Fujitsu Lifebook T4220 convertible tablet reviewed

We didn't have a whole lot of details on Fujitsu's new Lifebook T4220 convertible tablet when we first caught wind of it, but the folks at Laptop Magazine have now thankfully come through to answer all our questions with a full review of the flip-and-fold device. As you might expect, they found the underlying Santa Rosa platform to deliver a noticeable boost in performance, with the tablet's Intel GMA X3100 graphics also faring well with video and Vista's Aero interface, although it likely still won't be enough to satisfy gamers. They were also impressed with the Lifebook's thin and light design (1.5 inches and 4.3 pounds) -- an even more impressive feat given the built-in DVD burner -- and they found the integrated fingerprint reader and SmartCard security to be welcome additions. On the downside, the tablet's battery life proved to be decidedly lackluster, delivering an average runtime of three hours, or just over two hours during their DVD drain test. They were also disappointed by the lack of Firewire and S-video ports. Still, they don't seem to have much trouble recommending the tablet, giving it a solid four out of five rating.

[Jacob John @ Feb 26th 2008 4:49AM]

I guess T4220 is better in build quality than the TX2000. The later is a far improvement on the TX1000 for the touchscreen usability and other specifications. DVD with Lightscribe is a good option to consider but with requirement of Lightscribe DVDs and it is much time consuming to write, it is a putoff.

I prefer T4220 for the Fujitsu build quality, SantaRosa processor, optical drive, and other features. But 1GB RAM standard is on the lower end for a Tablet PC and you need to shell out money for additional RAM. I liked the idea of the styllus pen on the front since it is very easy to forget after a meeting and in a hurry. Moreover when used as a Tablet PC, it positions on the bottom frame; very thoughtful.

Overall, would prefer to have a T4220 as a first choice and TX2000 as a second choice. Worked on the TX1000 and TX2000 and the latter is faaar better.

[Advisor @ May 10th 2007 6:53AM]

I think Fujitsu could learn a little from HP's styling on their latest tablet, don't you? That pen tray at the side is just ugly!

[Cutie @ May 10th 2007 7:01AM]

I consider buying Convertible Tablet when the technology is good enough. Many people suggest me to hold it adn advise for usual notebook.. But I think, now many good tablet PC produce and I just need wo wait a little more... :)

http://www.cutiegadget.com

[Advisor @ May 10th 2007 7:06AM]

I'd wait until Lenovo put Santa Rosa in one of their tablets, either the X60 or which ever one comes next, and then get that. The HP and Asus tablets probably look slicker, but for battery life and build quality, Lenovo still has it for me.

[Castle @ May 10th 2007 7:45AM]

Fujitsu & IBM Lenovo make the best tablet PCs on the market, the stylus being on the front may look ugly but its incredibly useful when actually using it since you don't leave the stylus everywhere.

This is one of the things I miss most after upgrading from my Fujitsu tabletPC to the IBM X60 recently.

[CarrotAndStick @ May 12th 2007 4:23AM]

Lenovo and quality? Sure, the last few IBM shells that they still had in their inventory was/is great, but have you had a look at the new ones? And what about the cr@ppy grammar in their new software updates and the like? Highly unprofessional wares.

[Castle @ May 10th 2007 7:55AM]

Another thing about the Fujitsu is that they have a built in optical-drive which other light-weight TabletPCs, such as the X60 and Toshiba R400 etc don't have.


>>Lenovo and quality?

They still are very good and they have the best keyboard on the market.

[Dandy @ May 10th 2007 8:57AM]

Why oh why isn't there a tablet PC that is portable, light, that has wi-fi, bluetooth, a webcam, fingerprint reader, Dual layer DVD burner with lightscribe, touchscreen for stylus or finger, has S-video out and an IR remote control for watching DVD's for under $1400? Oh right there is already one....it's called the HP tx1000. Nuff said.

