Low Price Fujitsu LifeBook U810 Mini-Laptop best price

Customer Reviews

The Ultimate UMPC - Excellent
After researching for the best UMPC for 2 months. I finally settle on the U810.

PROS
This UMPC is actually quite fast for the the specs. It can play all types of video smoothly and handle intensive website with tons of flash very well. Internet connection is as fast as my Asus G1 (2Ghz duo core 2). LCD is sharp and clear but text a little hard to read. But this is easily overcome by increasing the dpi from 96 to 125. Now I can read at an arm's length. The keyboard is what I like most. Its small but manage to type at quite a good speed. Keyboard has also a good feel. Battery is impressive. It runs 5 hrs with normal usage (surfing and running office). I also like the clam shell design. Its actually quite 80s looking (which I like) but yet has a modern feel. I also like the fact that it is slim compare to oqo2. Mouse control is also good (I am use to IBM little red dot type) and u can actually click on it.

CONS
Thumb typing is slow. Its too big to thumb type. Unless u have big foot's hands u will make alot of mistake typing. THis is made worse by the fact that lots of keys has 2 or 3 function. So if u need to use the arrow key u need to press the FN key and arrow key together. But u can remap the key with "keytweak". Works like a charm. This thing also heats up quite fast and the hot air blow directly at your right hand when using hand held mode. The fan is also loud but its typical for any laptop.

Why I choose U810 as compare to other UMPC

1) Can load youtubes, intensive flash webpage and runs DVD quality video w/o stuttering. (Nokia N800, samsung q1 ultra & everun fail this test. They all stutter and freeze once in a while)

2) Screen size is good at 5.6" 1024x600 (I actually want to get sony UX but I realise that the screen is too tiny for a 1024x600 - but sony screen is way better in terms of contrast and is ultra sharp.)

3) A real Keyboard (beats all UMPC except Kohjinsha - 2nd best is oqo 02 but oqo cost much more in terms of similar performance)

4) A Laptop + Tablet design and in small form (10 stars for that) - This is the cutest Laptop I have ever seen. Small and powerful. (There is no UMPC like this - closes is KohJinSha and flip start. But flip start is too expensive beside u810 can do flip start at $500 lower)

5) One of the fastest UMPC now. And for the price and performance (I mean not specs but real performance) - no other UMPC can beat

One more thing I wanna add. Get the Vista version. Lot of ppl will oppose me but I think Vista is the future. I have done an XP /Vista comparision. I prefer vista cause its faster (not application performance) but launching programs. Vista has a superfetch function which store your most use program in its memory. I can launch my email, firefox and winamp faster than XP - cause Xp runs from the HDD (which is 4200rpm). 1 Gb of ram is actually more than enough. I actually scale down my VISTA to a VISTA "lite version" by turning off all those services i dun need (a whopping 20% of memory), Tune down aero display and use Tune up utilities to optimize it. Right now my u810 uses only 418mb of ram (before was 770mb) and leave the rest for superfetch.

In conclusion, this UMPC works like a laptop yet small enough to flip start anywhere & can handle application at reasonable fast speed. I would have given 5 stars if not for that stupid fan blowing my hand and over mapping of keyboards.

Update dec 10 2007: I have reply to a comment on how to improve U810 performane. Click on the comments.

The Most Complete Review You'll Find
FUJITSU U810 Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) Review

SCREEN
The screen is surprisingly clear and bright. As with most laptops, there are handy brightness controls built into the keyboard by way of the Function key (and S and D keys). I was pleasantly surprised at how dim I could kick the screen down in low light environments (saves battery power). There no graininess, the screen quality is surprisingly clear. Crystal clear, in fact - something I was not expecting. There is only a slight lighting/brightness issue that is based on viewing angle because the U810 makes use of basically a large PDA screen (stylus/touch capabilities). If you're looking at it fairly straight, it's nice and bright, but fades if you're trying to look at it from an angle (lust like any other LCD screen). Since the screen is also touchscreen, the U810 has a stylus. The touchscreen, by the way, works great if you go into Device Manager and tweak it so that it doesn't desensitize itself to save power - that keeps it nice and sensitive with no need for multiple taps to "wake it back up" after a few seconds of activity. The screen's resolution is sharp and clear at 1024x600, and with these last remaining years of this 40 year old's perfect eyesight, represents no problems for me. I'm enjoying it while it lasts, but for those whose time has already come for eyesight correction, the features we're already familiar with in the Windows operating system are there to assist. Further, the unit comes with magnification software preinstalled for further functionality.

