PH530 comments

Specs: https://globalsp.ts.fujitsu.com/dmsp/docs/ds-lifebook-ph530.pdf

Typical price is in the £600 range in the UK.

I've stuck an X25-M 160Gb in mine - I was going to order a 120Gb, but thought what the heck - the rest of my X25-M's are 160Gb, so might as well go for it. So startup times, etc are not with the stock drive.

Although the standard install is fairly bloat-free (uninstall Ebay, Norton and that's pretty much it), a fresh install was extraordinarily easy with the PH530. I wish more vendors did this - a program on the recovery discs automatically hunts down online, downloads and executes install of all the drivers that are needed.

Although standard RAM is 2Gb, it ships with W7Pro 64. A very good move IMO.

Access: The memory (2 slots), HDD bay, and the 2 MiniPCI slots are very easy to access under a single cover - all you will need for access is a Torx T6 and a small Phillips (for unscrewing the lightweight HDD caddy).

Weight: Lighter than advertised at 1.36Kgs. I have the Wifi only version as I intended to pair this with one of my mobiles.

Design: Clean, sober lines, no overtly unnecessary details. I like the lid logo. No garishly colour-coded jacks. Glossy upper body / lid is a fingerprint / dirt / scratch magnet - I feel the need, the need for skins.

Readiness: With the X25-M installed, battery power startup to logon screen from power switch activation: <25secs. Time taken from logon screen to full Windows availability (i.e. all doughnuts gone, Wifi connected, etc: <10secs. Lid open wake from sleep - ~3 secs.

Battery: Life in real-life power-saving productive use (fairly heavy wifi use including VPN, Microsoft Office 2010 suite including Outlook 2010 in Anywhere mode / Onenote running most of the time, lots of web, BT on and in use to download text messages on a regular basis, display set to dim): An average of ~6:30 from a claimed 8:45. You can eke more if you do less.

Noise: Fan is a bit 'Sony blowy'. i.e. it spikes at times for no apparent reason - but generally speaking it runs quiet. Fan is bottom intake, left side vent.

Keyboard: Reduced pitch needs getting used to, not for giant fingers. Key feel is rather Apple-like - a fairly easy break, not much post-landing movement, solid base - so is not to my taste (having not enough feel in the break for a 'hard landing' keyboard), but may be to others.

Touchpad: Not great - I'm still playing with it, but comparing it with the Lenovo X201's tinier Synaptics touchpad, tapping is a more hit & miss affair, and touch registration generally seems to be more of a problem. This could end up being my primary issue with the unit - but I'll continue futzing with the Synaptics controls. Limited two-finger gestures are supported.

Screen: Sharp at the 1366 x 768 resolution, but mediocre vertical viewing angles. The level of glossy is also slightly higher than Sony's glossies et al, as the reflections are truer and glass-like.

Wireless: Decent Wifi range. Have G where I am, so have not tested N.

Lid Camera: Camera has no 'activity light' so you do not know at a glance whether the camera is on.

Build quality and expected durability: Build quality is good - no overt fit & finish issues, creaks, etc. I would expect the notebook to survive everyday use fairly decently. The lid back has more direct contact with the LCD panel than I've seen in many premium ultraportables - so I would expect sharp impacts to the lid to damage the display.

Overall verdict: This is the cheapest notebook (before I put the X25-M in) - let alone anything falling into the ultraportable class - that I've bought in years. In fact, the next cheapest (with 3-year pickup warranty included) ultraportable I'd bought in the last 5 years or so would be the 13-inch Macbook Air's and Toshiba R500/600's - any of which would have totalled double (or over) the price of the PH530 (also with 3-year warranty) at the time of purchase. With that in mind, it is a very pleasant surprise. I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for a relatively sleek, relatively cheap, decently built ultraportable with a good balance of function and runtime that isn't a netbook. This is a better candidate than I expected at the price to be my new 'when travelling bagless' beater.