Fujitsu Lifebooks U904 and S904 look pretty awesome

lol, This is my first experience with Fujitsu (or, really, may be my first experience), so I'm unsure if your remark is based in Fujitsu's past reputation or not

With the U904, it shouldn't be a different model or too difficult to find on their global / country specific sites, such as Fujitsu Canada or Fujitsu UK, however, I've been unable to find a reseller online that carries the item. Actually, that's untrue. I found one seller in the UK (South England) who stocked the item, but it was about 2800 GPB which is a big markup, unless I'm mistaken.

Most of the resellers I find are IT support companies, not your typical store that sells computers. Perhaps my search method is flawed?

I've searched these forums for reseller information, and found reference to something called "Fujitsu P1", and based on context it seems to be a type of store or seller, but Google doesn't yield a website for this "company".

 

Insight.co.uk or Lambdatek seem to have stock of i5

 

Could somone please post a screenshot of HWiNFO64 summary page

 

So, after all this time no one can tell what is the average duration of the battery?? If possible with WiFi on and off...
Anyone??

Enviado do meu Nexus 7 através de Tapatalk

 

If just browsing i get about 6 hours with wifi on. I have i7 version

 

And with Wifi Off, via ethernet, can u tell me?

 

I ordered an i5 4300U, 6 gb ram, 500 GB hard drive, version today from a retailer. When it arrives, I'll try to answer any questions anyone has.

 

sorry not tried it in that mode...

 

picture

 

Excellent user review here:

Review: Fujitsu Lifebook U904 | detlevcm.eu

 

i'm considering the u904 as my next notebook.

Given that there are not many reviews out, maye someone who owns these could answer me some questions?

- how durable is it? Is there any flex on the chassis and how flimsy is that lid?
It looks almost too thin to be stiff at all.

- how does the keyboard compare to lenovos?
I still use a x61 on a daily basis and while shorter keytravel is ok, i need accurate physical feedback, so i hope keys dont feel 'muddy' or 'wobbly' when pressed

- does it work with linux
This is very important for me. I'm not going to switch os. Everything should work, also the dock. It's ok if i have to configure some stuff like microphone or hotkey support myself, but there should be documentation available about it.

- is ram/ssd user-upgradable under warranty
i don't buy a notebook where the vendor does not want me to do it

- how loud does it get under load and does it throttle when running at 100% for some time?
It's so slim, that moving heat away from the cpu is a challenge. Other haswell ultrabooks tend to throttle very soon (to the point where it makes no sense to get the bigger cpu models). I'd love it to stay quiet for normal use (browsing, typing, viewing videos) and still be able to get full power with a loud fan but without throtteling (when running cpu intensive tasks like compilation or batch image conversion)

-how hot does the bottom and palmrest get under full load?
While i don't mind temps up in the 4x°, i don't want to burn my skin

- does the dock block the bottom ventilation holes?

- alternatives to the u904?
I may also consider the s904, i like the huge battery option and ports, but it seems more plasticy (=less durable?) than the u904

 

HI
see my answers...

1) It feels pretty rigid. I must say that as it is very thin and light I have not tried to bend it that hard - but it does feel pretty premium to me.
2) The keyboard - I must say is not the best - I have not tried Lenovo - I am used to Dell Latitude which has a full 'run'. The Fujitsu keyboard has 1/1.5mm run - so it does feel pretty flat. I would not say it is wobbly but it is certainly took a little to get used to from the Dell.
3) Sorry - no idea on Linux
4) I found these terms on warranty - so i guess if you modify you might invalidate the warranty - i will ask Fujitsu and see what they say Warranty Terms for Mobile Products and Desktops - Fujitsu America
5) So far it has been very quiet ... teh fan very rarely starts up. When browsing only it never goes off. It does starts when watching you tube videos or when installing software. Compared to my previous home laptop (an i7 HP) this is very quiet. Even when the fan kicks up it is quiet. I am not sure if it is throttled - how can i check? If I can check it i can post the info.
6) So far the palmrest has remained cool. I have not got the dock - so can't tell. The fan intake is on the bottom but the exhaust is on the side (left hand)

I looked around quiet a lot and i had specific requirements:
1) 14" - that already excludes lots of more home user laptop and I was looking at Dell (Expensive, no touch for the Latitude E7000 / Sony Multi-flip (heard that it has very loud fan ... although i like the convertible screen)
2) Thin - it was either this, Sony Vaio Pro or Asus Zenbook UX301LA
3) High res screen
4) Touch screen
5) 4th Generation Intel i7 - which took out the Lenovo x1 carbon

All in all I like the laptop, performance is good and it feels very premium quality. I think the screen is amazing, the resolution is astounding. Battery life has been good, it is silent and cool to touch.

