The ultra-portable Fujitsu Siemens LifeBook P7120, an updated version of the LifeBook P7010D, is slimmer and lighter than its predecessor but remains packed with features, including a built-in DVD burner. Best of all, the LifeBook P7120 provides those features without compromising performance or battery life, and does it for the same price as the LifeBook P7010D -- around £1,400.
Its more expensive competitor, the £1,600 Sony VAIO TX670P, offers wireless WAN, longer battery life and a larger screen in an even lighter case. If you want mobile connectivity or a battery that lasts more than six hours, the VAIO TX670P is worth the extra cost. Otherwise, the LifeBook P7120 offers a slightly more affordable balance of performance, features and portability for business travellers.
Design
Measuring 262mm wide and 198mm deep, the LifeBook P7120's footprint is similar to that of the Sony VAIO TX670P and the less expensive Dell Latitude X1. But the P7120's 1.3kg and 36mm thickness make it a little bulkier than its competitors.
The LifeBook P7120's classy black-and-grey case will look sleek on any airline tray table. As with other ultra-portables, the LifeBook P7120's keyboard is considerably smaller than full size, though it's not uncomfortable, even for extensive bouts of typing. And in an improvement over the P7010, the P7120's punctuation keys are the same size as its letter keys. Its 64mm(diagonal) touch pad and accompanying mouse buttons are also petite, forcing you to adopt a slightly cramped hand position -- but, again, this is par for the course with almost any laptop this size. A fingerprint reader between the mouse buttons doubles as a scrolling device. Above the keyboard, you'll find a wireless on/off switch and an Eco button that adjusts display and drive settings for maximum battery life.
Though slightly smaller than the Sony's screen, the LifeBook P7120's 10.6-inch widescreen display features a crisp 1,280x768-pixel native resolution and a level of brightness that's great for Web surfing and viewing images. We were disappointed with the screen's brightness in the battery-saving Eco mode, however -- so much so that we'd prefer to carry an extra battery than work on the dim screen.
Features
Business travellers will find all the ports they need on the Fujitsu LifeBook P7120. The machine includes S-Video, VGA, modem, Ethernet (though not the Gigabit Ethernet offered with the Latitude X1), four-pin FireWire and three USB 2.0 ports. Headphone and microphone jacks are located on the laptop's front edge for easy media enjoyment.
For expansion there's a Type I/II PC Card slot and a four-in-one flash-card reader that recognises Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital and xD formats. Wireless connections include Bluetooth and an 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi card. While many ultraportables (such as the Latitude X1) jettison the optical drive to save weight, our LifeBook P7120 came with a DVD burner in a swappable bay. Corporate-level security components such as a fingerprint reader and a Trusted Platform Module round out the feature list.
For around £1,400, our LifeBook P7120 included a suite of midrange components, including a 1.2GHz Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage processor, 512MB of middling 400MHz RAM, a 60GB hard drive spinning at 4,200rpm, and integrated Intel graphics.
Performance
In our performance benchmarks, the LifeBook P7120 ran neck and neck with a similarly configured Sony VAIO VGN-TX670P (which isn't currently available in the UK, but similar VAIO TX-series laptops are around £1,600) and a 1.1GHz Dell Latitude X1 (£1,230). In our three weeks of use, the LifeBook P7120 proved speedy at loading Web pages and performing such essential business functions as running DVD movies and playing Solitaire. It will easily handle email, word processing and spreadsheet applications.
The LifeBook P7120's battery lasted an impressive 5 hours 48 minutes, which trumps the 3 hours 47 minutes of the Dell Latitude X1's battery but can't quite match the 6 hours 36 minutes of the Sony VAIO VGN-TX670P's. If you need even more battery life, you can swap the LifeBook P7120's optical drive for an optional, £116 battery.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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BAPCo's MobileMark 2002 performance rating |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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BAPCo's MobileMark 2002 battery-life minutes |
System configurations:
Dell Latitude X1
Windows XP Professional; 1.1GHz Intel Pentium M 733; 512MB DDR SDRAM PC3200 400MHz; Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express 128MB; Toshiba MK6006GAH 60GB 4,200rpm
Fujitsu LifeBook P7120
Windows XP Professional; 1.2GHz Intel Pentium M ULV 753; 512MB DDR SDRAM PC3200 400MHz; Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express 128MB; Toshiba MK6006GAH 60GB 4,200rpm
Sony VAIO VGN-TX670P
Windows XP Professional; 1.2GHz Intel Pentium M ULV 753; 512MB DDR SDRAM PC3200 400MHz; Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express 128MB; Toshiba MK6006GAH 60GB 4,200rpm
Edited by Michelle Thatcher
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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