KEYBOARD
Ah, yes - the controversial keyboard. You may be interested in knowing that I am typing every bit of this review on the U810 keyboard. Simply put, the buttons are too small for normal touch typing. And no matter what kind of typing style you adopt, it will be slow and you will be making lots of mistakes. Due to multifunction operation of arrow and tab keys, not to mention completely absent end and home keys (which can be re-added by programming the programmable keys - keep reading), quick cursor position changes are fairly cumbersome no matter what combination of keys and built-in mouse you use. You WILL be coming up with your own method of typing, and I'm willing to bet it involves your forefingers. I've read a lot about how people are trying to figure out if the size of their hands will help/hinder their use of the U810's keyboard. Pay attention to this statement, it's important: No matter how big or tiny your hands are, they are too big for normal typing on the U810. Got it? Good. I personally use both forefinger and middle finger on each hand to type and usually hold the unit still in my lap with pinky fingers on the sides and thumbs in front if the ride is bumpy enough. Next important statement: You will also find that the unit is really too large to thumb type with PDA/"Crackberry" style, and if you do hold it that way, (by it's sides), you'll have a little tiny jet of warm air blowing on your right hand/forefinger, as the cooling fan exhaust is right under the mouse control. Further, thumb-typing might produce too much pressure on the true laptop keys, which are very sensitive and only require very light contact. Buy the U810 knowing that you will be learning a new (but easily adapted) way to type.

COOL ADDITIONAL KEYS
Fuji was smart enough to add a few things to ease the uncertainty about that keyboard. There is an additional button on the right side of the screen right under the fingerprint reader. It has a symbol on it that looks like "CaltD", but much more symbol-like. I could not figure out what it was, so I just hit it for the sake of it to see what would happen. Lo and behold, it is a CTRL-ALT-DEL button. Now that's handy! Almost as handy as the other programmable keys by the mouse stick, which allowed me to get my HOME and END keys back! Also, there are three buttons at the bottom middle of the screen itself. The left-most button turns the keyboard headlights on and off (see next review item). The middle button brings up the on-screen keyboard for tablet mode. The right-most button changes the screen orientation from panoramic to tablet mode and back again (orientation can be changed to all 4 sides).

KEYBOARD HEADLIGHTS
As for the keyboard lighting with the little LED headlights, it's cool - and important - enough to get it's own mention. I've read mixed reviews about the keyboard "headlights" (well-named by Fuji). I actually think Fuji hit a home run and people are too dumb to realize it. Allow me to explain. Since nearly all regular laptops don't have lit keyboards of any kind, and since PDAs and cell phones don't have real keyboards of any kind, I think Fuji found a brilliant combination here, a perfect match. Had the 6x2.5" keyboard been backlit like a smartphone, it would have used too much of the battery, warmed up the keyboard that much more, and the real laptop keyboard would have to be replaced with one of those annoying, cheapo, touch-style smartphone keypads (no thanks, I'm sick of those things and I hate the way they feel - it's the last thing I want to see on a laptop). Though the headlights are not perfect and do not light up the keyboard brightly (which would be annoying actually), the headlights DO work and you actually can type in total darkness. They also use barely any battery power (they're LEDs - bright ones for their size), and will make any laptop owner jealous when they see you don't have to annoy other passengers on the redeye flight by turning on overhead lighting (the other passengers trying to sleep next to you will love you for this). This was an extremely welcome feature of the unit, and it's also different enough to turn heads in such an "everybody has a toy strapped on" environment, which I thought was a lot of fun. I also have to mention that the headlights are hidden brilliantly - when they're off, you can't even see where they are on the unit. Brilliant camouflage. Matter of fact, they're 100% invisible.

AND DON'T FORGET...
One last item to cover on the keyboard. Do not forget Vista's built-in voice control. I have not tried it yet, but the U810 has a great microphone for the job. Think about the possibilities here.

