Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook P7010 review

We've seen a lot of small notebooks at Computer Shopper, but the Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook P7010 has to be the smallest yet.

At 26x20x3.5cm it's even smaller than Apple's diminutive 12" Powerbook G4. What's more, where really small PCs are often of limited use because of sluggish performance, the P7010 has no such problems as tucked away inside are a 1.1GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of RAM and a 60GB hard disk.

It scored 51 in our Computer Shopper benchmark, which is reasonable for such a tiny PC that is unlikely to be used for anything beyond office work and internet surfing. It's not designed for games either, relying on Intel's Extreme integrated graphics rather than a dedicated graphics processor, so only older games will run.

On opening the P7010 you can see its two best features immediately. The widescreen LCD is only about the size of a page in a hardback novel, but its resolution of 1,280x768 makes it equally suited to office work and watching DVDs. It is also impressively bright, although its highly reflective surface won't appeal to every user.

Similarly, the keyboard is impressive for its size. The key action is one of the best we've seen, with a firm, clicky feel to every keypress and, although the full stop and comma keys are slightly smaller than most, it is easy to use. Below the keyboard there's room for a large trackpad with solid buttons, but no catch to keep the screen shut when closed. This seems a strange choice, but the screen's hinge is stiff enough to prevent it opening unintentionally.

Around the edge of the notebook are a CD-RW/DVD combo drive, PC Card and CompactFlash slots, S-video and D-sub out, mini FireWire and two USB2 ports. On the front edge there's a memory card reader, which reads SD, MMC and Memory Stick cards. Connecting to the internet is possible using either the modem, Ethernet connector or 802.11g wireless networking.

Ultra-portable computers must have a decent battery, and the P7010 astounded us with its longevity when unplugged. It lasted 278 minutes in our standard test, and a full battery managed long enough to play two full DVDs. However, you'll need something to rest it on, as after half an hour or so its base grows too hot for comfort on your lap.

This slight problem is our only real criticism of the P7010. The high-resolution screen, superb keyboard and vast battery life make it a decent Windows XP notebook, shrunk into a tiny travel-friendly case. The price is a little too high but anyone looking for an easily portable notebook should consider it.