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General Impressions of the Fujitsu Lifebook Q2010

So it's been about two months that I have had the Fujitsu Lifebook Q2010 notebook PC, and here is my report on how I like it.

Background

So I have this thing with notebook PCs where I believe that they go obsolete within 3 years, and I prefer to buy and sell my notes after 2 years in order to still get some value out of them. Of the last 3 notebooks that I have bought, they have all been Fujitsu, and it's mainly because I am very picky when it comes to choosing a notebook PC, and Fujitsu and Sony tend to be the two brands that come closest in my requirements.

My last notebook PC was the Fujitsu Lifebook P7010, and I had used it for about 18 months, so it was about time to look for another notebook PC. I wanted something comparable. What I normally use my note PCs for is just general work, so I don't need very fancy graphics cards, audio system, etc., as I have other machines that I can use for playing high-end games and watching videos, but I still require the notebook PCs to play video at a reasonable level, and I ocassionally would like to play casual games on them. So from a technical perspective, I do not really need a high-powered workstation, but just something that can access the Internet, run Microsoft Office, and maybe a few other things. Keeping that in mind, at this time, having a dual-core CPU didn't make sense, nor did having a high-powered GPU, so that basically eliminated a good 80% of the notebook PCs that are really meant to be general-purpose machines, and typically tend to be people's sole machine. I have desktops at home, so my use of the notebook PC is merely an extension of those PCs when I can't lug them around with me.

Where I get picky is on the brand, size and weight, and the screen resolution of the LCD panel. There are of course other factors, but these 3 are the most important.

Brand

In terms of brand, the two brands (now one brand) that I totally despise is/are HP and Compaq. I have had the worst experiences with both brands, and vowed that I never would ever buy either brand ever again, and also recommend friends not to buy these brands since they are by far the lousiest PCs ever. I like IBM notebook PCs, however, not that it has gone to Lenovo, I decided to wait a little and see how the Chinese company's brand name holds up. Yes, I know that most notebook PCs are manufactured in China nowadays, so I really have nothing to worry about, but kind of like how it used to be with Taiwan, it seems that the local Chinese brands don't care much about their own brand names, but if they are doing an OEM/ODM for a Japanese company, they spend a lot more effort in making sure that the quality control is better. That being said, I usually also rule out any Taiwanese branded PCs such as Asus, Sotec, and Acer, as well as GQ, another Chinese branded PC. I will still consider Sony, but I have noticed that their products have been getting progressively worse, and their price gets progressively more expensive. The only reason I still consider them as a choice is because they do build several PCs that are within my requirements, and as bad as experiences I have had with Sony PCs in the past, they were nothing in comparison to my experiences with HP/Compaq, that I can at least tolerate them to an extent. For Dell Computers, for their price and performance, they are about what I expect. Buy a cheaper one, and it won't be that great. Buy a more expensive one, and it will be better. Finally, the only two brands for note PCs that I hold in high regard would be Fujitsu and Toshiba. I have never had problems using either PC, however, Fujitsu usually has note PCs that are closer to my requirements. I typically do not consider Apple as a choice since all my PCs at home are Windows based, and although for the most part, everything should be compatible, in the case something turns out not quite right on the PC as it does on the Apple, I want to be able to completely blame Microsoft for the problem, rather than trying to figure out if Apple or Microsoft is at fault. Overall, I considered only 3 brands at the end: Fujitsu, Sony, and Toshiba.

Size and Weight

Since I take the note with me everywhere, I prefer it to be small and lightweight. Some people call these the ultra-portables, but to me, an ultra-portable would be the OQO, which was not what I was looking for. After travelling with my P7010 throughout Hawaii, Taiwan, and Boston, it was starting to get a bit heavy for me, despite its weight of 3.3lbs, added together with all the other things I needed to carry with it such as the power adapter, mouse, papers, and a heavy battery, those 3.3 lbs. really started to get very heavy on my shoulders. The Q2010 on the other hand, is 2.2 lbs., and it makes a whole world of difference in terms of how heavy my bag has become. I know it sounds like such a small difference, but taking into consideration the battery, power adapter, and everything else, it really does feel a lot lighter. (on the other hand, maybe I should get my head checked as this could all be just psychological) I also required the note PC to be relatively thin as I put other things into my bag other than just the note PC and its accessories, so the thinner it can be, the better it would be to reduce the bulkiness of the bag. Being that I want a note PC that is roughly 3 lbs. or below, this also really limits my options, and I came up with only 3 choices: the Fujitsu Q2010, the Sony TX Series, and the Toshiba R200 Protege. All 3 notes are under 3 lbs, have 12" screens or below, and are considered to be "thin and light" with a thickness of below 0.8".

