Fujitsu Lifebook T904 hands-on review

FUJITSU LAUNCHED its line of Lifebook devices earlier this month and we got some hands-on time with some of the range.

Making up the roster of devices are three standard clamshell laptops, two Stylistic tablets and a convertible ultrabook, which are aimed at bringing more flexibility to productivity machines for those in different working environments.

Focused on business users wanting the best of both worlds, Fujitsu's Lifebook devices have been launched under a "meet the touchables" tagline to make it easier for people to differentiate between its range of touchscreen tablet hybrids and laptops.

The family consists of two standard clamshell designs, the Mr Endurance Lifebook S904 and the Mr Sleek Lifebook U904 Ultrabook as well as the hybrid tablets, the Mr Tough Stylistic Q584 and Miss Adaptable Stylistic Q704.

Perhaps the most notable of the lineup is Fujitsu's first convertible ultrabook with a display that twists around on a hinge allowing multiple viewing angles, the Miss Dynamic Lifebook T904. This device promises a thin aluminium design that can transform from a standard clamshell laptop to a tablet mode and is the device we shall focus on primarily for our hands-on review.

Design and build
The Lifebook T904 is an ultrabook, so it abides by Intel's third-generation internal and external ultrabook specifications that it must be at most 23mm thick, have a touchscreen, have more than six hours of battery life, wake in three seconds and have up to 11 percent better CPU performance at 25 percent less power than previous generation ultrabook models.

We were rather impressed that Fujitsu has managed to configure such a complex design in such a small form factor. It's just 19mm thick at the thickest point and weighs 1.6kg.

At first we were worried that the swivel hinge was perhaps too delicate for a business device, as it didn't seem as sturdy on the hinge as we would have liked due to the bezel on the display being extremely thin. However, we opened up the display, twisted it in different directions and closed it again, and it seemed to complete its required task with no hangups or concerns that it might break.

This might not be the case in more demanding daily use but this will be something we will need to test during a full review.

Display
The Fujitsu Lifebook T904 boasts a 13.3in display with 2560x1440 resolution, which appeared very clear when we inspected it during our hands-on.

The screen is also touch activated, meaning it can be used as a tablet when the screen is swivelled around and folded back on top of the keyboard, resembling theLenovo Ideapad Yoga 13.

The great thing about the Fujitsu Lifebook T904 is that you can take advantage of this with a dual digitaliser supported stylus for pen input, which is docked at the side of the Lifebook T904, making the device appropriate for different working environments or business users on the move.

The display's LED backlighting also meant that colours appeared vibrant and bright, even in direct sunlight, although it did reflect glare back into our eyes due to the glossy screen.

Performance and OS
The Lifebook T904 is powered by Intel's latest Haswell chips up to Core i7, running Windows 8.1 Pro with a maximum of 8GB of RAM, so it has plenty of power for daily activities. The graphics are handled by Intel's integrated Graphics 4400.

In our quick test there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary in terms of general running of applications and it seemed to load various applications very speedily, as you'd expect with such a high specification device. Overall we were quite impressed with how well it responded to commands despite its unique and slim design, convincing us that this device is not an instance of style over substance as with many other convertible laptops on the market.

Battery, storage and connectivityIt's worth noting that the Lifebook T904 has a removable four-cell lithium polymer battery that's good for approximately 8.5 hours, so users can take a spare to events or for long-haul flights, for example, without worrying too much about running out of power.

In terms of storage, the Lifebook T904 can ship with an HDD up to 500GB with an SSD drive up to 256GB in size.

For connectivity, there's Bluetooth, WLAN and optional 3G/4G versions.

The Lifebook T904 also has options of a backlit keyboard and a removable protective skin. It is available now from £1,250 depending on configuration. Check back soon for a full review.