PORTABILITY/WEIGHT/SIZE
The first time you open up the box and pull it out of the styrofoam, you immediately recognize that this unit is heavier than it looks. You are instantly woken up to the fact that this is a real laptop and not some cheap little plastic toy. I feel it important to stress that this thing is too big and heavy to put in a pocket (in other words, it's small and light , but not that small and light), which means I can't slam it around like I do with my PDA (PocketPC). It needs to be carried in a protective case of some type (see next item). The portability of this unit is fantastic. I find myself taking it with me to restaurants on lunch breaks. And it's so dinky that when the food shows up, I sill get to leave it on the table while I eat. Years of PDA ownership has allowed me to grow accustomed to watching movies with headphones on while I eat. Compared to my PDA, the U810 makes it feel like I'm sitting in front of a plasma. :-)

PROTECTIVE CASE
Take heed - The U810 does not come with any protective case of any kind whatsoever. I went with the "convertible bump case" (there is a non-convertible version), it's absolutely fantastic. Some real brilliance went into that case. The convertible bump case is vented and accessible, and it allows you to use the unit in any mode while still in a protective case (think about that for a minute). It also has a shoulder strap that connects with heavy duty metal clips, which causes the U810 to become a true, sturdy road warrior package. I will state that the case also covers up the front status lights quite a bit, so I often find myself pulling down the edge of the case a bit to see if the hard drive is busy. The case/U810 is so small, I carry my U810 right under and slightly behind my right arm, slung over my left shoulder and UNDERNEATH my jacket - the world's first "concealed carry" laptop. Without taking the sling (holster?) off, I just whip it around and set the unit on my lap (if something else is on my lap as a booster) or any table in front of me and start working. When I gotta move, I just close the lid (which I have set for hibernate), zip 'er up, flip it down to my side and off I go. The unit might be too big and a tad too heavy to stick in a pocket, but slung over the shoulder in the convertible bump case makes it virtually disappear - a grin will creep across your face knowing that this t little tiny thing over your shoulder that you can barely tell is there is a full-blown laptop.

STYLUS
Not much to say about the stylus other than it's your standard everyday PDA variety stylus. I saw someone complain about the size of the stylus and that it was too small to use. That person was probably unaware that the stylus is telescopic and expands out a full additional inch - and a very critical inch, too. Placement of the stylus at the top of the screen is the only realistic place it could have been mounted. If I had designed this unit, that's exactly where I would have put it. I do note, however, that the stylus is covered up by the bump case - which explains why the bump case has a place where you can relocate the stylus.

FINGERPRINT/BIO SCANNER
I did set up the fingerprint scanner to see how it worked. It's a little slow for the scan prompt to come up, but the scanner itself works great. The OmniPass software must be installed before you can make use of it (OmniPass install files come pre-loaded on the U810, just waiting for you to click on the install icon). It's cool if you need that different kind of security, but I don't like fingerprint readers for the most part. On every laptop I've tried them on, by the time you run your finger over the reader 3 or 4 times before it registers, you could have entered a lengthy, complex password. Only passwords don't require device drivers and extra memory, and I think this feature slows the bootup/logon process down quite noticeably. So thought I'm sure the fingerprint reader works fine, I'm just not interested in sacrificing the memory, cpu cycles, drive activity and battery power to use it. It's up to you, but this is a laptop and I instinctively go out of my way to preserve not only performance, but battery life. Speaking of which...

BATTERY LIFE
Holy cow. Egad. Dude. Depending on what you're doing, it can go over 5 hours, no joke. Pay attention to this statement: This is a full-blown laptop with a better battery life than stingy, gutless PDAs that were designed for battery life above all else (I know, I've been using Palms and then PocketPCs since the mid-90s). I bought a spare battery and I'm now wondering if I'll ever need it. As I type this, it says I have 5hrs and 18min left on the battery, which is reporting as being at 80%. It was reporting well over 6hrs at 98%. Even if that's not accurate (drive activity will cause fluctuation), I've never seen anything even remotely close to that on anything calling itself a laptop before.

Note: Turning on the wireless features (wi-fi, bluetooth) shortens battery life quite noticeably, just like on any other laptop, PDA or smartphone.

