eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Fujitsu PC Corp. is now shipping notebooks armed with the mobile Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Athlon XP-M processor. Based on eWEEK Labs tests, we think these notebooks could give Intel Corp.s Centrino-based systems a run for their money.
We tested the Fujitsu LifeBook S2000 Notebook, which shipped in March, and found it to be a well-appointed system that merits consideration by those looking for an affordable, thin, light notebook.
The model we tested shipped with an Athlon XP-M 1700+ CPU with AMDs PowerNow technology—which works to extend battery life without affecting performance—operating at 1.5GHz, as well as 256MB of memory. This configuration gave solid performance backed up by a 30GB hard drive. The S2000 costs $1,199 with 256MB of memory and a 30GB hard drive.
The 4.5-pound (with optical drive) LifeBook S2000 we tested had Microsoft Corp.s Windows XP Professional installed ($100 additional). The home edition of XP comes standard.
The S2000 features a 13.3-inch XGA thin-film transistor display with a maximum resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels, and we found the display quality to be quite good.
The notebooks bay supports CD-ROM, DVD and DVD/CD-RW combo drives. It ships with two Universal Serial Bus 2.0 ports, an infrared port, an Ethernet port, a 56K-bps modem, and jacks for headphones and audio line-in. The S2000 has one PC Card slot. The notebook also has a built-in smart-card reader and a preboot data Security Panel.
The unit we tested also had integrated Wi-Fi-certified wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b) capabilities—a nice touch. All units are installed with WLAN antennas and can be upgraded with WLAN capabilities for $70.
The diminutive notebook is powered by a removable six-cell lithium-ion battery, which, in tests, delivered almost 2 hours of life between charges in heavy testing with all power-saving functions turned off. The S2000 offers a bay for one of Fujitsus swap-in drives or a second modular bay ion battery ($116), which will double the systems battery life, according to Fujitsu officials.
Battery life tests showed that, on average, the Athlon XP-M with PowerNow can increase battery life to about 3 hours. By comparison, Intels Centrino-based systems yielded more than 5 hours on a standard nine-cell lithium-ion battery in eWEEK Labs tests.
eWEEK Labs Senior Writer Anne Chen can be reached at anne_chen@ziffdavis.com.