U810 Review

So the battery is one of the U810’s biggest strengths over other UMPC’s and even over many laptops. Rated at 5.5 hours of battery life, the U810 will definitely get you through most of the day on just one battery. But, if you find that you aren’t coming anywhere near that 5.5 hours of battery life or would like to extend your unplugged usage time of the U810 to even more than 5.5 hours, here are some things you can do with the Fujitsu U810 Lifebook.

One nice feature that comes with the Fujitsu U810 is a software feature that allows you to enter ‘power saving mode’. This mode will shut off the SD and compact flash card slots and also dim the screen a bit. This will save some power at times when you are not using the SD card. I recommend using the U810 in power saving mode when you don’t have an SD or compact flash card inserted or being used. If you need an increase in screen brightness, you can always hold the function key down and increase the brightness using the keyboard function.

The screen clarity is also a nice feature of the Fujitsu U810 and because it is so clear and bright, it will allow you to keep the brightness at lower levels while in use, so that you don’t drain the battery as quickly.

Also, if you aren’t using Bluetooth or wireless internet, the Fujitsu U810 comes with a switch on the left side of the device that will turn on or off the Bluetooth and wireless NIC. It is however an all or nothing switch. So you can’t use it to turn just the Bluetooth off while leaving the Wi-Fi on. Most of the time I find it pointless and just leave it on as I always use wireless internet. Plus, if I were using ethernet, then I will also most likely be in range of a power outlet in which case I won’t need to bother switching off Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi NIC. But it is nice for those rare occurrences when you aren’t using any internet at all.

If you have Windows Vista installed on your Fujitsu U810, then Vista has a really nice feature on it called Sleep mode. Don’t confuse this with Standby mode that was in Windows XP. This is one of the nicest features with Windows Vista that is very crucial that you take advantage of with your U810. Many people complain about the boot up times with UMPC’s because of their lack of computing power. But, what sleep mode does, is it sends the device into a very low power consumption mode (I am talking very low here). It basically uses just enough power to keep things stored in RAM while the rest of the unit is turned off. This means that when you open the device again, it immediately ‘boots up’ again and you are ready to go, all while saving yourself some battery power. It can be up and ready to go after being in sleep mode in under 10 seconds and it can enter sleep mode in under 10 seconds as well.

My Fujitsu U810 is rarely ever technically turned off. It is always running in sleep mode. Because of this, it helps me save battery life by sending it into sleep mode and not having to worry about having to keep it on so that I don’t lose my work. It also helps me get started with my work quicker by not ever having to worry about long boot up times. Many people that have seen me work with my Fujitsu U810 say to me “Wow, that device boots up quick!”, but little do they know it was just leaving sleep mode.

Lastly, if you are looking for longer usage of your U810 without being plugged in, then you can always opt to purchase an additional battery to double your battery life. You are warned however that purchasing an additional battery is not cheap. An extra battery can run you another couple hundred dollars. Check out some extra U810 batteries here.

So what is Project Origami and what are ultra-mobile PC’s? Ultra-mobile PC’s (UMPC’s) are a small form factor computer that runs a full-fledged operating system instead of a slimmed down version like Windows Mobile or Palm. Project Origami is the specification for these new devices. It was developed by Microsoft, Intel, Samsung, and several other manufacturers.

The internal hardware is more similiar to a laptop where as Windows Mobile devices lack many of those components. This gives UMPC’s much more versatility. Consider them a cross between a smart phone and a laptop, ranging in size between the two. Many UMPC’s feature touch screens that allow for another human interface that allows for “writing” on the screen. Many keyboards on UMPC’s are very tiny and therefore are tough to write any extensive article or document on. This is where touch screens come in handy as they allow you to write as if you were writing on a piece of paper.

Because these devices use a complete Windows Vista operating system, it allows you to install any compatible Windows application on them including Microsoft Office or any other productivity package. Web surfing can also be done in the same fashion as it would on a regular laptop or desktop computer. This is what gives UMPC’s such a large appeal. They are smaller than laptops, but give much more functionality than smart phones or PDA’s.

There are still many drawbacks however that face UMPC’s. This is in the realm of battery life and processing power. In order to keep the devices small, they require smaller batteries. But to keep an decent battery life on a UMPC, then the processor needs to be cut back on so that it doesn’t drain the life of the battery too quickly. This is where most of the research is being put into for Project Origami. The more powerful a processor you can get without draining battery life too much, the better off the future of UMPC’s look.

So I have been using my Fujitsu U810 for several months now and when I originally bought it, I had planned on using it mainly as a portable device while I am on the road. However, as I have come to use the U810 more and more and have become aware of all that it is capable of, I have since started using it as my main desktop computer at home.

Because it has built-in Bluetooth, I have purchased a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard set. I place these on my desk and now whenever I place my U810 in range of them, I just push any key on the keyboard and click the mouse and they automatically connect to the U810. You can use any compatible Bluetooth interface device, but I recommend the Microsoft Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.

If you really wanted to make things convenient, you could purchase the U810 docking cradle and set that up on your desk. Now if you want to work at the desk, all you have to do is slide the U810 into the cradle and you are ready to go. It comes with 4 additional USB 2.0 ports, a VGA monitor port, a LAN adapter pass-through port, and a DC power jack. If you didn’t want to spend any extra money on the cradle, you can use the adapter that comes with the U810 to plug a monitor into the device.

So as I had mentioned in my overview of the U810, the audio on the U810 could really use some work. It isn’t a powerful audio processing device and I find that it stutters a lot especially when trying to use the webcam or even a high quality video or audio file.

That being said there is hope an as I suspected it does seem to be driver related. So I don’t believe it to be completely Fujitsu’s fault (even though they did put the audio device in the unit to begin with). The issue is with the Realtek audio drivers. If you go to Realtek’s website, you can download an updated version of the drivers that come pre-installed on the U810. Keep that page bookmarked in your browser and stop at it frequently to check and make sure that your audio drivers are always up to date. If there is ever an improvement in performance for audio on the U810, it will most likely come in the form of a driver update.