Fujitsu LifeBook T4210 Review (pics, specs)
The new Fujitsu LifeBook T4210 convertible Tablet PC is a lightweight, secure and fast performer. Offering a carrying weight of 4.5lbs., extended battery options, top notch security and fast performance, the T4210 can be the right convertible for specific users. On the flip side, 4.5lbs. can be considered slightly heavy to some road warriors. The “real world” battery life (standard battery) of about 2 hours is not quite enough for bragging rights. Finally, the indoor/outdoor display while functional for use in partial to full sunlight fails to impress for indoor use. As we are referring to our particular review unit configuration, users have the option to choose a different display and an extended modular battery to tailor the T4210 configuration to their own specific needs.
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Our Review Unit Specs:
- Intel Core Duo Processor T2500 (2 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB)
- Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 with Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
- 12.1″ XGA (1024×768) active digitizer indoor/outdoor display with wide viewing angles
- 1 GB DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM memory (512 MB x 2)
- 80 GB S-ATA 150, 5400 rpm hard drive
- Modular Dual-Layer Multi-Format DVD Writer
- Integrated Multinational 56K V.90 modem and 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
- Integrated Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (Tri-mode 802.11a/b/g)
- Integrated Bluetooth wireless
- Integrated Fingerprint Sensor, embedded TPM, dedicated Smart Card slot, Fujitsu Security Application Panel
- Dual microphone array with IntelliSonic noise cancellation software
- Main battery: Lithium ion (6-cell, 10.8V, 5200 mAh)
- One-year International Limited Warranty
Build Quality/Design
Our experience with Fujitsu mobile computing products has proven the excellent quality and solidly-built manufacturing of these devices. The T4210 Tablet PC is of no exception. The build quality is reassuringly well-built, certainly enough to withstand the daily challenges of mobile computing use. The display hinge allows rotation in either direction (a first for convertible Tablet PCs), the display latch closes securely in both “notebook” and “tablet” modes. All of the buttons, ports and exterior casing feel roadworthy.
Using the T4210 in notebook or tablet mode is a user-centric experience. There is easy access to the pen (not hidden in some side pocket slot). The biometric fingerprint reader is easily accessed along the display edge. Various functions, screen rotation and programmable buttons grace the horizontal screen edge. There is also an lcd display in place of the common indicator lights found on most notebook/Tablet PC models. While this lcd can prove handy, it would be nice if it was backlit since it can be difficult to read in any environment that has less a than adequate ambient lighting source.
The pen is easily accessible, however the lcd status indicator could use a bit of a boost with a backlight.
(view large image) The biometric fingerprint reader is easy to access and simple to use.
(view large image) function, screen rotation and programmable buttons are easily accessible in both notebook and “tablet mode”.
A Look Around the T4210
(view large image) Right Side: Anti-Theft Lock Slot, Flexible Bay (can be swapped for a second battery), Flexible Bay Eject Lever and Kensington Lock.
(view large image) Left Side: AC in, Pen Tether Attachment Point, USB, Wireless LAN/Bluetooth Switch, PCMCIA Slot.
(view large image) Back: Modem Port, USB, Infrared Port, External Video, USB (all ports covered)
(view large image) Note that the screen hinge is perfectly stable AND rotates in both directions!
(view large image) Underside: Battery Pack, Port Replicator Connector, RAM Compartment, Air Vents (and of course Fujitsu’s “Thermal Suede” to keep lap operation a more comfortable experience).
(view large image) Front: Speakers (stereo), Headphone Jack, Mic Jack, Display Latch
Display
(view large image) Indoors
(view large image) Outdoors, partial shade
The Fujitsu T4210 12″ display carries a 1024×768 (XGA) native resolution. Our review unit sports an indoor/outdoor version of the display that we are not quite sure will suit anyone who works indoors most of the time. To explain further, there is a filter in the outer display layer that causes the image on screen to have an almost “frosted” appearance. Assuming that this “frosted” look is a compensation to reduce glare, it is hard to conclude that it is worth the trade off. Look closely at the following image to see how we can best illustrate this phenomenon:
(view large image) If you look closely at the start button, you will notice it appears as though it is behind “frosted glass”. This image was shot in a macro mode and in focus.
In regards to the display size and resolution, the indoor/outdoor display buys no bragging rights. The display is of 12″ and has a 1024×768 native resolution, there is not a whole lot of viewing space for working with spreadsheets or perhaps editing images in Photoshop. Furthermore, if the user plans to use this particular display to edit photos, the “frosted” appearance makes it hard to pinpoint any fine details in the images. If you are a potential buyer of the T4210 and plan to use it primarily indoors and/or to edit images we recommend that you go with the standard indoor display option.