Screen Resolution

The 3rd major feature for me when considering a notebook PC is the screen resolution. On the 10" screen of the P7010, it was able to achieve 1280x800 resolution, and it was also the first notebook PC for me that had a wide aspect ratio (16:9 aspect ratio). Ever since using the wide format, I have not been able to go back to the 4:3 standard resolution, and therefore, for this note PC, I also would only consider the wide screen formats. This automatically ruled out the Toshiba which only handled up to 1024x768 resolution in a standard aspect ratio. The Fujitsu Q2010 has a 1280x800 wide screen, while the Sony TX series has a 1366x768 wide screen. Both are looking pretty attractive to me. Although the Sony has a few more pixels, the Fujitsu is 0.56 lbs. lighter than the Sony.

Other Considerations

So now that I had narrowed down my choices down to two note PCs, I had to look into other factors. My basic rule of thumb is that the simpler the better. I don't need any of the extra bells and whistles such as media buttons to control the media player, or other quick buttons to launch applications, or other things that I never use. In terms of technical specs, both are pretty much the same with 1.2GHz Centrino processors, and Intel 945GMS graphics chipsets. I can configure either note PC to include the necessary amount of RAM and hard drive space. In essence, for all of the different tech specs, these two machines were virtually identical. The both had Ethernet, bluetooth, and wi-fi capabilities, as well as VGA out capabilities, and they both are Windows-Vista capable. Where Sony has a leg up on the Fujitsu is that it has a slightly higher resolution, and that it has an integrated optical drive, whereas the Fujitsu does not. Another thing about the Fujitsu is that it has a built-in SD card reader, but surprisingly, it does not support Memory Stick Duo as the P7010 had. Sony, obviously supports both. Sony also has an integrated antenna for wireless signals from Cingular or Sprint for those needing wireless connectivity. Fujitsu, on the other hand, is lighter than Sony, and is a lot simpler, in the sense that it has just a row of 4 action buttons that really do not get in the way, and doesn't have all the extra bells and whistles that come with the Sony which I liked. So basically, I was struggling to figure out which I wanted more. Sony was slightly more expensive, but came with slightly more things, so even on price, they were very evenly matched.

In the end, since both machines were nearly identical, I could only make my decision based on past performance. I simply have just had a better experience with Fujitsu in the past, and in this regard, this was the only reason that I decided to go with the Fujitsu Q2010. Also, I didn't see the need for the Cingular antenna since I am already on an "all-you-can-eat" plan with my current phone plan, so I could always hook up my phone to my PC and have the same experience. And with bluetooth, it makes it very easy to do this. Plus, my phone is HSDPA capable which would give me a faster connection compared to the GPRS/EDGE antenna that comes with the Sony. Ok, yes, I am trying to justify my purchase.... :D

Review

So it has been about a month since I have started using the Fujitsu Lifebook Q2010, and so far, the experience has been fairly positive. When I first took it out of the box, the first impression was "Wow! Damn! This thing is so thin!" It felt kind of weird to hold it at first because I am not used to a note PC being literally the thickness of an actual paper notebook. It also felt weird because it was lighter than a notebook PC, but a little too heavy for a paper notebook, so I was a bit confused to what I was actually holding. So I bought this note PC at full spec, which means that it came with:

Intel Core Solo Processor U1400 (1.2GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz Front Side Bus)
Intel 945GMS graphics chipset
1GB on-board DDR2 533MHz SDRAM
12.1" wide XGA TFT screen, LED backlit
80GB HDD
SigmaTel STAC9228 8-channel audio chipset
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
Integrated 802.11a/b/g WiFi
Integrated Bluetooth
2 USB ports
SD card slot
PCMCIA Type 1 slot
3-cell Lithium Ion cell standard battery
6-cell Lithium Ion cell High-capacity battery
Fingerprint reader
Glidepad
82-key keyboard

