The Hindu Business Line : Cool companion

The Fujitsu P7010's proportion and portability come as a breath of fresh air. Its sleek, compact frame, (dimensions: 10.27"x7.8"x1.38") and feel (weight: 1.5 kg), make it suitable for buyers who like to travel light.

The user interface is Microsoft's popular OS, Windows XP — both the Home and Professional versions are available. Equipped with a dedicated Compact Flashcard slot and an integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, the laptop scores in usability.

Featuring Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 for 802.11 b/g (WiFi), it allows you to access corporate access points and public Wi-Fi hotspots for instant wire-free broadband. The separate switch on the front of the laptop helps search for nearby Wi-Fi hotspots instantly.

A flaw in the handsome P7010 is that the machine whines mechanically when stressed. The noise fromthe laptop's fan is annoying and though the laptop doesn't heat up very fast, the user might be worried with the machine's attempts to cool.

An attempt to open some high-resolution photos while running Winamp proved too much for the delicate P7010 and it hung. These applications suck on processing-power, and left the 7010 a wreck. The slot for digicam memory cards (Compact Flash card) allows fast and easy access to photos (once relevant drivers are installed) without needing to wire up your digicam.

The laptop lasts for up to 11.2 hours on battery and has an optional modular bay battery. It has two USB 2.0 ports and one Firewire400 port. Firewire and USB 2.0 ports are quicker than the traditional USB port used to transfer data from pen drives and other data storage devices, and have maximum data transfer speeds of 400 MBps and 480 MBps, respectively.

The 7010's combo drive (DVD and CD-RW) smoothly purrs when you slide in the disc. The laptop comes with Sonic DLA (Drive Letter Access) software already installed. Sonic DLA helps simplify the `burning' (writing a CD/DVD) procedure by letting you just drag and drop files onto the empty disc in Explorer.

The 7010 sports a 56 kbps modem and runs on 1.1GHz Intel Pentium M processor (branded as Intel Centrino Mobile technology when clubbed with the WiFi and 855 GME graphics hub controller). The spacious 80GB hard disk with 512 MB RAM is suitable for most applications.

But gamers beware — the Fujitsu P7010, like most laptops, does not do well with high-resolution gaming. Doom3 refused to boot.

Have you ever tired of remembering all the various passwords you are forced to use — for e-mail, to log onto Windows, for every other application that demands registration? The 7010's user management software — SoftexOmnipass — seems the perfect solution. It allows the user to fix a master password, which applies to (and circumvents) all Windows, application and online passwords.

Viewing a movie on the 10.6" TFT (thin film transistor, as opposed to CRT or Plasma) screen, while prostate on the bed, using CyberLink's PowerDVD software, is luxury. Power Producer for movie making has also been installed in the 7010.

Colours of branding

While the laptop spectrum ranges from the Red hot Acer Ferrari to the Big Blue's ThinkPad, Fujitsu's focus on `personality' rather than colour appeals to the discerning buyer. Fujitsu brands the P7010 under its Lifestyle range of products, which includes the P, T, C, E, M and S series of notebooks. `P'stands for `Personality', while S stands for sophistication and C for classy. Lifestyle is the company's range of `designer' laptops, and is expected to appeal to the wealthier section. The company also says it makes for the perfect gift for young executives.

The minimalist will definitely admire the machine, even if its price, at just under a lakh (Rs 99,999) stuns.

preethij@thehindu.co.in

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