RECHARGING
At first look, it's like any other laptop. It took 2hrs 15min to get the battery from about 40% to full. But I've been typing more of this review on the U810 while it was charging, so I'm guessing that's probably the reason. All the recharging I've done with it so far is simply on par with other laptops. Given the battery life once charged, however, it's wonderful, so I still consider it a better recharge result than a traditional laptop.

PERFORMANCE
An 800MHz laptop that runs exactly as I expected. I was worried about this and considered my purchase a gamble. Fear not. Though the U810 isn't "fast" by any means, it runs just fine out of the box. Even better, if you follow everyone's advice on trimming Vista down and tuning it, you'll love it even more (read Ron's review comments in here, you'll learn how to do this). It will perform almost as well as if you were using XP but still have all the new Vista features like ReadyBoost (a must - get yourself a 4GB 133+ speed SDHC card, ReadyBoost will recommend using 2.5GB of it, the max RB will allow you to use is 4GB - and yes, the "SD" card slot is actually true SDHC) and SuperFetch, both being massive memory management and performance gains over the soon-to-be discontinued virus magnet called Windows XP. Don't buy this unit thinking you're going to be playing any modern graphically accelerated games on it. However, if you're a fan of "Quake 2", you'll be happy to know that older games like that actually do play fine on the U810, though a little jerky (it ain't easy). Also, make sure you use the standard Vista interface that is preconfigured on the U810 (very XP-looking). Or even kick Vista's interface down to "Classic" mode. I'm not even sure Vista's "Aero" interface even runs on the U810 (I refuse to even try it), but I highly discourage it - it will certainly bring the U810 to it's knees performance-wise, thrash the hard drive to death, and you'll kiss all that great battery life goodbye. The U810 is basically using a glorified smartphone processor, not any kind of serious PC processor. Treat it as such and it will work fine.

UPGRADEABLE?
I've read that this system is not upgradeable. Being a masters-holding systems guy, I choose to dispute that fact. For one, in seconds you can slap in a 4GB SDHC card and devote it to Vista's ReadyBoost feature, which functionally speaking, is basically a RAM upgrade. Next, you can do your "hard drive upgrade" by slapping in a huge Compact Flash card as a new additional hard drive, which works great (mine is a very comfy 32GB, which shows up as my E drive). And finally, the internal hard drive and possibly the ram can be replaced if defective - which means they can be replaced with bigger drives and ram if Fuji ever decides to make them available. Time will tell on that, but the SDHC and CF cards are enhancements - potentially HUGE ones - that you can do in mere seconds that make big performance and storage increases (a.k.a. "upgrade").

[...]

MANDATORY ACCESSORIES
Just trust me here.
1. 133x speed (or faster) 4GB SDHC card for Vista's ReadyBoost (the SD slot is actually full SDHC). You can get a bigger card like I did, but don't bother. The ReadyBoost feature maxes out at 4GB and it's my understanding that you can't use the rest of the card for anything else while it's devoted to ReadyBoost. If you're insane and not interested in using ReadyBoost on the U810, feel free to get a huge card.
2. Convertible "bump case". Mandatory. There is a non convertible version - make sure you get the convertible one, which allows you to keep the U810 in a protective case while you use it in normal or tablet modes. This is also very applicable when you get to the next main section of this review.
3. Spare battery is always a good idea, especially if you're going to be using it for lengthy sessions, doing heavy processing, heavy networking/wireless, watching movies or any other form of "power user" kind of stuff. The battery life is great, but only based on how you have the U810 configured and how you're using it. Like with any other laptop, you CAN get the U810 to go through it's battery fairly quickly if you work it hard.

TEMPERATURE
People will wonder about this, and they should. The U810 is small and thus it warms up quickly. It doesn't get hot, as it does cool itself very well. But it does get warm. Quite warm, in fact, particularly when the hard drive is getting slammed - like during the 3 hour install of Vista SP1 (I have no idea why it took that long, the U810 runs everything else at an acceptably predictable speeds). It really warmed up for that. But it does cool off quickly when the heavy action is over. During normal use, from the middle of the keyboard to the left side of it, you will always be able feel a small amount of radiant heat coming up between the keys. It's not a problem, nor is it even annoying, but it is noticeable (all laptops do this to some extent). The bottom of the unit also gets very warm during heavy use. Not quite hot (I've had laptops darned near burn me because they ran so hot), but definitely something to think about as a good reason to get that bump case, which does a fantastic job of letting you forget about that warm underside. The main heat release is from the exhaust vent, which I mentioned above in the keyboard section of this review. Overall, the U810 runs cool enough to not cause any concerns. Frankly, there are units out there that are extremely popular and run downright hot to the touch, especially on the bottom. They've made lots of news in recent years by catching on fire on airplanes. The U810 isn't anything like that. Buy with confidence.