Design

I was fairly impressed by the design of the machine as you can tell with my first impression. It has a charcoal grey/black color scheme that gives it that executive look. The speaker is a panel at the top of the keyboard that looks really slick, and the "razor-thin" LCD panel is about the half the thickness of the base of the PC and looks very slick as well. The keyboard is easy to type on, and the four action buttons on the side are barely noticeable. The glidepad at the bottom of the keyboard is very easy to access and is easy to use simultaneously while my hands are still in position to type. What I really like is the fact that the USB ports are not right next to each other, but instead, on the right side of the PC, there is one USB port closer to me, and the other one at the other end. I like this because when the two ports are directly next to each other, it gets my USB devices' wires tangled together, which is not fun especially since one of the USB devices is always a mouse, and I don't like cordless mice in general. (On a note PC, it makes no sense to me since the distance from the note PC and the mouse is not so far away that would require such a thing, not to mention the fact that you always have to carry spare batteries with you) The one disappointment for me, as far as design, is the fact that the Ethernet and VGA-out ports are on an external dongle, and not integrated into the PC, but by looking at everything else that is integrated, I can understand why it was done this way. There simply would not have been a way to make this PC as light and as thin as it is if those ports were integrated into the PC. I can live without them in general, where the only time I would need to use them would be when I really need a 1Gbit connection or need to make a presentation on a projector, of which both are not everyday tasks for me.

Performance

Compared to the P7010, the specs are not really any different, but with the extra 512MB RAM in the Q2010 that I configured, it does make a bit of difference in terms of speed. Without having to go through meaningless numbers and graphs to represent actual performance of the machine, I will put it into layman terms. I have used this machine primarily for office applications and general Internet e-mail and browsing, and the Q2010 handles all of these tasks without any problems. I have also watched videos that I have Divx'd and transferred over, and they run without too much difficulty. I haven't tried any really high-powered games on this PC, but I am willing to bet that trying to run Half-Life or any other UE3 engine based games probably won't run very well on this PC. In other words, applications which require high amount of resources for CPU, graphics, and audio simultaneously probably won't be good for the performance of this machine, and I did not choose this PC with those qualities in mind. I am sure that Starcraft would work fine though... :D In terms of the integrated bluetooth, the software that ships with the PC works well, and I haven't really had any performance issues, however, for the integrated 802.11, it does the job, but I kind of feel like the signal should be stronger. I took out the old P7010 to compare, and the P7010 seems to attract a stronger signal in the same location. Otherwise, in terms of speed and use, it hasn't been much of a performance hit.

Usability

The nice thing about upgrading to a "larger" machine from the P7010 to the Q2010 is that the screen is now bigger, and the keyboard is less cramped. The extra 2" of screen real estate does make a big difference, and I can see more of the screen at once. I am trying to imagine how bad the 10" screen would have been if it were not a wide screen. The addition of a volume switch on the Q2010 is a nice touch, but it really isn't of much help since it is dependent on software on the PC, so if the PC's resources are tied up, using the volume switch is just another process that will get bogged down, so it would have been much nicer to have integrated an analog volume switch over a digital one. The fingerprint scanner is a nice touch too, and I really want to use it, however, the OmniPass software lacks Firefox compatibility, and I rarely use Internet Explorer anymore, so I really have no way to use the fingerprint scanner other than to log-in to my PC. If there is an update to include Firefox compatibility, then it would be of much better use for me, and I can stop using RoboForm to store all my usernames and passwords. As I mentioned before, I have no use for the action buttons on the side, but they are pre-configured for default applications such as calculator, notepad, etc. If I use those, I probably wouldn't remember what button was assigned to which program, so it would be useless to me even if I did use them to begin with.

How I Use the Q2010

How I prepare the PC for use

So like with any notebook PC, the first thing I did after turning it on and just generally checked on how I could use it, was to re-partition and format the hard disk. Most of these PCs come pre-partitioned into two parts, where there is one very big partition, and a tiny second partition. I never really understood why it was done that way, other than maybe the rescue disks just automatically partition the hard drive as such, and since I have an 80GB HDD, the other smaller partition is just leftover space. In any case, I like to divide into 3 different partions: the first for Windows, Program Files, and other files that I am currently working on; the second for image of the first partition in a pristine state with the latest drivers and fixes installed, as well as a second image that is taken once a week, as well as data files that I may need to use, but are not necessarily used everyday, and the third partition has things I have downloaded, and just has additional space for other miscellaneous things that I may need.

Once I have partitioned, I just re-install Windows and update all the drivers, as well as do a full Windows Update. The reason I need to start it from the beginning is that because all of these notebook PCs come pre-configured with so much crap that I don't use, it makes more sense to start from scratch, rather than trying to uninstall every single app that I don't need, not to mention all the orphan files that are leftover as a result of the uninstallation process. Once this is all done, before installing any major apps, I will take a snapshot image of the PC in this state so that in case I run into problems in the future, I can always get it back to this state easily and quickly. I used to use Norton Ghost, but now I have been using Acronis True Image since I do not have to restart into DOS mode to run the app, and it doesn't annoy me as much as Norton does.

