Bridging the gap between notebooks and tablet PCs, the latest Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook offers a twist on traditional designs. The T3010 supports Intel's Centrino standard and incorporates a rotating screen, allowing it to be used either with a keyboard or as a pen-based pad.

Aside from this, the Lifebook has a neat if unadventurous design. Finished in a grey blue, it's unlikely to astonish but, by the same token, is far from offensive. On the whole, our test model was sturdy and well built - despite the initial shock of the monitor twisting around somewhat too freely upon its initial opening. Once we got over the initial feeling that we may break it, everything was fine.

Measuring 12.1in, the T3010's screen is sharp, well defined and can be viewed in both landscape and portrait orientations, regardless of its angle. In practice, this provides a tremendous degree of flexibility, and the included stylus, dictation software and surprisingly good handwriting-recognition capabilities provide a realistic alternative to the keyboard for data entry.

Inside the T3010 is powerful. A Pentium 4 M processor running at 1.4GHz provides the main grunt, and Fujitsu offers options for 256MB, 512MB or 1GB of DDR memory. Sadly, our 256MB test model failed to complete our Sysmark tests, but the integrated Intel 855GM chipset returned a 3Dmark score of 1,946 - not bad for a notebook. Having said that, this isn't a system on which to play the latest 3D games. Up to 64MB of memory can be assigned to the display, which runs at 1,024 x 768 and supports 1,600 x 1,200 on an external monitor.

In terms of other specs, the Lifebook is as well featured a notebook as you would expect for the price. While it attempts to save space by not having any form of internal removable drive, Fujitsu is bundling an external DVD/CD-R/RW drive as a promotion. Given the need for the drive, we suspect this will be an ongoing deal.

Alongside this are two USB2 ports, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a VGA output, two Type II PC Card slots, a modem socket, a docking station connection, an infra-red link and an 802.11b wireless network adaptor.While 802.11b is the slowest of the three readily available wireless formats - although by far the most popular - everything worked flawlessly in tests, despite the potential pitfalls of background noise and cross-chatter between various devices.

As a Centrino product, we expected good things in the battery department and the T3010 did not disappoint. Fujitsu claims a battery life of around four-and-a-half hours; under our tests, the Lifebook's six-cell battery lasted three hours - still an impressive figure. Fujitsu has also included a bridge battery that allows 'warm-swapping' of power cells, reducing the risk of data loss even further.

While the T3010 is a capable machine, our test model was not without its faults. In particular, the screen was prone to pressure smudges. Bearing in mind that the average user of this system will be spending a large proportion of their time tapping and dragging the stylus across the display, this is somewhat unsettling. However, Fujitsu has stated that it will rectify this problem in final retail models.

Weighing 1.9kg, the T3010 can become slightly unwieldy during extended use without the support of a desk and treads a fine line in terms of manageability.

It's also not cheap, especially when compared with some of the other notebooks reviewed here, but £1,467 buys a lot of functionality and the freedom to use a notebook in ways you may not have considered before.

Apart from these few shortcomings, this is a capable system that combines the power of a notebook with the flexibility and convenience of a tablet PC.

Contact: Fujitsu-Siemens 08706 066 677
www.fujitsu-siemens.co.uk

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