Fujitsu's latest convertible Tablet takes full advantage of Intel's new Centrino technology, and it shows.
The new Fujitsu LifeBook T4220 is a travel-friendly, well-rounded convertible Tablet PC that suffers from a few flaws. When it comes to computing horsepower and video quality, the newest addition to the LifeBook line reaps the benefits of Intel's Next-Generation Centrino Processor Technology (codenamed Santa Rosa), but its battery life left us wanting more.
Dressed in a sleek black-and-silver finish, the LifeBook T4220 weighs a manageable 4.3 pounds and is 1.5 inches thick, so you can haul it around without putting too much strain on your back or arms. Beneath the black lid sits a crisp 12.1-inch display with a native resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels (an SXGA+ display is also an option). Viewing angles were good all around on this screen, and color representation was superb. If you'll be using this Tablet outdoors, however, you may want to opt for the daylight-readable screen ,as the standard indoor LCD is difficult to read in direct sunlight.
The display is mounted on a bidirectional swivel mechanism, making it easy to twist the screen in either direction and fold it down for use as a Tablet. You flip the lid latch to secure the screen while in Tablet mode. A built-in sensor automatically adjusts the screen image from portrait to landscape mode, depending on the system's orientation.
A recessed stylus holder and a biometric fingerprint reader sit to the left of the screen; the lower bezel holds an LCD indicator panel and five Tablet function buttons, one of which is used to manually rotate image orientation and two of which are user-programmable. The full-sized keyboard is comfortable with well-spaced keys, and the responsive touchpad sports a scroll button and two mouse controls. Although the plastic black-and-white stylus felt kind of chintzy, it got the job done and worked well with the Active Digitizer screen.
Along the front edge of the keyboard deck are headphone and microphone jacks, a 3-in-1 card reader, and a pair of flat-sounding speakers. The left side houses SmartCard and PC Card slots, a USB port, and a Wi-Fi switch, while the right side holds a modular DVD burner. Three USB ports are positioned along the sides of the notebook, as are Ethernet, modem, and VGA ports. Unfortunately, the T4220 lacks a FireWire and S-Video ports. The 120GB hard drive is protected by an anti-shock mounting mechanism and Fujitsu's 3G Shock Sensor, which retracts the drive's read/write head in the event of a sudden bump or accidental drop.
The big news here is Intel's new Centrino architecture and all the features that come along with it, including faster processors, enhanced graphics performance, and 802.11n wireless. Our LifeBook T4220 was equipped with a new 2.2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor (with a front-side bus speed of 800 MHz) and 2GB of DDR2 memory. The T4220 turned in a very respectable PCMark05 score of 4,259, which means it will handle most business applications with aplomb.
The LifeBook T4220 is based on the new Mobile Intel 965 Express chipset, which provides enhanced video performance courtesy of Intel's GMA X3100 graphics controller and Clear Video Technology. After firing up our Finding Nemo DVD, we were very impressed with the image quality; the movie looked smooth and clean with no noticeable artifacts, and colors seemed to jump off the screen. With a 3DMark03 score of 1,743, the LifeBook will likely struggle with most high-end 3D games but had no problems with Vista's Aero interface.
It's too bad this system doesn't last longer on a charge, however. The LifeBook T4220 conked out after two hours and five minutes on our DVD drain test, which means you should expect about three hours of runtime. This showing was a bit surprising, especially given that Intel's new Dynamic FSB Switching technology is supposed to reduce power consumption and improve battery life by decreasing bus speeds and processor voltage when not needed (such as when playing DVD movies or listening to music). We recommend springing for the $134 six-cell modular-bay battery, which should increase the T4220's endurance to about six hours, according to Fujitsu. Just keep in mind you'll need to pop out the DVD drive to use it.
Also part of the new Centrino platform is Intel's Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN, an integrated wireless solution that supports draft-n connectivity. The T4220 turned in very good scores of 18.3 and 14.1 Mbps at 15 and 50 feet, respectively, on our Wi-Fi throughput tests. The system comes with Windows Vista Business Edition, but you can order it with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition instead. Be sure to check back once we get a final-production model in.
Despite its underwhelming battery life, the Fujitsu LifeBook T4220 is a solid convertible that gets a sizable performance boost from Intel's newest Centrino processor and graphics technology.
