One thing about having your own review labs is that you get to see the latest gear and often before it goes on sale. Lately we have been testing a lot of notebooks and netbooks from the likes of Toshiba, Medion, Acer and Dell but it was one particular notebook from Fujitsu that really caught my attention. After almost a week of putting the Fujitsu LifeBook T2020 through its paces, I have to say that I am impressed.
It is obvious the minute you unpack it that this is no ordinary notebook. It is sleek and has a swivel screen and stylus which allows you to flick it over into A4 page mode.
More importantly, unlike other tablet notebooks, the touch screen actually works well due to use of a "Penable Wacom" stylus and some neat Fujitsu software which allows you to use the screen easily without having to go back to the keyboard to enter data.
The handwriting recognition capability is also impressive, especially as I am a writer with the world's worst handwriting. This device just sucked in my scrawl and spat out recognisable text.
The 12.1in TFT screen is excellent and even in bright conditions I was able to see clearly the content.
Within minutes of opening this device in a public place I had several people approach me wanting to know what it was. They were really impressed until they were told the price. At $3,999 it is pricey for what you are getting.
This device is to notebooks what Audi and BMW are to motor cars. It goes a long way to setting a neat new standard for notebooks in that it is brilliantly designed without being dainty or over the top. It also delivers excellent functionality and performance. It is finished largely in matte black plastic, and the casing feels sturdy. However, it does tend to attract fingerprints on the screen and occasionally on the matte black plastic but not enough to be of major concern.
Under the bonnet of Fujitsu's LifeBook T2020 is a 3.5G wireless capability that allows for the insertion of a SIM card giving users instant access to their mobile broadband provider. A small flip-out antenna on the right side of the display helps improve 3G reception. For wireless connectivity both 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are available.
