Lifebook 7120 on cover of Laptop Magazine - June 2006

The cover of Laptop Magazine has a feature article reviewing the "Top 3-pound notebooks tested", and the Lifebook P7120 scored a 3.5 out of 5 stars. I think it was a little unfair, considering all the great features Fujitsu offers which the other contenders don't. No mention was made about phone support, or whether the other manufacturers include or even offer that.

Pros listed:
-Small size (see first complaint on "cons")
-Built-in optical drive
-Long battery life (and not just CLAIMED life, like the ****py Sony SZ series...)
-Memory card reader

The cons listed:
-small screen (uhhh, isn't that to be expected with its size??)
-cramped keyboard (i can't agree - it's been quite easy to adjust to)
-relatively slow performance (faster than my last one, and it may not be a dual-core, but this thing isn't made for gaming)

Apparently, they liked the Lenovo ThinkPad X60s. Though I haven't seen one of these in action, I'll make some observations on the notebook Laptop Magazine gave 4.5 stars to.
-It's boxy and ugly - the Volvo of notebooks
-No touchpad - just the "navigation nipple" typical of IBM/Lenovo
-No internal optical drive
-Has integrated Verizon broadband connectivity (What if you think Verizon sucks? Sony did this with the TX, including a Cingular-only antenna on the outside. Limits choice too much!)

Anyway, I love my Lifebook P7120D and expect it will perform everything I need it to for several years to come.

 

Opinion. I like black notebooks. The x60 with Core Duo and faster hard drive will offer superior performance over the P7120. Thankfully we live in a world where we have choices. Some would choose the x60 while others would pick the P7120 and both be happy.

 

I like the fact that the Fujitsu P7120 is fanless, and thus totally silent.

 

not all laptop is perfect but the only great thing about it is it has a dvd while most small laptops dont..fujitsu just release something that is kind of getting old (pentium m). the p7120 will probably just be able to compare the x32, not the x60

the x60 being a first small laptop with dual core and one of best small laptop id agree for people giving it a high rating. now if they just release a p7130 or something with dual core id say they'll get a 4.5 stars too....

Id give the x60 a 5 star if it has a dedicated video card

 

freakin' funny! the laptop review guy reviews an ultra-portable and complains about the "small" screen and the cramped keyboard?? the reviewer musta' been on crack

i second ur thots 925newhome!!

 

Perhaps this is the reason the X60s got a higher rating. When you compare the P7120 ( picture here) with the X60s ( picture here), you can see that the display of the former has a much wider bezel. In theory you could fit a bigger screen into the frame of the P7120. The same is true for the keyboard. The X60s almost has full-size keys, with the exception of keys like Backspace or Enter and so on. But most importantly, the P7120 cannot compare in terms of performance. Let's wait for the followup model by Fujitsu, maybe it can beat the X60s.

 

Thats because Fujitsu put a microphone in the bezel.

 

I disagree on the screen issue... while the X60 has a 12.1 inch screen, the resolution is SMALLER than what the P series offers. One of the main turn offs to me about the X60. If it had a wide screen with at least the resolution of the P7120 (which I currenlty own and love) - 1200x800 (I think it is...), then I would buy the X60. Oh yeah, forgot about the fact that the X60 doesn't have any option for a built-in optical drive. That too...

I don't see how one can complain about a small screen when reviewing ultra-portables when in reality it is a better choice and has more 'real' (not physical) real estate for the user to take advantage of.

I totally agree about the fanless design of the 7120 - its great.

Things I hope for in the udpated P series:

- Dual Core option
- Builtin EVDO/UMTS option (not either but let the user have a choice)
- Better graphics - support for the Aero features of Vista (which 7120 can NOT and apparently will never do... sigh) as well as support for higher external display resolutions (be able to use a 24" monitor with 1900x1200 vs the 1600x1200 crap limitation it currently has).

I'd pay $4,000 today for a system that had those upgrades.

 

I don't see what is so great about having a optical drive built-in an ultraportable computer. Isn't the whole idea of getting an ultraportable is to reduce all unnecessary weight and use it on the essential components (the ones your computer can not run without, e.g. CPU, memory, battery, screen)?

 

I'd always prefer to have the optical drive built in, as you can do everyhting with one computer and dont need any thing else.

It all depends on how the can achieve it. The Panasonic W5 for example is only 2.64 lbs and still has a built in DVD-RW drive. In fact it is smaller than some "ultra-portables" that dont even have one.