Fujitsu LifeBook E8410 Overview & Specs

It's not the most travel- or multimedia-friendly business laptop you can find, but the Fujitsu LifeBook E8410 has classy looks, class-leading application performance, and abundant security features (including Intel's Centrino Pro technology). Together, they make the laptop worth considering for corporate and small-business users.

At 6.1 pounds, the LifeBook E8410 battery is squarely a midsize laptop: too hefty to carry around everyday, but light enough for occasional travel. Its 1.4-inch-thick chassis is a bit trimmer than other midsize notebooks we've seen, such as the HP Pavilion DV6000z. While the LifeBook doesn't feel quite as durable as the Lenovo ThinkPad R61 or Gateway E-265M, it definitely doesn't look or feel cheap. In fact, its classy-looking silver-and-black case, complemented by an all-white keyboard, is a welcome break from the buttoned-down-black design we've seen on many business systems.

Specifications

Our review notebook as equipped:
Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 Processor (Santa Rosa, 2.2GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista Business
15.4” Crystal View (Glossy) WXGA Display (1280x800)
Integrated 1.3MP Webcam
nVidia GeForce 8400M G DX10 Graphics Card – 128MB Dedicated
1GB DDR2 667MHz RAM (Upgraded to 2GB of DDR2 667MHz for the review)
Fujitsu 100GB 5400RPM SATA 1.5 Hard Drive
Modular Dual-Layer Multi-format DVD Writer
Modem, Intel 4965AGN (802.11a/b/g/n) WiFi, 10/100/1000 GigE LAN, Bluetooth
8-call, 14.4V, 5200 mAh, 74.9 Whr Battery

Weighing in at 6.2 pounds and measuring 14.1 x 10.1 x 1.4 inches, the E8410 is too bulky for toting around town on a daily basis, but it's still small enough to be a sleek desktop alternative that goes with you to in-office meetings. Its attractive black matte body is highlighted by a shiny bezel and silver base and doesn't look as stuffy as some of its all-business brethren.

Lifting the lid reveals a bright 15.4-inch widescreen display (1280 x 800 pixels) that could have benefited from a higher resolution; the visuals weren't as sharp as they could have been. We enjoyed wide viewing angles while watching Black Snake Moan, but the vertical angles were very tight and will keep you right around the 90-degree mark. A 1.3-megapixel webcam resides above the display for Web conferencing with colleagues. Although you can opt for a higher-res WSXGA+ panel (an extra $45), that option doesn't come with a webcam.

Fujitsu lays out its usual smorgasbord of security options for safeguarding your data. A SmartCard reader and a security button panel that you can program with a number combination are standard; a built-in biometric fingerprint reader costs $50 more.

This notebook lets you use two batteries at once, thanks to a modular optical drive bay with side release: Pop out the DVD burner and hot-swap in a second battery. Or insert the included hollow filler module to trim the notebook's weight to a very comfortable 5.7 pounds.

Although it's not a gaming machine, the NVIDIA 8400M G is one of the new-generation, unified shader architecture, DirectX 10 graphics processing units (GPU) and it was able to punch out a respectable score for a business notebook. In 3DMark 2006 it scored 1125. This is hardly a high-end gamer's magic number, but it's a good score nonetheless. It will handle older games well, as its score of 8987 in 3DMark 2001 SE indicates.

Santa Rosa offers a number of small power saving features. As mentioned previously, Enhanced Dynamic Acceleration allows one core to be turned off when it's not in use, but more importantly, a feature has been added that allows the CPU and the FSB to be clocked down according to the system's needs. Despite these additional power saving features we didn't see any improved performance in our Fujitsu laptop battery life tests.

The LifeBook E8410 is well equipped for communications. Infrared and Wi-Fi are built in, although, oddly, Bluetooth is an optional extra and was not present on our review sample. There is a hardware button on the front of the casing that allows you to turn Wi-Fi on and off easily.

An option that was present on our review sample is a 3G/HSDPA module supporting wide-area wireless connectivity at speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. At the moment, you'll be lucky to find 7.2Mbps coverage in the wild, but at least this notebook offers a level of future-proofing on this front. The SIM card slot is underneath the battery, which fits into a slot on the bottom of the casing.

