Just got the laptop these are my initial thoughts about it... will be comparing to Acer 3201XCi that's being returned...
Build Quality & Design
Of all the laptops I've owned (Compal, Asus or even Acer) this one definetely feels like a high quality notebook. Lid and area around small LCD display is made out of magnesium alloy. Palm wrest seems to be high quality smooth plastic. Bottom is rough plastic and some parts of it have soft material (?). Everything is nice and neat. The only downside is bright blue light that you can see through keyboard.
Screen
No dead pixels. No need for mirror because I see my reflection when the screen is black. Beautiful screen! After looking for a few mins at it, Acer's screen doesn't look impressive at all.
Keyboard & Touchpad
Love the keyboard. Does not feel cheap like Acer and does not make springing sound. Very silent and no missing keystrokes. (can't believe Acer would make such a crappy keyboard on Travelmate 3201XCi)
Noise
I am very critical when it come to noise, so I'll probably spend most of the time testing the noise levels of this notebook.
The DVD/CD-RW sounds loud when in use, but I won't be using it that much, only need it to install software. There is a fan on this laptop and it is located also on the left hand side. It turns on when computer boots and also when I install new software, but it's not as loud as Acer's fan. So far it has not turned on while surfing the net or idling. Perfect!
Heat
It does get warm at the bottom, but it does not make you uncomfortable
Battery life
4 hours of battery life for normal use with low brightness.
3 hours at high brightness (you will use this only during a sunny day)
2.5 hours for playing DVDs
Size & Weight
It's amazing how light this thing is. I believe there is one pound difference between 3201XCi & S6231, but it feels much lighter. I am glad that Fujitsu also included weight saver unlike Acer, so it will make it even lighter.
Sorry No pics for now.
Pros
Neutral
Cons
Conclusion:
I was reading review about this laptop from a guy in notebookreviews and at first I thought he was too biased about it, but now I have it myself and it's really hard to find anything wrong with this laptop besides lack of dedicated graphics card & bluetooth. Despite that it is a keeper for me until I see the similar laptop with widescreen and better graphics card inside. This one I would give 9/10 stars!
Build Quality & Design
Of all the laptops I've owned (Compal, Asus or even Acer) this one definetely feels like a high quality notebook. Lid and area around small LCD display is made out of magnesium alloy. Palm wrest seems to be high quality smooth plastic. Bottom is rough plastic and some parts of it have soft material (?). Everything is nice and neat. The only downside is bright blue light that you can see through keyboard.
Screen
No dead pixels. No need for mirror because I see my reflection when the screen is black. Beautiful screen! After looking for a few mins at it, Acer's screen doesn't look impressive at all.
Keyboard & Touchpad
Love the keyboard. Does not feel cheap like Acer and does not make springing sound. Very silent and no missing keystrokes. (can't believe Acer would make such a crappy keyboard on Travelmate 3201XCi)
Noise
I am very critical when it come to noise, so I'll probably spend most of the time testing the noise levels of this notebook.
The DVD/CD-RW sounds loud when in use, but I won't be using it that much, only need it to install software. There is a fan on this laptop and it is located also on the left hand side. It turns on when computer boots and also when I install new software, but it's not as loud as Acer's fan. So far it has not turned on while surfing the net or idling. Perfect!
Heat
It does get warm at the bottom, but it does not make you uncomfortable
Battery life
4 hours of battery life for normal use with low brightness.
3 hours at high brightness (you will use this only during a sunny day)
2.5 hours for playing DVDs
Size & Weight
It's amazing how light this thing is. I believe there is one pound difference between 3201XCi & S6231, but it feels much lighter. I am glad that Fujitsu also included weight saver unlike Acer, so it will make it even lighter.
Sorry No pics for now.
Pros
- Great build quality, feels like a high quality notebook and no flex whatsoever
- Keyboard is very resposive (world of difference from Acer's keyboard)
- Laptop is silent for normal use, but even if the fan turns on under heavy use it's still not loud
- Amazing screen. Very bright and you will be able to use it outdoors! Resolution is perfect for 13.3 and personally, I wouldn't want it to be higher. Horizontal angles are good, vertical is still ok.
- Does not get nearly as warm as the notebooks I've owned, probably due to lack of dedicated graphics card.
- Good battery life (normal use low brightness 4.15 hours; normal use high brightness about 3 hours)
Neutral
- The power blue light is a little too bright that you can even see it through keyboard.
- Useless LCD status panel, you have to lean forward to be able to look at it and in the dark forget that it even exist because you won't see anything
- Speakers are pretty weak, worse then the ones that most laptops have
Cons
- 4200 RPM Hard Drive as configured is slow
- No bluetooth
Conclusion:
I was reading review about this laptop from a guy in notebookreviews and at first I thought he was too biased about it, but now I have it myself and it's really hard to find anything wrong with this laptop besides lack of dedicated graphics card & bluetooth. Despite that it is a keeper for me until I see the similar laptop with widescreen and better graphics card inside. This one I would give 9/10 stars!
Too bad that brightness levels are more limitted on both laptops I tried Acer & Fujitsu, you cannot go as low as on Asus.
