I purchased my Fujitsu U810 Lifebook about 4 months ago. After using it for awhile I have really come to enjoy how well made of a product it is. So I have decide to create a U810 review site so that others who may be interested in purchasing an ultra-mobile PC or even a laptop can make an educated decision and decide whether or not the U810 is right for them.
This mini-notebook (Fujitsu officially calls it a ”mini-notebook”) is not for everyone, but I do feel that it is a tremendous device that is so versatile that most people would find this a useful computer to own. There are definitely pros and cons about the device and I will get to all of those through this site. This page is mainly just an overview in the entire U810 review and will just touch on the main features and specifications of the Fujitsu U810. The Fujitsu U810 is the perfect computer for someone who is looking for productivity “on the go”. It is by no means a powerhouse and if you are looking to have a PC that can run intensive 3D applications, then I am afraid you will have to look else where. That being said, I have developed this website using a Fujitsu U810, so it is definitely worthy of being used in an office or productivity type environment.
So let’s get to the meat of the U810 review. What is the Fujitsu U810 Lifebook? Fujitsu has been in the notebook business for a long time and when it comes to quality notebooks, Fujitsu is one of the top notebook manufacturers on the market today. While Fujitsu officially calls the U810 Lifebook a “mini-notebook”, the rest of the industry would generally categorize it as an ultra-mobile PC. Ultra-mobile PC’s (UMPC’s) started off as the Project Origami initiative. It is basically a small form factor tablet PC. Project Origami provides a baseline of specifications for these devices to meet. In short, UMPC’s are smaller than laptops, but bigger than PDA’s and carry with them a full-fledged operating system.
You can purchase a Fujitsu U810 with either Microsoft Vista Business or Home Premium edition. The actual form factor of the U810 is what will strike you when you first see it. No picture will ever do the size of the U810 justice. You won’t understand how small and compact the device is until you see it for yourself. You will read all about the features before buying the product, but not until you see the actual size of the U810 does it hit you and make you wonder how they were able to pack all those features into it. So what are those features?
The U810 weighs in at a measly one and a half pounds. The screen size is 5.6 inches which may sound really small, but because the resolution (1024×600) and clarity of it is so high it can fit a lot onto the screen. Compared to other UMPC devices, this 5.6 inch screen is actually one of the largest. The screen on it is also a touch sensitive screen. It comes with a built-in stylus that can be used to manipulate the mouse pointer. The screen itself swivles around and can lay flat over the keyboard in typical tablet fashion.
Whether the screen is folded down or if it is in “laptop” form, there is a thumb stick in the upper right corner that is similar to the kind you find on IBM Thinkpads. It works very well and doesn’t take long to get used to its sensitivity level which is very well tuned. On the opposite corner at the top of the device are two “mouse” buttons. You control these with your left thumb as if you were holding the device like a handheld gaming unit. They also work well and it is a well designed layout that is comfortable even for larger hands like mine. Going back over to the right side again you will find three buttons. Two of those buttons act as page-up and page-down buttons for navigating webpages or documents easily. They really come in handy a lot and you will find yourself using them a lot to navigate pages rather than scrolling up and down with the thumb stick and scroll bars.
Because of the small size of the U810 (and UMPC’s in general) it does not have an optical drive of any sort on it. It does come with one USB 2.0 port that can be used for any type of USB 2.0 device. Because the battery (which I will get to a little later on) is so robust, the USB drive can handle a DVD/CD optical drive without requiring the external optical drive to use a seperate source of power. Most other UMPC’s on the market can’t do this, so keep that in mind. Other features around the device include an SD card and compact flash slot. These are a very nice touch to the Fujitsu U810 Lifebook. While most laptops and UMPC’s carry a built-in SD card slot, but many lack the compact flash slot. While it compact flash is not used much anymore, it is still a nice addition and comes with a slot cover for when it is not in use. It must be said however, that both of these slots are not capable of transferring data faster than 2MB/sec. This is crucial to know in case you were thinking about taking advantage of Windows Vista’s new ‘ReadyBoost’ feature. It has been shown though that most computers with 1GB or more of RAM do not gain much benefit from ReadyBoost, so not all was lost. It would still have been nice to be able to stream media off an SD card or just be able to transfer pictures at a much faster rate.
