Fujitsu LifeBook T4215 Tablet user reviews (Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 1GB RAM, 100GB HDD)

4.0 stars

"A lot of bang for a lot of bucks" on March 18, 2007 by Scott Gardener

Pros: High end innards, customizable, light and portable

Cons: Costs as much as two or three more mediocre systems

Summary: I ordered a customized version of Fuji's T4215 direct from the web site, so my configuration is slightly different from CNet's review. Most notably, I have a drive bay battery that can swap out with the DVD writer to extend battery life, and I have the higher resolution 1400x1050 screen--which on the one hand reduces text to ants, but is an unavoidable compromise if you're wanting to pack in this much screen into this little space. I also have Windows Vista Business rather than XP Tablet PC Edition. Note that as of March 2007, either OS is available. I've got a 2 GHz core 2 duo processor, 2 Gigs of RAM, and a 100 Gig hard drive.

Fujitsu delivered pretty rapidly. When configuring on the Fujitsu Direct online store, I was given an estimate shipping date of 3/9, which was promptly changed to 3/14 when I checked my email. However, that was the only delay; it indeed shipped out close to midnight that night and arrived at my house some 36 hours later--pretty amazing since it came direct from the factory in Japan and I live in Texas.

Upon powering up for the first time, Vista was loaded but not installed, so the computer took about thirty minutes to ponder and meditate on itself and the meaning of life before I could use it. It included an offer for Norton Internet Security 2007, which I took, since I already have it and one license to spare, thus simplifying my setup a little bit. The T4215 automatically updated Windows and was up and running some 30 minutes into the setup process. This was no MacIntosh out-of-the-box quickie.

There was fairly moderate crapware burden, most of which is pretty unobtrusive. It came preloaded with and running Google Desktop, and it took a little figuring to turn it off, as I felt its features redundant with Vista's. Once deactivated, I had to figure out how to make Vista's sideboard work. The T4215 also by default deactivates the DVD drive in tablet mode. There's a way to bypass this safety feature, though I would still recommend only using the drive in tablet mode if the computer is sitting on a table, not in your hands. Haven't yet installed the fingerprint reader, but the hardware is there, and it already doubles as a scroll wheel. The 100 Gig hard drive shows itself as 90 GB with a little over 70 free. There's also a second partition visible, about one Gig, mostly free, plus hidden content. No idea what it's for. Thankfully, unlike my older Gateway suffering from overheating issues, the T4215 uses recovery DVDs rather than a space-occupying recovery partition.

I agree with the other user reviewer that the "cheap feel of the keyboard" is over-rated; it does not feel that bad. Granted, it doesn't have a particularly solid or heavy feel either, but it's likely again an engineering trade-off to help keep the unit light.

The tablet uses Wacom-based technology--again vastly superior to my Gateway, which uses Finepoint. Graphics programs like Photoshop support Wacom's pressure sensitivity, whereas Finepoint lacks support except in limited circles. The sensors also have better quality overall. Still, I am having problems getting pressure sensitivity to work with Photoshop Elements 4--but, this may be part of the Vista compatability issues. With Paint.NET, I get a much cleaner and better draw than I did with the Finepoint pen. Note also that Wacom pens don't rely on batteries and thus don't have to be replaced every six months or so.

All in all, it's a good start for my first two days of use. I'll post updates if I run into problems or need to add anything.