The let down - although i was aware of it - sound - it is terrible... it is fine on headphones .... but the speakers are awful. The keyboard is a little tricky for me as it is very flat and i never had a low profile isolated keys keyboard ...i always had monstrously big laptops.Nonetheless I am getting used to it.

I am actually using the touch screen a lot more than I thought!

By the way the laptop finish is very premium but it does get finger prints. The black is not solid black... it has a shimmer - it is really pretty neat ...

 

I'd be interested in that as well.
How is the general linux support of Fujitsu models? Is there a kernel module provided?

 

@massi1234:

Thank you for your answers!

if you want to test throttling: download and run cpu-z which shows the temp and clock speed of the cpu (and a lot of other information). Then start a program that uses a lot of cpu, prime95 is a prime candidate [badumm-tss] for that. Watch the cpu clock speed, it should quickly rise to max, the temp should rise steadily aswell and the fan kicks in to stabilize the temp. If the temp gets too high, the cpu clock speed gets throttled from max to a lower value to prevent damaging the cpu. I'm interested if this happens and if it does, how long the cpu stays at max before getting cut off.

 

Mine just arrived, and I've spent some time with it. Not much as tomorrow I'll be taking the bottom off to upgrade the ram and replace the hdd with an ssd.

It feels premium, and expensive. There is keyboard flex, but if you're flexing you're mashing the buttons too hard. I had to push down with some significant pressure to flex the frame. It's sturdily built.

before this, I had a ThinkPad t510... thinkpads are known for their keyboard... the keyboard on the Fujitsu is worlds away/different than a t series, or x. The keys are flat. When you press them, the amount the key moves is minimal. It took a minute to realize I don't need to mash the keys to get input.

In the United States, it's illegal for a computer manufacturer to void your warranty because you upgrade the RAM. That's called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. It generally includes Hard Drives as "replaceable parts" as well, but hard drives are not explicitly included... If you upgrade anything - save your parts, as if you have to send it back for warranty service - Fujitsu may want the original hdd and ram installed.

No idea with Linux, but I didn't see any thing regarding it on the Fujitsu support site. The hardware inside isn't that unusual, I don't expect that you'd have many difficulties installing Linux with success.

Mine stayed quiet until I started doing windows updates + copying apps over via the network + installing them + uninstalling apps. I'm not sure if the cpu throttled at this point, but it didn't feel as though it slowed. nor did it feel warm or "uncomfortably hot)... you could hear the fan, but unless you're in a recording studio, you probably won't notice it.

The dock doesn't block the vents that I can see, the fan is on the top left of the bottom half, and the exhaust is on the left side next to the power port.

The only "complaint" (though, I knew this going in) the speakers are abysmal. Holy moly, I've heard better speakers in some of the most cheap of cheap headphones you buy wholesale for 1 penny each...

 

HI
i asked to UK technical support regarding replacing hard disk - this is what they said:

With regard to the hard drive replacement You are allowed to do this but should you have a fault with the product in the future we would recommend that you remove the hard drive and fit the original. Also if the new hard drive causes a fault or you damage the product fitting or removing the hard drive then you will invalidate the warranty.

 

wow, thank you both for the detailed feedback. I fear that the keyboard might be a dealbreaker for me, but the sane layout makes it a lot more attractive than the otherwise really great lenovo x1 carbon gen 2 (too bad they didn't simply keep the keyboard of the old x1c on the new one, that would have ticked all boxes on my list).
Good to hear about their stand on user upgrades. Even if a consumer law allows me to upgrade regardless of what the vendor says, i still prefer a vendor that explicitly honors it instead of bullting around that opening the device voids all warranty.

 

Thanks pale for the info!

It is about laptop specific functions like Fn-Keys and ACPI implementation. Every manufacturer bakes his own bread.
The drivers are usually open-source and are shipped with the kernel. But they mostly don't get the same attention like their Windows counterparts.

If you are interested you could run a linux live system (ubuntu mostly ships with an updated kernel) from flash drive and see how much of the Fn-keys, power management (sleep, lid close, AC/battery pm switch etc) are working out of the box.
'lsmod' from command line lists all loaded kernel modules (drivers). Maybe you find some Fujitsu specific stuff in there.

 

if you want to try linux, please disable uefi secure boot and use legacy boot in the bios before you boot it. Some uefi secure boot enabled laptops owners (e.g. lenovo T540) reported permanent damage to the mainboard after booting linux from primary internal drive. Shouldn't happen with live-usb, but better be safe than sorry...