The new Fujitsu LifeBook T4220 is a travel-friendly, well-rounded convertible Tablet PC that suffers from a few flaws. When it comes to computing horsepower and video quality, the newest addition to the LifeBook line reaps the benefits of Intel's Next-Generation Centrino Processor Technology (codenamed Santa Rosa), but its battery life left us wanting more.
Dressed in a sleek black-and-silver finish, the LifeBook T4220 weighs a manageable 4.3 pounds and is 1.5 inches thick, so you can haul it around without putting too much strain on your back or arms. Beneath the black lid sits a crisp 12.1-inch display with a native resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels (an SXGA+ display is also an option). Viewing angles were good all around on this screen, and color representation was superb. If you'll be using this Tablet outdoors, however, you may want to opt for the daylight-readable screen ,as the standard indoor LCD is difficult to read in direct sunlight.
The display is mounted on a bidirectional swivel mechanism, making it easy to twist the screen in either direction and fold it down for use as a Tablet. You flip the lid latch to secure the screen while in Tablet mode. A built-in sensor automatically adjusts the screen image from portrait to landscape mode, depending on the system's orientation.
A recessed stylus holder and a biometric fingerprint reader sit to the left of the screen; the lower bezel holds an LCD indicator panel and five Tablet function buttons, one of which is used to manually rotate image orientation and two of which are user-programmable. The full-sized keyboard is comfortable with well-spaced keys, and the responsive touchpad sports a scroll button and two mouse controls. Although the plastic black-and-white stylus felt kind of chintzy, it got the job done and worked well with the Active Digitizer screen.
Along the front edge of the keyboard deck are headphone and microphone jacks, a 3-in-1 card reader, and a pair of flat-sounding speakers. The left side houses SmartCard and PC Card slots, a USB port, and a Wi-Fi switch, while the right side holds a modular DVD burner. Three USB ports are positioned along the sides of the notebook, as are Ethernet, modem, and VGA ports. Unfortunately, the T4220 lacks a FireWire and S-Video ports. The 120GB hard drive is protected by an anti-shock mounting mechanism and Fujitsu's 3G Shock Sensor, which retracts the drive's read/write head in the event of a sudden bump or accidental drop.
The big news here is Intel's new Centrino architecture and all the features that come along with it, including faster processors, enhanced graphics performance, and 802.11n wireless. Our LifeBook T4220 was equipped with a new 2.2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor (with a front-side bus speed of 800 MHz) and 2GB of DDR2 memory. The T4220 turned in a very respectable PCMark05 score of 4,259, which means it will handle most business applications with aplomb.
The LifeBook T4220 is based on the new Mobile Intel 965 Express chipset, which provides enhanced video performance courtesy of Intel's GMA X3100 graphics controller and Clear Video Technology. After firing up our Finding Nemo DVD, we were very impressed with the image quality; the movie looked smooth and clean with no noticeable artifacts, and colors seemed to jump off the screen. With a 3DMark03 score of 1,743, the LifeBook will likely struggle with most high-end 3D games but had no problems with Vista's Aero interface.
It's too bad this system doesn't last longer on a charge, however. The LifeBook T4220 conked out after two hours and five minutes on our DVD drain test, which means you should expect about three hours of runtime. This showing was a bit surprising, especially given that Intel's new Dynamic FSB Switching technology is supposed to reduce power consumption and improve battery life by decreasing bus speeds and processor voltage when not needed (such as when playing DVD movies or listening to music). We recommend springing for the $134 six-cell modular-bay battery, which should increase the T4220's endurance to about six hours, according to Fujitsu. Just keep in mind you'll need to pop out the DVD drive to use it.
Also part of the new Centrino platform is Intel's Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN, an integrated wireless solution that supports draft-n connectivity. The T4220 turned in very good scores of 18.3 and 14.1 Mbps at 15 and 50 feet, respectively, on our Wi-Fi throughput tests. The system comes with Windows Vista Business Edition, but you can order it with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition instead. Be sure to check back once we get a final-production model in.
Despite its underwhelming battery life, the Fujitsu LifeBook T4220 is a solid convertible that gets a sizable performance boost from Intel's newest Centrino processor and graphics technology.
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