Speaking of storage, the Fujitsu U810 comes with a 40GB or 60GB hard drive. The processor on the unit is Intel’s A110 processor clocked at 800MHz. This is one of the U810’s biggest weaknesses. It could really benefit from a much faster processor, however I am sure that using a more powerful processor would take away from its great battery life (which you can read more about below). This is something that most UMPC’s have issues with and something that Project Origami is going to have to work on if they hope to have UMPC’s become a more mainstream device.
The U810 has 1GB of RAM on it. I have not found a way to upgrade the RAM on the unit either and I believe that the RAM is integrated onto the motherboard. This is unfortunate as I believe that the unit could greatly benefit from an additional 1GB of RAM. It does do just fine on 1GB of RAM however. Many people say that Windows Vista should require 2GB of RAM, but as I have been using the U810 I have found the 1GB of RAM to be enough as long as you manage your open applications correctly. There is a version of the U810 available that comes with a Solid State Drive (SSD). These drives are very expensive (around $500 for a 30GB drive last I checked), but are extremely fast and can access data as quick as RAM. If you have one of these you could increase your page file and be able to use it as you would RAM. You can also check out one of my posts about installing an SSD into a U810 that came with a HDD if you decide you want to upgrade to a SSD later down the road.
On the left side of the U810 Lifebook you will find the volume control which can be pushed in to mute sound. You also have a headphone and microphone jack on the left side. The speaker on the U810 is fairly small, but I have found it to be able to pack a nice punch when the volume is turned up. I have found however that the audio device on the unit is fairly lackluster. It definately performs poorly across the board and can be found to stutter sound in certain applications. It can play audio files such as mp3’s fine. But when trying to play a video, you will find the processor to become overwhelmed and the audio and video can come to a halt. It is definately an audio issue and not a video issue though. I am unsure of whether at the time of this writing updated drivers can be found for it that may help. The Fujitsu U810 comes with a built-in webcam and what is sad is that it would have been really nice to be able to use the webcam when out of town. But due to the audio issues, hearing the other end or having the other end hear you is all for nothing. The video with the webcam does work well however and has decent quality for what you come to expect of webcams today.
The keyboard on the Fujitsu U810 is one of the nicer keyboards when it comes to UMPC’s. It is probably the closest you will get to a full-sized keyboard on a UMPC. It definitely is hard to touch type on it though. I wouldn’t recommend typing a thesis or even an article on it. If your hands are small you will find it easier to touch type on the keyboard, but you will struggle trying to type on it with you thumbs while holding it in the palm of your hand. Contrary to that if your hands are large you will find it hard to touch type, but you will have no issues thumb typing on the U810 when you are holding it in the palm of you hand. I find that I use it most while holding in the palm of my hand.
As far as connectivity on the Fujitsu U810 Lifebook goes, you have a lot of options here. You have built-in Wi-Fi on the unit that is 802.11ABG, so you should have no problem connecting to any wireless hotspot. It also comes with built-in Bluetooth 2.0. This is an excellent addition to the U810 and really comes in handy in a number of ways. On my desk in my office sits a wireless Bluetooth mouse and keyboard. No need for even a receiver with those. They just automatically connect to the U810 when they are in range and I can type away. It really is what gives the U810 the ability to become a desktop replacement computer even given its lack of processing power. Then there is the optional 3G and HSUPA built-in wireless broadband connection. This only comes on two of the versions of the U810 and they range in price from $1,299 to $1,399. These two highly anticipated versions were released just this year and allow you to connect to AT&T wireless broadband network to use the internet anywhere on their network at broadband speeds. The U810 really handles the speeds well.
Another feature that the U810 really has going for it is its battery life. Among the UMPC’s, the Fujitsu U810 has one of the best batteries on it. It is noticeable though as the battery does stick out the back end of the device. The battery life is rated at around 5.5 hours. This is the rating that Fujitsu gives it and I would say that it is pretty close to being accurate. I use mine quite demandingly and find that I get around 4.5-5 hours out of my battery. With a little more conservative usage, I would say that you would hit that 5.5 hour mark without needing a charge. They battery is easily replaceable so it would be possible to even carry a spare battery with you at times.
Finally I just wanted to note that the unit comes with an adapter that plugs into a slot on the front of it that adds a VGA port for an external display and a RJ45 ethernet adapter port. This really comes in handy again if you wanted to use the device on a desk as a desktop replacement computer.
That is my overview on the Fujitsu U810 Lifebook. I hope you found it useful if you were looking to purchase one. They really are a great device. I will post later on what I think of the device in a final review post.