Note: The U810 runs very cool while in it's bump case. This is because the bump case forces warm air away from the unit. If sitting on a flat surface, such as a desk, the U810 (without it's bump case) blows just as much warm air underneath itself through a second cooling vent as it does out the side, thus allowing it to warm itself up rather significantly and stay quite warm. The thermal protection provided by the bump case keep this from happening by making sure that wartm air coming out both side and bottom vents stay awau from the U810. The U810 is fine without the bump case, but I strongly recommend the bump case for many different reasons. I feel that Fuji really should include it with the U810.

TABLET FUNCTIONALITY
I actually bought my U810 as a tiny laptop, not as a tablet. However, having tried it out in tablet mode, it's really neat and I now understand what all the "tablet" fuss has been about. I suggest disabling the touch-screen power saving mode (in Device Manager). This will allow the screen to be very sensitive to the touch/stylus at all times without having to be tapped repeatedly to "wake it up" first. This solves a common complaint about the U810 touchscreen, which is most always mistaken as a performance problem. It will use a bit more battery power, however, but only as much as a PDA does for the same thing. Also, at the bottom of the screen is that middle button I mentioned earlier, which when pressed, brings up the on-screen keyboard for you to use PDA-style in tablet mode.

MOUSE
The mouse controls, though extremely robust, durable and functional, are oddly placed and you have to stop whatever you're doing to use them because it's a two-handed mouse due to how they split the controls up. In fairness, however, that's how ALL laptops are. I discovered that the "stick mouse" on the U810 actually has the "tap to select" and "double tap to open/run" functionality built into the stick itself - yet another pleasant surprise that forced me to grin. I really enjoy that Fuji built this unit with quality all over the place. Technologically speaking, the U810 surprises me (in a good way) everywhere I poke around on it. Still, your best bet is to get yourself a tiny bluetooth mouse for serious work, it will save you a lot of time and feel much more natural. I bought the Targus bluetooth mouse.

COOLING FAN
I've seen some reviews claiming that the U810's cooling fan is too loud, while others claim it's quiet. To be as accurate as I can, it's a lot quieter than every laptop I've ever owned, but it's not silent either. The speed of the fan changes depending on heat conditions brought on by drive activity, cpu load and ambient temperature. In a quiet room, you'll hear it's little tiny fan come on. Once it comes on, it stays on - the only thing that changes after that is the speed. At slow speeds, it is in fact very quiet. When it has to kick the speed up, it's still pretty quiet. Now, if you've read to this point because you have some kind of fetish/hangup/paranoia about cooling fan noise, you need to get outside into some fresh air more often. Yes, the fan does get louder, but not "loud". If this fan was twice as loud as it is in "full blast mode", it would still be far quieter than the lowest mode of my full-sized laptop's cooling fan, which runs at three speeds - "noisy", "loud" and "earplugs". Don't worry about the U810's fan noise, it's just fine.

VISTA vs XP
If I may be so bold as to offer some advice: Do NOT let yourself get sucked into that "Vista is bad XP is good" thing. Microsoft's been working on Vista since before XP came out in 2002, and they weren't sitting around doing nothing for 7 years. Yeah, OK, User Access Control does need to be disabled to preserve sanity. But Vista is VASTLY superior to XP in the same way that Windows 95 was vastly superior to Windows 3.1. People absolutely HATED Windows 95 when it came out. By the time Windows 98 came out - which was just Windows 95 with IE4 - everybody LOVED it and Windows 3.1 had long since been all but outlawed. People are simply paranoid of change, it takes them a while. You will eventually be running Vista anyway, and yes, you will learn to love it. Sooner is better than later, and Vista's already been out for a year now. The only problems you'll ever have with Vista is trying to run some old programs on it, which with some work, you usually find that you can still get them to run (unless they're 16-bit, which qualified them for replacement/upgrade over a decade ago). Ok, enough preaching, since the Vista vs XP debate is supposed to be beyond the scope of this review. HOWEVER: the U810 solves the issue! How? In two ways: First, by including both WinXP Pro Tablet and Vista Business (complete with real MS WinXP downgrade license) in the box. Second, Windows Vista includes features that allow you to kick the interface down into a "Basic" mode (which resembles XP) and "Classic" mode (which restores the entire style and functionality of the 2000/XP Classic interface)! This is if you get the Vista Business version of the U810 (which I highly recommend). Better get it now, however, as Microsoft pulls the plug on the aging security disaster known as Windows XP in only a few weeks (good riddance) and vendors will no longer be able to sell or include it.

