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Fujitsu LifeBook P1500 Notebook review: Fujitsu LifeBook P1500 Notebook

This tiny tablet packs a punch.

Michelle Thatcher Former Senior Associate Editor, Laptops
Tech expert Michelle Thatcher grew up surrounded by gadgets and sustained by Tex-Mex cuisine. Life in two major cities--first Chicago, then San Francisco--broadened her culinary horizons beyond meat and cheese, and she's since enjoyed nearly a decade of wining, dining, and cooking up and down the California coast. Though her gadget lust remains, the practicalities of her small kitchen dictate that single-function geegaws never stay around for long.
Michelle Thatcher
4 min read
Fujitsu LifeBook P1510D

The tiny Fujitsu LifeBook P1510D convertible tablet delivers a great compromise between a handheld form factor and laptop-quality performance. While its cramped keyboard makes extensive typing challenging, its size makes it extremely portable. And though the tablet runs on Windows XP Professional, included software lets you convert handwritten notes to text with remarkable accuracy. If you're looking for a small tablet--or an extremely lightweight laptop--the $1,649 Fujitsu LifeBook P1510D is a good choice.

6.2

Fujitsu LifeBook P1500 Notebook

The Good

Extremely portable; sturdy screen hinge; great performance; biometric fingerprint reader; memory-card reader.

The Bad

Tiny keyboard and screen; less battery life than comparable systems; cheap stylus; no optical drive; short warranty.

The Bottom Line

The easy-to-carry Fujitsu LifeBook P1510D combines top-notch performance and a touch screen in a tablet form factor.

About the size of a thick paperback, the LifeBook P1510D measures 9 inches wide, 6.5 inches deep (7.5 inches with the optional extended-life battery), and 1.4 inches thick. At 2.2 pounds, it's by far one of the smallest and lightest convertible tablets we've seen; the (also small) ThinkPad X41 weighs nearly 1.5 pounds more. In fact, the LifeBook P1510D is among the smallest laptops we've seen, though the diminutive Toshiba Libretto U100 is smaller. With its 0.6-pound, two-prong AC adapter, the Fujitsu LifeBook P1510D hits the road at a featherweight 2.8 pounds.

Of course, with a case this small, you'll sacrifice some creature comforts. Typing lengthy documents on the tablet's 12mm keys will certainly fatigue your hands; however, unlike the Libretto U100's ridiculously small keyboard, the LifeBook P1510D's is quite reasonable for typing quick notes or e-mail. The tablet's textured pointing stick proved responsive, and the small mouse buttons and the middle scroll button were adequate.

The LifeBook P1510D's small 8.9-inch (diagonal) display, featuring a 1,024x600 native resolution, provides just enough space for basic productivity tasks (for users with good eyesight). While some tablet displays, such as the Toshiba Satellite R15, wobble on their single hinge, the LifeBook P1510D's screen stays firmly in place. With the P1510D in tablet mode, the screen space is similar to that of a steno pad. The included passive stylus, made of lightweight plastic, closely resembles a Palm's in length and width. While it was serviceable, we'd prefer a weightier, more penlike stylus, such as the one found on the Gateway CX200X. The LifeBook P1510D runs slightly warm, but its temperature is not uncomfortable for extended handheld use.

Despite its small size, the LifeBook P1510D packs in all the basic ports and connections: one VGA and two USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, and both CompactFlash and SD card readers. You can get online via modem, Ethernet, or 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi. There's also a Trusted Platform Module for security and a biometric fingerprint reader that lets you log in keyboard-free. Those features are nearly identical to the ones on the larger ThinkPad X41, which has a PC Card slot but no CompactFlash card reader. Like many convertible tablets, the LifeBook P1510D lacks an optical drive.

Unlike most tablets, the LifeBook P1510D runs Windows XP Professional (a Windows XP Tablet PC Edition version is forthcoming). For now, Fujitsu offers a sufficient software package, including RitePen handwriting-recognition software and the EverNote Plus note-taking app. Some tablet purists will miss Windows XP Tablet's advanced annotation features. An XP Pro bonus: the included DialKeys software lets you choose from six types of onscreen keyboards for entering text with your fingers.

We tested the $1,649 LifeBook P1510D, configured with a 1.2GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of quick 400MHz RAM, a sluggish 4,200rpm 30GB hard drive, and an integrated Intel graphics chip that uses up to 128MB of system memory. On CNET Labs' mobile benchmarks, those components kept the LifeBook P1510D running at the level of the $1,999 Toshiba Libretto U100, the $1,899 ThinkPad X41, the $2,002 Dell Latitude X1, and the $2,300 Sony VAIO VGN-TX670. For performing basic business tasks on the road, the LifeBook P1510D's performance should be adequate.

The LifeBook P1510D did not excel in our battery-drain tests; its standard battery lasted just 3 hours, 7 minutes--not terrible, but far from the Libretto U100's 4 hours, 48 minutes and the ThinkPad X41's 5 hours, 25 minutes. Users who want more time between charges can purchase Fujitsu's $129 high-capacity battery, which Fujitsu claims will last 7 hours (CNET did not test this battery).

Fujitsu backs the LifeBook P1510D with a one-year warranty, well short of the three-year warranty most manufacturers offer for business systems. You can extend the warranty to three years for an additional $179.95, and you can add three years of onsite service for $149.85. In a nod to the likelihood that you'll carry the LifeBook P1510D everywhere, the company also offers an LCD-repair warranty (one year costs $150, and three years costs $383). Fujitsu provides 24/7 toll-free phone support for the life of your warranty; a support Web site offers live chat with a technician, as well as the expected FAQs, driver downloads, and product manuals.

For more detailed information about warranties and service plans, check out Computer Shopper's overview of 37 major computer vendors.

Mobile application performance
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
BAPCo's MobileMark 2002 performance rating  

Battery life
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
BAPCo's MobileMark 2002 battery-life minutes  

Find out more about how we test Windows notebooks.

System configurations:
Fujitsu LifeBook P1510D
Windows XP Professional; 1.2GHz Intel Pentium M 753 ULV; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM PC3200 400MHz; Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express 128MB; Toshiba MK2006GAL 30GB 4,200rpm
Toshiba Libretto U100
Windows XP Professional; 1.2GHz Intel Pentium M 753; 512MB DDR SDRAM PC2700 333MHz; Intel 855GM (up to 64MB); Toshiba MK6006GAH 60GB 4,200rpm
ThinkPad X41
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005; 1.5GHz Intel Pentium M 758 LV; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM PC3200 400MHz; Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express 128MB; Hitachi Travelstar C4K60 40GB 4,200rpm

6.2

Fujitsu LifeBook P1500 Notebook

Score Breakdown

Design 7Features 7Performance 7Battery 5Support 4