 

Have you sold your U904? The keyboard on new X1 carbon is described as "horrible" by some of the first time buyers.

 

bmatthews69 post was from before the relase of the x1 carbon gen2, so he must be comparing to the keyboard of the x1 carbon gen1. The horrible experience of first time gen2 buyers stems mainly from drastic layout changes (off topic here, just check the lenovo forums...).

For me, i'll have to bite a bullet with both the x1c2 or the u904, either horrible layout without real F-keys and no trackpoint buttons or horrible keytravel and no trackpoint at all. Still cannot decide which one is easier to deal with...

 

Glad to see that the enovo has made keyboard worse - i was considering it but then i decided to go with Fujitsu because of the better screen res.

 

I have not been able to sell it yet. The x1 carbon touch (1st gen) is my all time favorite keyboard. The u904 keyboard is frustrating even after 2 1/2 months of daily use. It's very difficult to get into any type of rhythm when typing, and the longer you type the more you have to concentrate on the keys you are hitting before you mistype and start hitting the backspace key. I am thinking of switching to an external keyboard, if I am not able to sell it, because the rest of the laptop is solid.

 

Is the U904 non-touch matte version available in Canada?

lifebook u904 - Price comparison - Canada's Cheapest Prices

I see that many retailers have it, however I am not sure which one of these could be the non-touch matte version.

 

A few questions for those that have been following this laptop. (I was interested in the new Lenovo X1C but have some big issues with it.)

- Do you know if it supports rapid charging (ie - charge majority of battery power in an hour)
- Has Fujitsu said when the matte screen will be available?
- Has anyone had a good experience with the keyboard? That's the only thing making me hesitate right now.
- Do any major retailers in the US carry a version of this so I can check it out in person?

 

Did anyone get the S904?

I am close to pulling the trigger. The resolution is my biggest concern, I don't want to run 1280x720 (2:1), but I am not convinced the scaling will work well, particularly in a multi-monitor environment (external 2x 24" FHD, 1x27" WQHD) when Windows 8.1 doesn't allow setting individual DPI scaling manually.

Apart from the Resolution (I'd prefer FHD), this seems to be the closest device to a Vaio Z1?

 

I will get my U904 this coming Wednesday. Cant wait. I have SSD and memory ready for it

 

1. somewhere i read it charges in 2 hours. As most batteries charge-rate decreases with more charge (e.g. from 0 to 10% in ten minutes, but from 90% to 100% takes 30min), i guess its not really as fast as lenovos rapid-charge, but you should get from 0 to more than 50% in one hour.

2. You meant Fujitsu, right? The matte screen option is already listed here in germany, but not stocked jet (some shops est. 2 weeks)

 

Hi all. So after having gone through multiple generations of X1 Carbon's, all with manufacture defects, I'm now fully turned off by Lenovo and ready for another comparable brand/model. You can see what happened to my Haswell X1 Carbon last week on one of the last posts here http://forum.notebookreview.com/thi...e-sl-l/735003-x1-carbon-gen-2-haswell-59.html.

Anyways I have a few runner ups including this Fujitsu Lifebook U904. Having an Ivy Bridge Samsung Series 9 13.3" right now, I really enjoy a laptop with a non-reflective, matte display. As much as I would like touch, I feel like the matte panel is more important for me as a graphic designer. I think it's great that the U904 offers the matte panel at 3200 x 1800 on top of having great color accuracy from what I hear. The build quality looks great too. I'm sure the keyboard isn't as good as the Lenovo's but I've been pretty happy with my Samsung S9 with similar flat keys anyways.

But I think the Asus UX31LA and Samsung Series 9 ATIV 9 + offer a lot too and are more well known than the Fujitsu. I've had experience with them in the Microsoft store and I can barely find much information about the Fujitsu. They're both very impressive. I think what's keeping me interested in the Fujitsu over the others is the matte 14" panel. But I haven't seen any reviews or hands-on with this version and don't even know where I can buy it in the states.

So really, my question is, what is drawing you towards the Fujitsu over the Asus and Samsung? I'm sure there are a few others as well.

Thanks

 

It is one of the few ultraportables that offers a port replicator with native display connections, also a host of standard ports, user-servicable aswell.
The truly matte screen is another big plus for me.

 

Right, but I would really like to see some more information about the matte screen and who even offers it in the US. There's a lot of uncertainty for it. Is it safe to assume that it's the same display technology as the glossy but just matte?