[Zadillo @ May 10th 2007 10:01AM]

Two problems with the tx1000; it only has a passive digitizer, which is much less accurate than an active digitizer found in higher-end tablets. It gets the job done, but if you try a tx1000 out you'll find it will often "drop" parts of your letters, etc. as you write. And it can be tiring having to use the right amount of pressure all the time just to get a mark.

The other problem it has is that HP still only uses an AMD Turion x2 processor in it.

The tx1000 seems like an interesting laptop (I like it's overall form factor, but found the passive digitizer to be almost useless), but it isn't comparable to higher end Tablet PC's (including those made by HP) with active digitizers.

[fallen @ May 10th 2007 3:36PM]

At the moment in terms of design I really like the Toshiba R400 but it needs an update.

[Dandy @ May 11th 2007 9:11AM]

That's true . The TX1000 does fail if it's used solely as a tablet and none of the other features are used. But it's good to know that if you loose the stylus somewhere you can just use your finger in a pinch or pick up an el cheapo pda stylus replacement at any store and get back to business right away and not be out of luck like you would be with a stylus for an active digitizer. I would make an analogy that you could get a "super charger" for your car but if something fails you're not likely to have an easy task of going to the nearest mechanic and having it repaired right away since they need specialty replacement parts plus it would be quite a bit more expensive to replace those specialty parts as opposed to your off the shelf generic spare parts.
And sure it uses an AMD processor but it isn't meant to be a desktop replacement for intesive image or graphic processing (with such a small screen it isn't likely people would be using it as a daily machine at work).
My point was that it has almost all the features you could ever need in a portable machine for a great price. It has lightscribe so you can burn labels right away for DVD's and CD's which I don't think the Fujitsu has. It has an s-video port to watch movies or show your powerpoint presentation to the board room which I don't belive the Fujitsu has. It has bluetooth to use a wireless mouse or printer which the Fukitsu doesn't appear to have either. All I'm saying is that it's packed with features but is still cheaper that most tablet PC's so you may not use or need all of those features right away but the day you do need one wouldn't you be happy you had it?

[Denis @ Jul 3rd 2007 12:03AM]

I tried the HP and I hated it, even though I loved all the special features -- why buy a tablet PC that you cannot use as a real tablet for writing? That's the whole point. Try writing once with the HP and you'll see how it mistakes your palm and shirt sleeve button for marks, so you cannot write with it. I much prefer the Lenovo active digitizer pen and the Fujitsu. I guess if you were going to really write notes with it as a tablet, then buy the HP. Another annoying feature was the fingerprint reader -- it too kept picking up my sleeve or palm and windows kept popping up -- you'd have to disable it, so when using the tablet, so why bother?

[it-labproctor @ May 13th 2007 2:47PM]

I bought lenovo X60 Tablet this february 07. It worked fine for the first week, but then a storm of technical problems came up.
First, the "Active Rotate" future didn't work. Next, the LCD screen got distorted...everything on the screen was distorted. Tech support asked me to send it in for repairs, which I did. The tablet got there in mid march, and it didn't come back till late april! It was there sitting for one full month before they could figure out whats wrong with it! They changed the planar card (system board) and the LCD screen.
Guess what? Last week, the screen is distorted again!
I extremely discourage anyone from buying Lenovo X60 tablet. Their technical support is almost illeterate. They even dont know anything about the features this tablet comes with. All they tell you is that you need to re-image your hard drive for even a minor problem.
I, once again, discourage everyone from buying lenovo's tablet.

[Techz @ Jul 3rd 2007 1:30AM]

I have to say, the Fujitsu t4220 looks quite promising although the short battery life is a bit of a turn off. Personally, I was thinking of the X61 and was about to purchase one until I found out about the optical drive, or lack of. And for an extra 370 dollars to add a base and DVD multilayer optical drive, it just does not seem worth it considering the fact that its an attachment for the laptop itself whereas the t4220 has a built in optical drive. I just wish we could have the best of both worlds- portability and battery life of a Lenovo while taking advantage of Fujitsu's quality and many features all bundled up in a sizeable package. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.