Hands-on with Fujitsu's P8010 laptop

Fujitsu's forthcoming P8010 may not be ready to arrive at your doorstep, but that didn't stop the outfit from bringing one along to CES. Granted, this one here is actually a pre-production unit, but we learned that the final version isn't likely to change before it ships en masse to US customers in just a few weeks. Hit up the gallery below to see this lappie from all sorts of angles.

Gallery: Hands-on with Fujitsu's P8010 laptop

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[Miniblade @ Jan 9th 2008 6:15PM]

Fujitsu sucks...

[mister XR @ Jan 9th 2008 6:22PM]

If this is how the production model will look, I think they dropped the ball on this one. I've owned a P2110 and (now) a P7010, and they've both been consistently praised for their modern looks. Even the P2110 still runs and gets compliments all the time, running xubuntu.

Maybe it's more impressive "in the flesh", but from the pictures, the design of this new P8010 seems like a step back, design-wise. Things that stand out to me are the big ugly screws showing on the hinge, the unnecessarily large bezel, and the glossy LCD-backside that screams "smudge me".

...but it's probably Vista-only, so I wouldn't even think of buying one anyway.

[smetzger @ Feb 29th 2008 8:04AM]

I just received my P8010 after seeing it at CES. I was in the market for a very lightweight laptop and narrowed the choice down to the P8010 or the R500 Toshiba. The $1000 lower price over the R500 swung me toward this one.

So far so good. It's very, very light. Not much bloatware to remove and it seems pretty speedy. Fit and finish seem good, especially for a brand new product. My only complaint thus far would be that the mouse buttons on the touchpad are not as positive a click as I would normally like, but they seem to work fine. I will update the entry as I gain more experience.

[TheOtherSide @ Mar 6th 2008 8:32PM]

Fujitsu sucks. Nice, tell me why so we can all share in your enlightenment.

I personally think Fujitsu Rocks, now let me tell you why:

1. I've owned two Fujitsu Scanners. They've both worked fantastically, but when I've had problems installing a driver or a question about how to use them, calling Fujitsu tech support is such a breath of fresh air. You may not believe it but you talk to someone in the USA or Canada who understands English and has had obviously good training as they always and I mean always understand the problem and give a good reliable answer. Never had to wait on hold more than 30-40 seconds either. I won't buy anything from some other manufacturers who'll be spared embarrassment from me cause getting any phone support is a complete waste of time.

2. It looks sharp. I was at a Fry's store where they have several rows of all the latest laptops and this is the one that caught my eye. Yes, the piano black top which is all the rage may get scratched over time so it will take extra care, and the pictures here really do not do it any justice. But beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and I'll leave it at that.

3. Form factor. Under three pounds and about 11"x8.25"x1.35". Yes, it is twice as thick as a MacBook Air, but over an inch shorter than the MBA on every other dimension and lighter too. I don't understand the hype Apple gets with a computer with only one USB port, no optical drive, and a battery that is not easily switched out. The MBA is almost useless to most of the real world and too big for an airplane tray. The P8010 has just the right size.

4. Performance is just right. Anyone who needs very processor intensive tasks will not want this. But those who will buy this want to get email on the road, be able to hook up a GPS and get directions, Surf the Net, do some word processing, some easy spreadsheet stuff, manage their CRM (Goldmine, ACT, SaleLogix) MP3 music, watch a movie, do a Power Point presentation. This machine should handle these chores with ease. If you don't like it's horsepower at this form factor, the alternatives are limited.

I've voted with my wallet and mine is in the mail.