With performance on par with desktop PC, the Fujitsu Lifebook E8410 battery is designed for mobile professionals who value cutting edge technology such as Intel Centrino Pro processor technology, comprehensive security features, high-end graphics and an incredible display into a thin and light package. Furthermore, its flexible design allows demanding business users to custom-configure the system exactly to fit their needs.

However, as it stands, the keyboard is fitted with large-sized keys that pose no usability problems. We found touch-typing comfortable, although the heavy handed may find the keyboard's flexibility a little disconcerting. A touchpad sits beneath the keyboard, with two mouse buttons beneath it. A block between these two buttons can be occupied by a fingerprint sensor, although that option was not present on our review sample. Above the touchpad sit a second pair of mouse buttons, designed to be used in conjunction with the pointing stick that sits between the G, H and B keys.

Fujitsu has implemented its customary suite of four buttons above the keyboard. These include one that locks the laptop down quickly; one that takes you to the "mobility center" for configuring the harddrive shock protection and other aspects of the device; an E button which turns on "Eco" mode, and an R button that accesses an on-demand backup utility.

Packing durability, a host of security options, and excellent performance, the Fujitsu E8410 battery is a good all-around business notebook. Striking a fine balance between performance and design is the Fujitsu LifeBook E8410, the successor to the E8210. The system packs in all the essentials needed to keep mobile professionals productive in the office and (occasionally) on the go: a fast Intel Core 2 Duo processor, excellent Wi-Fi throughput, security features, a shock-mounted 100GB hard drive, and discrete Nvidia graphics. Toss in a $1,849 price tag and you have an affordable business machine that should satisfy even the most demanding user. Weighing in at 6.2 pounds and measuring 14.1 x 10.1 x 1.4 inches, the E8410 is too bulky for toting around town on a daily basis, but it's still small enough to be a sleek desktop alternative that goes with you to in-office meetings.

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On the upper portion of the keyboard area is a small LCD which offers battery status, wireless power state, HDD activity, cap, num and scroll lock, etc. Unfortunately, this area does not illuminate, making it near impossible to read in the dark. I really wish you could illuminate this, or have the option to at least. A simple LED wouldnt hurt, would it Fujitsu? Then again, there are no busy blaring hyper-LEDs scattering your normal vision, which is also welcomed.

To right hand upper portion, there is a set of four hot buttons 1-4 (and enter) that can be programmed as shortcut keys. But they also serve another function one that follows the Lifebook blood hard and true. These buttons can act as a 5 digit pass code before the computer can boot up. Highly effective in thwarting thieves! You can enter this information through a program in Windows Vista to engage when you first boot the laptop up. As default hot buttons, the 1 key launches Notepad, 2 is the calculator, 3 is Internet Explorer (or your default browser) and 5 launches your email application.

The Fujitsu LifeBook E8410 is a notebook as good as any other. Setting aside its build quality and price, this laptop is a good option for business professionals in terms of performance and range of features.

Dell Latitude D820 Notebook PC Review

The Dell Latitude D820 is a portable desktop-replacement notebook capable of strengthening any workforce. It has a roomy widescreen and options for either Verizon EV-DO or Cingular HSDPA, and is an all-around great piece of hardware for both the deskbound and the occasional traveler.

As a high school graduation gift, my parents bought me a Dell Latitude D820 15.4" widescreen notebook. While Dell's Inspiron line is squarely aimed at the consumer market, the Latitude line is geared more towards the academic, small business, and corporate user. This is evidenced by the Latitudes' superior build quality, sober styling, lack of media-centric features, and higher price. Price-wise and size-wise, the Latitude D820 battery sits atop the thin-and-light 14" widescreen D620 and the budget oriented 14" standard-aspect D520 in the Latitude lineup. The D820 is an updated version of the D810 and features the Intel Core Duo processor to replace the D810's Pentium M as well a significant weight reduction from the D810. According to CNET Labs, "While the 3.2kg [7.05lbs] Latitude D810 was more of a desktop replacement, the 2.8kg [6.17lbs] approaches the more portable thin-and-light territory." This newfound svelteness, coupled with the D820's impressive computing power, makes it a formidable contender in the mid-size business notebook category.