The final step is to install the apps, which I usually install: AVG-AntiVirus, Spybot Search & Destroy, Microsoft Office, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, ESTSoft AL-ZIP and AL-FTP, Cerrulean Studios' Trillian (starting to use MSN exclusively so probably will drop this soon), and RightMark CPU Clock Utility (a nifty piece of software that tells you how much CPU power you are using, and has these pre-set profiles that control the amount of power you use in order to conserve battery power and/or provide maximum performance). Everything else gets installed as I need them (eg Palm Desktop, iRiver Plus 2, Creative Media Source, uTorrent, Skype and Gizmo, etc.)

Everyday Use

The nice thing about portable computers is that they can be taken anywhere to be used. For instance, as I write this blog entry, I am sitting at the Orchard Valley Coffee shop in Campbell, having an iced latte and using their free wireless connection. It's great to be living out here in the Silicon Valley because of the free connectivity. Just about any non-Starbuck's coffeeshop has free WiFi connectivity. So when I am sick of sitting at home working on the computer, I will just transfer a few files onto a USB drive, and go somewhere else where I can get a connection and work there instead. With Google's ambitious plan to provide free wireless services, it sounds like the Mountain View project is working well to use a notebook PC just about anywhere, and with the free Metro-Fi connections in Cupertino and a few other Silicon Valley cities, it is becoming easier to just go to a park and use your notebook there. Of course, for me, I probably won't use it outdoors too often since I am afraid of bird droppings landing on my PC.

As I said before, this is definitely not a machine for high-end video games, or any other kind of graphics intensive application, so in general, I use the 2010 primarily for general usage, such as web browsing, e-mail, and office applications, but I guess at some point in time, I could install some games like StarCraft which runs on just about any machine. :D

When I am in meetings, I have been trying to figure out what is a better note taking application. Of course, it would be nice to have a tablet PC so I can just write down notes in freehand, but I have been using both tiddlywiki and evernote, and they both have their advantages and disadvantages, but in the end, I think evernote would be much more useful if I had a tablet PC instead.

For presentations, I find it a bit of a hassle to have to pull out the dongle with the VGA and ethernet port, but it works just as well as any other notebook PC I have used in the past. Because of it's thinness, I guess that it does look impressive, so as far as business meetings and presentations go, it does make me look better... :D

Now that I have the LG CU500 and have the unlimited Cingular data plan with HSDPA, when I find myself in non-WiFi areas, or WiFi areas that are protected, it's nice to have the integrated Bluetooth so I can at least get a 200 - 300Kbps connection for general web browsing and e-mail. At least out here in the SF Bay Area, the HSDPA connections are becoming more prevalent, and I keep finding new areas that now have this 3G capability.

Other Uses

I have been able to take the Q2010 with me on the road, and I can say that on airplanes, it is really convenient, since it will fit in the seat pocket in front of me, and with the long lasting battery, I can actually get some work done, and still have time left over to watch a movie (provided that the flight is long enough). On my last trip to Asia, on the way back, I was able to get some reports and e-mail written on the first flight from ICN to NRT, and then on the second flight from NRT back to SFO, I still had enough battery to write out a few more e-mail, and then watched two movies with the remaining amount of battery life. This, of course, was using the bigger battery, so it added a little to the weight and bulk of the note.

Although the Q2010 really isn't much of a game machine, and cannot play any of the latest and greatest games, I still use it to play older games and games that do not require a high performance CPU/GPU. Recently, Kevin, Frankie, and myself all geeked out at the coffeeshop, and started an informal session of StarCraft. On the Q2010 and the P7010, the game worked flawlessly and the only problem we encountered was that none of us had ever connected wirelessly in ad-hoc mode, so it took us a few minutes to figure it out, but once we did, it was all good and I kept kicking Frankie's ass, and then Kevin, who was quietly building in the background came and annihilated me.

Conclusion

Basically, like most of this review suggests, the Q2010 is definitely a business machine, and that is how I mainly use it. It is very mobile, very light, and therefore, very convenient to slip out of my bag and use right away. The standard battery that comes with it is only good for making the machine look slimmer, and when you only need to use the computer for less than an hour. The extra extended battery is definitely worth it in my opinion since I often find myself in situations where a powersource is not nearby or convenient enough to reach.

For me, this is a great machine since I am constantly moving around and weighing in at 2.2 lbs definitely does help my shoulders a lot, and yet, it still sports a 13" screen and lots of space for my fingers on the keyboard. Since I usually play the high-end games on my PC at home, just being able to play StarCraft and other simple games is good enough for me, and since I use the Q2010 mainly for work, I probably shouldn't be playing games anyway...