Speakers
The T4210 speakers are stereo and as with most lightweight portables, offer tone and loud and clear enough for Windows audio prompts and playback of dictation. We would however strongly recommend a good set of powered external speakers to listen to your favorite MP3’s or enjoy streaming video content.
Processor and Performance Benchmarks
Performance is where the T4210 really shines. The Fujitsu LifeBook T4210 features Core Duo technology, (2 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB). This Core Duo @ 2.0GHz is blazing fast with speed to spare. It is a pleasure to work on a machine as responsive as the T4210, especially while running multiple tasks. Go ahead and do that virus scan or install the latest spyware update while rendering filters in Photoshop. With a Core Duo processor this fast, even demanding multitasking won’t slow you down.
Comparison of Tablet PC models using Super Pi to calculate Pi to 2 million digits (plugged in):
Time to Calculate Pi to 2 Million Digits
| Notebook | Time to Calculate Pi to 2 Million Digits |
| Fujitsu LifeBook T4210 (2.0GHz Core Duo) | 1m 16s |
| Toshiba Portege M400 (1.83GHz Core Duo) | 1m 19s |
| Toshiba Tecra M4 (1.86GHz Alviso Pentium M) | 1m 45s |
| HP tc4200 (1.73GHz Alviso PM) | 1m 51s |
| Toshiba R15 Tablet PC (1.6GHz Dothan PM) | 2m 8s |
We used Futuremark’s PCMark ’04 benchmarking software to measure the M400’s performance in various tasks.
Performance Benchmarks for the Fujitsu T4210 (2.0GHz Core Duo) compared to the Toshiba Portege M400 (1.83GHz) simulating multiple computing tasks:
| Futuremark PCMark04 Scores | Fujitsu T4210 (2.0GHz Core Duo) | Toshiba Portege M400 (1.83GHz Core Duo) |
| Multithreaded Test 1 / File Compression | 6.85 MB/s | 6.25 MB/s |
| Multithreaded Test 1 / File Encryption | 57.29 MB/s | 53.28 MB/s |
| Multithreaded Test 2 / File Decompression | 52.32 MB/s | 47.61 MB/s |
| Multithreaded Test 2 / Image Processing | 23.2 MPixels/s | 21.66 MPixels/s |
| Multithreaded Test 3 / Virus Scanning | 4975.55 MB/s | 4637.05 MB/s |
| Multithreaded Test 3 / Grammar Check | 4.83 KB/s | 4.61 KB/s |
| File Decryption | 58.65 MB/s | 54.58 MB/s |
| Audio Conversion | 2981.0 KB/s | 2832.21 KB/s |
| Web Page Rendering | 3.41 Pages/s | 5.98 Pages/s |
| DivX Video Compression | 74.1 FPS | 69.46 FPS |
| Physics Calculation and 3D | 106.6 FPS | 100.21 FPS |
| Graphics Memory – 64 Lines | 481.52 FPS (integrated GPU) | 481.44 (integrated GPU) |
| 3DMark ’03 Score | N/A | N/A |
The T4210 with the 2.0GHz Core Duo CPU produced results right on top of the Toshiba M400 with a 1.83GHz dual core CPU. One strange anomaly was the slower “Web Page Rendering” calculation in the T4210. While there is no explanation for this, further testing may indicate a different number. Overall however, this is a minimal concern since the overwhelming majority of the results showed just how snappy the T4210 performs.
Our review unit has a Fujitsu 80GB 5400 RPM hard drive. Below are the results for the HD Tune performance benchmarks.
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(Input) Keyboard, Trackpoint, Pen
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The T4210 (spillproof) keyboard is extremely comfortable and responsive. The keys have a nice recessed surface and are well-spaced. I was able to type without errors the very first time I used this keyboard. There is adequate palmrest real estate. The touchpad has 2 standard (left/right) mouse buttons. A handy hardware scroll button is centered between the mouse buttons. I found this button very handy and relied on it regularly to scroll through various web pages and documents.
Using the pen to write and draw on the T4210 provides the user a great “Tablet PC” experience. The T4210 is Wacom “Penabled” – utilizing the industry standard electromagnetic touchscreen technology. The T4210 allows for accurate tracking of the cursor with the pen even along the screen edges. Calibration of the screen was unnecessary with out T4210 review unit. It worked flawlessly right out of the box!