The 15.4-inch widescreen LCD means you won't miss a desktop monitor, and some users will appreciate the high 1920 x 1200-pixel resolution, since it lets you have multiple windows open at once. Of course, default icons and fonts wind up rather small, so some users will want to opt for the lower-resolution panel (Dell also offers 1280 x 800-pixel and 1680 x 1050-pixel choices on the D820). The full-sized keyboard is comfortable (though key taps were a bit loud), and the D820 includes both a touchpad and a pointing stick.

Like all Dell Latitude notebooks, the D820 features a durable design, including a magnesium alloy casing, steel hinges, and StrikeZone protection for the hard drive. ExpressCharge technology enables you to recharge the battery to 80 percent capacity in about an hour. Dell backs this business system with a three-year warranty.

The professional look of the Latitude D820, paired with a workstation class video card, is reason enough for Dell to call it a business notebook. While I agree that it would be a great tool for a business, the D820 could also be an excellent notebook for a student looking for performance, ease of use and occasional gaming. I really like my Dell Latitude D820 battery. It performs like I was expecting, the battery life is excellent with the additional 6-cell media bay battery and it's gaming power is close to what I was hoping for. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this model to any professional looking for a solid system for work related task or to students looking for a good machine that can game a bit on the side.

The business section is basically divided into two series, Precision and Latitude. Precisions are more cutting edge technology, sacrificing some stability for the latest features, which might have some instability possibly caused by new drivers. Latitudes are the more conventional choice for businesses offering increased stability due to being built on a proven platform.

Specifications:
Core Duo T2400 CPU @ 1.83 GHz, 667MHz front side bus, 2MB L2 cache
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) display
1024MB DDR2-667 RAM (2x512MB DIMMS)
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 120 graphics solution with 512MB TurboCache
60GB hard disk @ 7200RPM
8x CD-RW/DVD RW dual layer drive
Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN (802.11b/g 54Mbps) Mini Card (Broadcom)
Bluetooth radio (Toshiba stack)
6-Cell/56 WHr Primary Battery
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
3-year Economy Plan warranty
Weight: 6.17lbs
Dimensions 1.39 in (H) x 14.21 in (W) 10.34 in (D)

Today we have the pleasure of reviewing the Latitude D820 series which falls into the high-end of the Latitude range and it’s our very first of many new notebook reviews here at TweakTown. While this notebook is listed under Dell's business section it actually boasts some nice features for an entertainment system, including a WUXGA display (that is 1900x1200 pixels to you and me) and HD audio.

Though the NVIDIA Quadro 120M graphics card isn't designed to play newer games, the D820 scored 12,620 in 3DMark 2001 SE, which shows it will handle older or less taxing games reasonably well. The Quadro range has a history in professional workstation graphics such as CAD (computer-aided design), but the 120m is marketed by NVIDIA as a business level graphics solution.

The main chassis is solid, as is the bezel housing the screen, though some distortion was noticeable on the LCD when pressure was applied to the back. Both a touchpad and a track-point are supplied and the keyboard was nicely sized and comfortable to use.

In our benchmarks, the Latitude D820's new parts catapulted the system's SysMark 2004 performance 30 percent beyond that of the prior-generation D810. The Dell D820 battery can easily handle any business task you throw at it and will likely succeed with most entertainment applications as well. We suspect the D820's high display resolution took a slight toll on the system's battery life, though: the system still lasted a very respectable 4 hours 51 minutes, but the similar-size battery on the ThinkPad T60, which features a lower screen resolution, held out for almost 6 hours. Still, the newly portable Latitude D820 now has enough battery life for decent excursions away from the socket.

The Latitude D820's three-year warranty is the industry standard for a business system, but Dell includes onsite repairs by the next business day -- something that costs extra from other vendors. Dell's comprehensive support Web site is also among the best in the business, offering troubleshooting info, downloads, a customer forum, real-time chatting with a tech-support rep and more.

