Fujitsu-Siemens LifeBook P1610

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.biosmagazine.co.uk/rev.php?id=639' target='_blank'>http://www.biosmagazine.co.uk/rev.php?id=639</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Your business doesn’t live in an office - it goes wherever you go. And with the LifeBook P1610 you have simple ways to connect, communicate, network, and get it done - whether you’re in the office or on the road. The machine is extremely portable and well built to take everyday knocks and bumps. The screen is nice and bright, and the keyboard responsive. The only disappointments are the lack of an integrated video conference camera and cramped keyboard. Thankfully, embedded UMTS/HSDPA is an optional extra. If you don’t need raw power and a big screen, the LifeBook P1610 is a stylish Tablet PC ideal for those who frequently need to be connected on the road."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/cgg-tablet-07262007.jpg" /><br /><br />While I've never been able to take full advantage of the Tablet interface due to my horrible penmanship. I love them for reading documents or surfing the net in portrait mode. That, combined with my fondness for tiny laptops makes this look like a winner to me.

[rlobrecht]

I was really interested in the P1610, and was quite excited when one of my local brick and mortar stores started stocking them. Unfortunately, in the 10 - 15 minutes that I played with one, I found that the digitizer really sucks. It has a passive digitizer (like a UMPC) not an active digitizer like most Tablet PCs. This means that you can use your finger, but it also means that a few things like hover don't work, and the resolution is about a third of an active digitizer. If you want a tiny machine to surf the web and read documents with, this is a great one. If you want a truly portable machine for taking handwritten notes, in my opinion, you need to keep looking.