Digital Trends

Fujitsu Lifebook P5020

December 3rd, 2003 | by Nabeel Hyatt

Great handling on the road

Perhaps the best place to show off the P5020 is on an airplane. Slide into a coach seat and cackle loudly as other laptop owners' twist into uncomfortable positions trying in vain to get a good look at their downward tilted screens. A slick 10.6” 1280x768 glossy screen with a wide-aspect ratio is nearly perfect for watching DVDs in flight. This high-res screen renders type clear and crisp but will likely leave those with less than perfect vision wanting to increase the font size. The downside to such a bright glossy screen is that shine also makes the screen prone to glare.

Once you've settled in for a long flight, slide out the removable CD-RW/DVD drive and slide in a second battery to get close to eight hours of battery life. The dual-batteries are a generally unheard of feature for a laptop this size, and highly recommended for cross-country travel or a full day away from plugs. Unfortunately by utilizing a removable drive Fujitsu gave customers the unenviable choice of extra battery life or DVD watching, when they would seem to go together. Thankfully, you only the need the primary battery to make it through most full-length films.

Once the movie is done and the serious work begins, the keyboard is surprisingly comfortable for all but the largest of hands. It is certainly not a full-size keyboard and does take getting used to, but the key travel was admirable and stood up well under moderate usage. Unlike the earlier Lifebook-P2000 and Loox, Fujitsu seems to have foregone the nub-style pointer for a trackpad. One unfortunate fact is that the scroll-button is a small enough piece of plastic that it is actually painful to use repetitively.

The flexibility of an SUV in a compact

Despite the lack of legacy ports, and an unfortunate requirement for a VGA-dongle, it is expansion options where the P5020 really shines. Built-in WiFi with either Intel Centrino 802.11b or a Aether 802.11b/g, Ethernet, modem, S-video, and VGA-out means that there is little need to lug around a port replicator.

The P5020 is built to accommodate just about any portable consumer electronics standard you could think of: CompactFlash, SD/MMC/MemoryStick Pro,  Firewire, and two USB 2.0 ports are all built-in. In this category it outshines even most laptops twice the size, and is a welcome open-standards approach to Sony's lamentable decision to continue supporting only their MemoryStick format on the VAIO TR2A. Rest assured that while the industry battles for a standard removeable media format, you will have your bases covered.

Conclusion

For those ready to wean themselves away from the bigger-is-always-better world of widescreen laptops, the Sony VAIO TR2A and Fujitsu Lifebook-P5020 are the class of the sub notebook market. But a combination of lower price and more removable-media options give the Lifebook an edge that ensures you get the portability you need without sacrificing flexibility. The Fujtisu Lifebook-P5020 is the BMW Cooper Mini of the laptop world. It's tiny frame and attractive looks hide the fact that it is feature-packed, easy to own, and for most exactly what is needed out on the road.