Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook E8210 review

Clive Webster Read more October 7, 2009

£1299

Price when reviewed

On paper, there’s a lot to tempt the mobile business user to this latest Lifebook E8210. Not least because, like Acer’s Aspire 5652WLMi, it comes with a 3G card slot and aerial integrated into the chassis.

In this case, however, it’s fully unlocked, so you can use any 3G SIM – the normal restrictions and tariffs will apply. And, like the Acer, this hardware can also revert to EDGE or GPRS if 3G isn’t available. That’s on top of the 802.11b/g WLAN and Bluetooth, the latter of which will enable you to make voice calls over 3G using a headset.

There’s also the flexibility of the hot-swap bay on the right-hand side. This comes supplied with a DVD writer, but release a lever and it can be replaced with a weight-saver module (£13) or a second battery (£105). You’re likely to need that as, even with the screen on half brightness, we saw a fairly poor 2 hrs 46 mins of light use, with the extra battery adding less than two hours.

The Lifebook’s security credentials are a better story. The fingerprint reader can be used to ensure a secure logon, as well as act as a substitute for web-based passwords. You can securely encrypt files, so that only a registered fingerprint can open them, and there’s a SmartCard reader giving you token-based security. TPM hardware is an option, but not included as standard at this price.

We’d expect a notebook designed for life on the road to reasonably rugged, particularly as people tend to be less careful with company property than with their own. While the three-year collect-and-return warranty is reassuring, the main chassis of our Lifebook flexed a little too easily and a firm push makes the whole TFT panel ripple worryingly; however, we were testing a pre-production sample, and we expect build quality to be improved with the finished batch of Lifebooks.

On the plus side, the Lifebook features a spill-proof keyboard and an accelerometer, which parks the hard disk’s head to prevent mechanical damage from sudden knocks.

The Lifebook comes with increasingly rare legacy parallel and serial ports (the former is on the left-hand side of the chassis, the latter is on the rear), making it attractive for certain vertical applications. Modern peripherals are looked after by four USB 2 ports and mini-FireWire, and there’s also a Type I/II PC Card slot as well as a D-SUB output. There’s also an ExpressCard slot to cater for more cutting-edge upgrades. If the E8210 is going to act as your principal PC, a port replicator is available for £75, adding a DVI-D port.

There’s easily enough power on board for more desktop-based applications when needed, with the 2GHz Core Duo processor and 1GB of 667MHz RAM. Our review sample had a 2.16GHz Core Duo and 2GB of RAM, so expect around 10% less performance than the scores quoted below.

ATi’s Radeon Mobility X1400 graphics processor is more of a marketing choice than strictly practical, as it doesn’t offer much more muscle than Intel’s cheaper, more power-efficient chip. It will provide a decent amount of acceleration in older games, though, so don’t entirely write off the Lifebook for after-hours entertainment. Plus, it ensures that the Lifebook will be able to run Vista’s Aero Glass interface in all its glory.

Storage space is acceptable at 80GB, but hardly generous considering the price. Some of the drive is devoted to a hidden recovery partition, which will restore a factory image in case of Windows-based disasters. The optical drive supports dual-layer DVD writing should you need to clear space or back up crucial data.
We’re happy to see both a trackpad and a decent keyboard-embedded trackpoint present, with dedicated mouse buttons for each. The keyboard itself is generous, with full-sized keys laid out logically and a good feel to touch-type by.

We’re rather less impressed by the Lifebook’s TFT, though. While the 1,680 x 1,050 resolution provides plenty of detail on the 15.4in screen, the viewing angles are narrow, with colour distortion occuring toward the edges in both planes – even when facing it square on. It’s also a little dull, with whites never more than bright grey. Considering that much cheaper machines routinely offer good-quality TFTs these days, it’s a big letdown for presenting or reviewing marketing materials. Again, we’re hoping the final production units will boast a better screen; look out for updates on the PC Pro website.

While there’s plenty to like about this notebook, most notably its impressive connectivity options, we’d like to see more ruggedness before we could recommend it outright. If it’s good- value 3G that appeals, the Acer Aspire 5652WLMi costs £400 less and comes with a much better screen and battery life. But for business use, it’s hard to beat the 3G-equipped version of Dell’s Latitude D620 currently at top spot on the A List.