WEBCAM/SPEAKER/MICROPHONE/HEADPHONES
I don't use this stuff much, but look forward to it becoming the norm someday. I was really pleasantly surprised when I fired up the cam and saw my face looking back at me on the screen. It performed great, I was impressed by not only the quality of the tiny little "pinhole" cam at the top of the screen (amazing), but also audio quality (with phones on) and was blown away by the mic quality. I keep expecting the U810 to let me down and it keeps pleasantly surprising me by failing to do so.

WHAT IT'S EXCELLENT FOR - AND WHAT IT'S NOT
The U810 is good for everything a laptop and tablet pc is good for on a general basis, provided you don't need a big screen for graphics work. It's also a good laptop that does all the usual laptop stuff - wireless, internet, apps, documents, watching movies, etc. It is not, however, good for lots of typing without the aid of a wireless keyboard or the available docking station that allows for regular keyboards, etc. It also does not have a built-in CD/DVD drive, so you'll either need to get yourself an external USB CD drive, use Flash memory cards, wireless or CAT5 network to load/copy files around. Re-installing the OS will require an external USB DVD drive to be purchased, Office Depot has them for around $80. They keyboard is true, full, laptop quality, but some keys have up to 3 different functions and it causes you to type slowly no matter how proficient you become with it. I fully understand compromises like this simply must be made to produce a wicked little laptop like this, and that's fine with me, I can live with it - the benefits of this thing far outweigh the minor negatives.

POWER AND WIRELESS ON/OFF SWITCHES
Whoops - what happened here, Fuji? Ok, I found something I don't like. The slider-type power and wireless on/off buttons on each side of the unit are not only ugly, but they appear to be made out of really cheap plastic - the kind that gets brittle and eventually cracks and breaks as it gets old (I hope I'm wrong). Though they work fine, I'm worried about their durability. Luckily, the U810 has the Flip-Start feature, which power's on the unit when you open the U810 up. Also, you can shut the unit down from the screen or have it set for auto-sleep/hibernate when the U810 is closed. This will allow me to almost never have to touch that power switch. Then there's that wireless on/off switch, which appears to be identical to the power switch. I know I'm going to have to use that one a lot, so time will tell if it will hold up. Both switches look really cheesy, breakable and low-rent. Thankfully, they are very small and close to the same silvery color as the sides of the unit, so they blend in. Even better, the bump case goes a long way to hiding them. I'm now much happier about spending that additional $99 on that Extended Warranty from Fuji, which means I'm fully covered for 2 years.

USB PORT
On the right side, there is a USB port with a small, permanently attached rubber cap that opens and closes over it, much like what you see on cell phones for power and headphone jacks. I find the cover to be a bit tricky to open, I have to pick at it with a fingernail, as it's very flush with the surface of the unit and is a snug fit. It works great, but I have to wrestle with that cover to get it both on and off.

FIT AND FINISH
True high quality Fuji laptop fit and finish all around. Even down to the trademark Fuji "black velvet" fuzzy underside. Though cute and tiny, this thing looks very serious and looks a heck of a lot more expensive than it is.

WIRELESS
Wi-Fi: As expected - no better than a laptop, but no worse. It does the same Wi-Fi as my PDAs and laptops do. I've heard complaints that people are disappointed that the unit doesn't have built-in mobile broadband. If it did, it would take a serious toll on the battery and be a heck of a lot more expensive than it is. But I understand that Fuji has announced that it will eventually have that feature. To be honest, I scrambled to get my U810 before the next model comes out and the prices shoot up.

