for normal use for myself seems to be 5 hours or so. Much longer then expected, however I haven't taxed the system too much yet.
- network card work excellent... I bought this model specifically because it has the Intel NIC, the other one offered has a history of being troublesome... network was up instantly.
- another nice surprise... 10 networks within range! oh the temptation... lol... i didn't realize it would have the range for that... :P
Future Editions:
- Testing of 2D Graphic Applications (Photoshop and Illustrator), I'll be running multiple 30 meg files through it... and cranking the filters to see where it breaks (if it does)
- I'll also be testing World of Warcraft and Halflife 2 on it in a bit. Not to actually use, but just out of curiousity and to see how it holds up. Pretty sure they're be fine, but we'll see...
Troubleshooting:
Dual Monitor Support:
Note that the laptop only supports VGA, so an adapter is necessary for DVI inputs.
If you go into display properties -> settings you will have to option to "extend the desktop to this monitor"... with the laptop these setting wouldn't stick... I spoke with technical support, after updating the drivers, you need to access the "Intel Extreme Graphics 2" tab under "Advanced" in the display properties -> settings area. HOWEVER, I could not access this tab by hitting "Advanced"... if you doubleclick the primary monitor icon in the display properties -> settings area it will load up the Advanced options with the appropriate tab visible. Extending the desktop in this area will lock. An additional bonus with this laptop is there are function keys to activate dual monitor, single monitor, or laptop only mode so you should only have to do this once.
Technical Support:
Very patient technical support staff at Fujitsu, didn't even sound grumpy when I was taking my sweet ass time. They also answered the phone very quickly in the middle of the day. Plus they fixed the problem methodically which was a nice change from the "try the quickest solution first, then try the more complicated ones, and finally blame it on something/someone else" I usually get with other companies.
Final Comments:
Final comments... this laptop... when all is said and done... owns... the little screen is clearer then my desktop system which is a much better system... the system is virtually silent, seems to run a long time... and seems to meet all the criteria I needed it for... I also understand its pretty decent with other things such as games (from reading other threads), but since thats not its intended purpose I can't review that just yet... the addons are nuts, and its easy as hell to hot or cold swap the modular drives... If I can correct the HD problem I'll give this an 11 out of 10 rating... at the moment I'd say 9.5 out of 10... a very very pleasing experience... and one of the best buys I've made in a long time...
Thanks once again for everyone's help... I'll update this in a few days when I have a chance to test it out a little more thoroughly...
Cheers,
Owen