Review of HP Compaq Business Notebook 6830s

HP Compaq Business Notebook 6830s is a notebook computer and it is a midpriced product. It costs around $1000, and it has a 17 inch widescreen with a 1680x1050 resolution. This is an outstanding characteristic, compared to other computers. The computer runs on Intel Core 2 Duo Chip and it has 320 GB hard disk and 3 GB RAM. The graphics are well represented by ATi Radeon HD 3000, with 256 RAM.

The 320 GB hard drive is larger than the average hard disk capacity on the market these days, but it is somehow proportional with the price. You can use the Bluetooth support to connect your headphones to your computer, and also to sync your mobile phone with the notebook.

Features
Processor Options: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz, 6 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB), Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40 GHz, 3 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB), Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz, 3 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB), Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5870 (2.00 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB), Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5670 (1.80 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB).
Display: 17" Widescreen LCD (1280x800 dpi or 1680x1050 dpi)
RAM: 1-2 GB DDR2 (maximum 8 GB)
Graphics Adapter: ATI Mobility Radeon 3430
Webcam optional
Networking: 802.11a/b/g/n with Bluetooth support optional
Optical Drive: DVD-ROM, DVD/CD-RW, LightScribe DVD+/-RW SuperMulti with Double Layer support, Blu-ray ROM DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL Drive
Connectivity: 4 USB ports, 1 RJ-11, 1 LAN, 1 VGA output
OS: Windows Vista Home Basic , Vista Business (32-bit), Vista Enterprise (32-bit), Windows XP
Battery: 6 or 8-cell Li-ion
Weight: 6.5 lbs

The key selling point at this price is the Blu-ray optical drive for watching the latest high-definition (HD) movie discs.

Unfortunately, there is no HDMI port for connecting to an HDTV, so you won't be able to get the full benefit of HD movies. The drive does let you record data to all current DVD and CD formats, however.

The dual-core Intel processor and 3072MB of memory are strong on paper, but in practice delivered a weak performance. There's ample power for most home and office use, but if you require optimum power, there are better choices.

The HP Compaq Business Notebook 6830s battery features a 17-inch diagonal widescreen display, discrete graphics, optional webcam, the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and the functionality you need to run a business at a price you will appreciate. HP Wireless Assistant ensures you can easily identify and quickly enable or disable your wireless devices to enhance your notebook's battery life. Experience web conferencing with no additional hardware to buy with optional webcam. The HP Compaq Business Notebook 6830s features 2 GB of RAM and a 250 GB hard drive.

Although this system LOOKS absolutely amazing, and the specs LOOK really good, do NOT be taken in by that! This was a replacement of a HP tx1250ea, which had gone badly wrong.

The system is very slow, and warms up very quickly, getting louder and louder. I believe that this is down to the AMD processor, but I really don't know. This also had an 'ATI HD' graphics card, but hardly runs Vista's Aero graphics without a blue screen!

This Hewlett Packard laptop has a great Intel Dual-Core processor backed up with a 3GB Ram which combined, have the capability to multi task many programs at once without reducing its’ speed or quality.

So you can be downloading music while uploading photos and be using all the work applications at the same time, and the efficiency of the laptop should be not be affected.

This notebook is also built to protect. HP ProtectTools Security Manager allows you to manage your security features from a single console. Security software modules give you the flexibility to design a security solution that meets your needs. The HP Compaq 6830s battery is also built to simplify. HP Wireless Assistant ensures you can easily identify and quickly enable or disable your wireless devices to enhance your notebook's battery life.

HP 3D DriveGuard, using a three-axis accelerometer that detects sudden movement and initiates protective action, helps protect your notebook's hard drive against bumps or drops so your critical data is protected while on the move.

Ideal for demanding executives, it simplifies life by allowing the user to complete more tasks in less time. Efficient and user-friendly, it has 4 USB 2.0, VGA out, RJ-11 (modem) and RJ-45 (NIC) as its expansion ports. Equipped with Bluetooth, integrated 10/100/1000 network card and integrated Wireless LAN, the laptop runs on battery with a maximum run time of 3 hours. Available with 1 year warranty, the Hewlett-Packard HP ProBook 4510s/CT battery (NA837ET#ABU) is office ready. Weighing 2.95kg, it is not very portable but it is possible to carry it from one office to another. A versatile and dependable gadget, it offers full flexibility to the user and makes for a useful and wise investment.