Bluetooth: There is in issue with Bluetooth that Vista users will have to deal with. Though the Bluetooth radio shows up in Device Manager, an actual Bluetooth "stack" is not pre-installed on the U810 and needs to be manually installed. The Bluetooth stack software is found on the Drivers CD that comes with the U810 in a folder called "Bluethooth". It is the Toshiba Bluetooth stack, a well-known and trusted stack. If you need any additional help getting through this, call Fuji tech support at 1-800-8FUJITSU, which is what I did so I could find out why all the Bluetooth stuff was missing in Vista. I found tech support to be fantastic, and the location of the Bluetooth software is the information I needed from them (thanks Armen!).

Reminder: Turning on the wireless features (wi-fi, bluetooth) shortens battery life quite noticeably, just like on any other laptop, PDA or smartphone.

ETHERNET
The U810 has built-in CAT5/Ethernet. However, the ethernet jack itself is not built into the unit itself, but is provided by the included dongle, which provides both the ethernet jack and external monitor receptacle. This dongle plugs directly in front of the unit, facing the user, just under the SPACE key. Though solid and functional, I would have been happy to see Fuji find a better spot for it, as once a cable is connected to it, it's rather annoying because it's pointing right at you and there's no way to hide or move it out of the way. Though poorly located, the ethernet functionality works beautifully. Note: the bump case covers up the dongle jack, so ethernet (or external monitor) and bump case cannot be used simultaneously.

VIABILITY AS A GENUINE WORK PLATFORM
Definitely, assuming you accessorize and pack a wireless or USB mouse along with you at the very least. You don't need an additional mouse/keyboard to use the U810, but you'll need them for rapid/volume productivity such as found in typical work environments. Just remember that the U810 on it's own works just fine.

VIABILITY AS A REPLACEMENT FOR YOUR PDA
This is what I was really wondering when I bought mine. The answer: absolutely not. It's a case of apples and oranges. The U810 is above all else a laptop with tablet functionality - it is not a PDA, nor does it really work like one. This is Windows Vista/XP, not Windows Mobile. It will not fit in your pocket, is not featherweight, is not built to be dropped, and requires startup time before it can be used (if not in sleep mode). The U810 is best described as the most portable true laptop ever designed. Tiny as it is, it is still 100% pure laptop - and in no way is it a PDA. I carry both my PocketPC and my U810 pretty much everywhere, and use them both for entirely different reasons.

TRUE UMPC
The U810 is a true UMPC (Ultra Mopbile PC). Matter of fact, it's possibly a little TOO true - the keyboard is both the biggest selling point and also the biggest cause of concern. In other words: an absolutely magnificent job by Fuji.

AND FINALLY - COOL FACTOR
Oh, Baby! King of the hill, period. Cool factor-wise, the "actual laptop" U810 has no rival. Ok, I correct myself - "actual palmtop" (huge grin). This is the only laptop I have ever seen that actually attracts crowds and forces it's owner to perform demonstrations (sometimes it's cool, sometimes it's annoying). I could go on and on here about the cool factor, but it would probably come across as really stupid like I'm getting paid to write this up. I'll just close with this: I wrote this insanely large review over a few days on the bus during my lengthy commute just to show off and make all the smartphone snobs feel like they're in the stone age. Whosyourdaddy.

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Update: Please feel free to contribute to the additional comments that are available via the "comments" link associated with this review.
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Closest thing yet to the UMPC ideal
Microsoft's UMPC or Origami specification, like many of their speculations such as the first iterations of Dot Net, was fuzzy and left people wondering might emerge. Now as the Microsoft Tablet PC spec celebrates its fifth birthday, FUJITSU has, in my opinion, come the closest yet to realizing the UMPC goal: a very small, lightweight, affordable computer that runs Windows with few, if any limitations, anytime, anywhere.

To be sure, FUJITSU calls the U810 (U1010 in outside the US) a mini-laptop.

Many of us lusted for the Toshiba Libretto when it was released several years back or the various lightweight ultra-portable Sony Vaio computers.

FUJITSU has essentially pushed past them and others including the OQO. There is nothing remotely near the U810 at this price point. The Asus Eee doesn't qualify because it lacks the 40GB hard drive of the U810.