 

Can anyone confirm that the screen on this is not pentile unlike the Samsung ATIV Book 9, and the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro?

 

The only thing I know about the screen is what Fujitsu says in their tech sheet -

". . .Stylish and ultra-slim notebook at only 15.5 mm with a weight of only 1.39 kg, frameless 35.6 cm
(14-inch) WQHD+ IGZO display for extraordinary resolution and brightness for indoor and outdoor,
touchscreen option. . ."

 

hey, i have been looking for the port replicator for u904, have you seen it anywhere

GT-I9502 Tapatalk

 

it offers 100% SRGB, so, shouldnt jave any yellow problem, hope this answers ur question

GT-I9502 Tapatalk

 

I can check for you, with a USB live install. Which distro do you want me to check? I'm sure you use one distro more than the other, and each one does have their quirks. So as to provide you with accurate information, let me know which and I'll download it to a thumbdrive.

Thanks for the tip! Did not know that. That MIGHT explain why I was unable to boot from USB to upgrade the firmware in my SSD.

It is not pentile. You can tell when you zoom in on things like capital letters at a very high zoom... it looks like a dot matrix display with little dots.The screen is manufactured by Sharp and is an IZGO display, also used in Sharps own Japanese laptops and tablets. As well as some upcoming high end displays.

The Port replicator is available from Fujitsu's website: http://www.shopfujitsu.com/store/Se...gory=Docking and Mounts&title=Port Replicator

 

Can guarantee it is not pentile. Pentile is samsung's technology. These are IGZO panels and all IGZO panels are made by SHARP.

 

It's more about kernel, udev, acpi implementation than the distro itself. Although not my preferred distro Ubuntu is regularly released so it'll be a good choice for more or less up to date packages and a good out of the box experience.
You don't need to install it. It boots directly into a live desktop.

Here the direct download link: http://www.ubuntu.com/start-download?distro=desktop&bits=64&release=latest
There are many ways to create a bootable flash drive, here is one: How to create a bootable USB stick on Windows | Ubuntu

Possible! It's probably a good idea to switch UEFI off for booting into the live linux.

 

Does anyone even have a single screenshot of the matte panel variant? I can't find a single glimpse.

I'm ready to purchase it, otherwise I'm going for the touch/gloss panel or Asus UX301LA. But the decision is more difficult without more information on this Fujitsu U904.

 

I don't think the matte non-touch version is out yet. I'm waiting on that one.

 

I see. Is it still slated to release in the US? Or is this more of an international model only?

 

I've heard something that the matte panel should be available by end of this week. Not sure how accurate this information is, though, and how long will it take to reach retailers.
Can't give you more details, sorry.

 

if someone tests/runs linux on the u904, please run the following commands and post their output:

 

That's alright, thanks for the heads up. I hope that's accurate. Is this just for the US? I'm wondering if it is already available in Asia/Europe.

 

let me throw some in as well:

Code:

lsmod
ls -alR --classify /sys/devices/platform/*fujitsu*
acpi -V

 

Regarding glossy touch / matte non-touch differences, can someone please measure height & weight to compare with the Fujitsu specs?

Fujitsu Support says the difference between those two is negligible hence the specs are true for both. I can't quite believe this since for other ultrabooks touch adds about 10% to both height & weight. Which is quite a bit for ultrabooks.

 

It's for Europe, in this case Germany. But the availability of the touch Version was about the same in Europe and the US. So if you are lucky, you will have one in 2-3 weeks or so.

I personally will not order it because of the bad speakers which everyone criticises; I'd need it mainly for multimedia. It's a pity because I was a happy Lifebook owner since many years

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Notebook speakers are typically bad all around. The Series 9 I have is better than average for sure but I'm usually plugged into external speakers or earbuds anyways. I can understand the annoyance but I don't know if it's a deal breaker. The UX301LA seems better almost all around, but it's a lot more expensive and I don't know how easy it is to mod it compared to the Fujitsu. I also like that the Fujitsu has a 14", higher res screen that is double the more standard 1600 x 900.

 

That's quite an understatement. The speakers are quite exceptional, likely not to be matched by any ultrabook.

Have a look at Samsung Ativ Book 9 NP900X3G. The matte FHD Haswell refresh has just been released a couple of days ago.

 

Thanks oled, that is already von my list. But I think I will stick with the new ATIV 8, I do not need it to be ultra portable, so that's almost perfect for me.

@urbanglowcam, I usually do not connect speakers or headphones, however, I do not use the speakers very often at all, but hate bad audio. The screen size and resolution is really awesome, thats why this is still on my watch list

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