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Battery
Using Battery Eater Pro we stress tested the T4210’s (standard 6-cell, 5200mAh) lithium ion battery. With the Wi-Fi turned on, the hard drive constantly reading/writing and the CPU busy making calculations, the T4210 ran for a modest 84 minutes. However, take this with a grain of salt. Our real world runtime with wireless on and typical use (web browsing, word processing, etc.) gave us about 2.5 hours on average. It is apparent that the Core Duo processor offers excellent power savings for processing “everyday” computer tasks.
| System Info | |
| Manufacture | FUJITSU |
| Model | LifeBook T4210 |
| ModelEx | |
| OS | Windows XP Service Pack 2 |
| CPU Info | |
| CPU Manufacture | Intel Corporation |
| CPU Model | Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2500 @ 2.00GHz |
| CPU Frequency | ~1996Mhz |
| CPU Extensions | | MMX | SSE2 | HT | Enchanted SpeedStep |
| CPU Cache Info | |
| Level 1 Instructions | 32 |
| Level 1 Data | 32 |
| Level 2 Data | 2048 |
| System RAM info | |
| Total Memory: | 1014Mb |
| Memory slots | 2 ( 1: 512Mb; 2: 512Mb; ) |
| Display Device Info | |
| Adapter | Mobile Intel(R) 945GM Express Chipset Family |
| Resolution | 1024×768 |
| OpenGL render device | Intel 945GM |
| OpenGL driver version | 1.4.0 – Build 4.14.10.4421 |
| Vertex shader version | 0.0 |
| Pixel shader version | 2.0 |
| Hard Disk Drive Info | |
| S.M.A.R.T. | Supported and Enabled |
| HDD Model | FUJITSU MHV2080BH |
| HDD Serial | NW35T6526LSK |
| HDD FirmWare | 00000028 |
| Main Battery Info | |
| Device Name | CP293420 |
| Manufacture | Fujitsu |
| Serial # | |
| Unique ID | 1FujitsuCP293420 |
| Chemistry | Lithium Ion |
| Temperature | Termal Control Not Present |
| Designed Capacity | 56160mWh |
| Full Charged Capacity | 53633mWh |
| Designed Voltage | 10.8V |
| Current Voltage | 9.834V |
| Manufacture Date | 0/0/0 |
| Cycles Count | 0 |
| Cells count | 3 |
| Force charge support | Not Supported |
| Force discharge support | Not Supported |
| Benchmark results | |
| CPU BEmarks | 0 |
| GPU BEmarks | 0 |
| RAM BEmarks | 0 |
| HDD BEmarks | 0 |
| Work Done | |
| Pi calculations | 80262 Cycles |
| HDD readwrite | 5342 Mb |
| Fames Rendered | 556145 Frames |
| Benchmark Options | |
| Resolution | 800x600x32 |
| FullScreen | Disabled |
| Mode | Classic |
| Results | |
| Total time | 1:23:36 |
| Discharge rate (minimum) | 4294924982 mWh |
| Discharge rate (maximum) | 4294936991 mWh |
| Discharge rate (average) | 4294925952 mWh |
| Result Graph | |
Software/Operating System
The Fujitsu T4210 comes preloaded with Security Panel Application, Microsoft OneNote 2003, Roxio Disc Burning Software and CyberLink Power DVD.
OS: Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
Wireless
Our T4210 review unit is configured with integrated Bluetooth and the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (Tri-mode 802.11a/b/g) card. Users may choose the Super Atheros a/b/g wireless card for the T4210 as well. The Intel card seems to operate very well among a variety of access points tested. We did not experience any drops or instability in connectivity at any time.
Security
Fujitsu enhanced the T4210 with biometric security. The security features include embedded TPM (Trusted Platform Module), an integrated Fingerprint Sensor and the Fujitsu Security Panel Application. With a mobile devices this size, it could be very easy for a busy traveler to leave it behind. The insurance of having this type of security at work to protect sensitive data is truly priceless.
Customer Support/Warranty
The Fujitsu T4210 comes with a standard international 1-year warranty. Additional add-on service plans can be purchased through the manufacturer as well. A “Screen Damage Protection Plan” is also available. Details on these extended plans are on Fujitsu’s website.
Final Thoughts
The Fujitsu T4210 is an exceptionally fast, high-performance Tablet PC in a small package. While we would prefer the “indoor” display option, the T4210 has been a pleasure to use. With its acceptable “real world” standard battery life, top-grade build quality and exceptional built-in security, the T4210 can make a great choice for the mobile professional and student alike.
By taking the money you might put towards the indoor/outdoor display option and purchasing the modular bay extended battery instead, you would have a wonderful Tablet PC. Fujitsu’s unsurpassed support and quality are a considerable part of the package that all consumers should be aware of.
Pros
- Great Build Quality
- Full-featured wireless capabilities
- Exceptional Security with Biometrics
- Fujitsu support
Cons
- Indoor/Outdoor display difficult to use indoors
- Could be a bit lighter in weight for the size
Barry J. Doyle
TabletPCReviewSpot | Editor in Chief
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