In terms of operation, the U810 is distressingly far from perfect. In fact, if you are going to live with the U810, you're going to have to change the way you think and use computers. But the changes are worth it.

The package itself is small. You can put it in a large jacket pocket. The 5.6" screen is wonderful, tack sharp. To deal with the high resolution, I had to default to a Windows theme with extra-large icons and use the Windows Accessibility options to set the default screen font and icon size larger. Once I did that, my aging eyes had no problem with the screen. In web browsers, like Firefox and Internet Explorer, you will find yourself using the Zoom option frequently especially with poorly designed pages that have abnormally small fonts to begin with.

This is a full bore Windows machine. This model is shipped with Windows Vista Business and includes a Windows XP "downgrade" disc. With only 1GB of RAM and a relatively slow CPU, I "downgraded" to Windows XP within a couple of days. Vista is simply too bloated and slow and user unfriendly for the U810.

On the other hand, Windows XP Pro SP2 runs beautifully. I typically have a half-dozen applications open and processing speed is more than adequate.

My first thought was that the 40GB hard drive would be insufficient. However, throw a 16GB Compact Flash in and you have plenty of storage for music and movies. You can also us SC cards up to 2GB. Be aware that the U810 may not support some SDHC cards.

I do wish there was more than the one USB port.

WiFi reception is excellent. I've tried it up to 50 feet from my access point with no problems. Bluetooth is also excellent. No problems pairing so far with any of the devices I have tried.

Bluetooth is unusually important with the U810. The U810 keyboard is definitely not amenable to touch-typing. I've adopted a two-finger style and can crank out maybe 15 - 20 words a minute tops with a fair number of typos. You can thumb type, but it is a little too large for convenience and accuracy.

Add a USB or Bluetooth mouse and a Bluetooth keyboard like the iGo Stowaway, however, and you have a set-up that will work well for just about any ordinary productivity task available in Microsoft Office in a package that weighs less than two pounds. I haven't had any need to travel since I acquired the U810, but I can tell you right now that this device is my new travel computer. Goodbye to carrying a heavy laptop and assorted paraphenalia. The U810 with a mouse and Bluetooth keyboard, an extra battery or two and a cellphone that I can tether to is all I'll need as my basic travel kit.

The U810 is definitely not perfection. The keyboard is the biggest disappointment. It is just too small to be practicable for touch typing and too large to be convenient for thumb typing. Another half-inch to an inch in width would have made it well suited to touch typing. The touchscreen which does not have an active digitizer is difficult to use for inking. If you rest your hand on the screen while inking, you get vectors all over the place which prevent handwriting recognition. Keeping your hand off the screen forces you to hold the pen awkwardly which leads to rapid fatigue. The provision of two LED "headlights" to illuminate the keyboard is, unfortunately, merely a marketing gimmick. They don't work well at all. A backlit keyboard would have been extremely useful.

FUJITSU does not include the Microsoft Touch Experience pack which would have allowed the user to make the QuickLaunch, TaskBar and scroll bars larger. This is a big mistake. The Touch pack features are required here.

Finally the stylus provided with the U810 is way too small to be useful. You are much better off getting a hefty third-party stylus.

Even with these defects and shortcomings, however, the FUJITSU U810 is the realization of dream that many have had: an affordable, ultra-portable computer. The U810 will truly let you handle any workday task with ease: email, browsing (including Flash videos), streaming music, any Office type application and even some lighter-weight image processing apps. Battery life is excellent. I have yet to run the battery all the way down. I estimate about four hours run time using WiFi and Bluetooth, but please not that this is just a guesstimate.

FUJITSU is an under-recognized company. They have been in the tablet computer business for a long time and have come out with a number of innovative tablet PC products such as their T42xx line, the P1610 and now the U810.

The U810, in my opinion, is truly a showstopper. If you can live with the deficient keyboard, it really is a great ultra-portable computer.

Jerry

FUJITSU LifeBook U810 Mini-Laptop
From FUJITSU

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FUJITSU LifeBook U810 Mini-Laptop From FUJITSU

Product Description

Product Details

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Customer Reviews

FUJITSU LifeBook U810 Mini-Laptop
From FUJITSU