Fujitsu LifeBook U1010 3.5G

Fujitsu touts the versatility of the U1010 in how it is handled. It can be used like a traditional laptop when placed on a flat surface and operated with two hands. Or you could hold it similar to a handheld device or evn tablet-style with the included stylus, discreetly hidden in the top right hand corner behind the screen.

Since there is no room for a the style of trackpad that everyone is familiar with, Fujitsu have instead re-located the it to the top right hand corner of the unit and shrunken it to be less than 1cm by 1cm. Two buttons located at the top left hand corner of the act as the left and right mouse buttons.

The trackpad required a great deal of concentration and a steady finger so that you are able to accurately move the cursor to point and click. This doesn’t bode well for those that have to endure bumpy rides on public transport.

Using the U1010 3.5G as you would a traditional keyboard was a bit of a challenge since touch typing is rather hard on the small-sized keyboard. You instead need to pretend that you've forgotten all your typing skills and have to start bashing keys with two fingers. Another slight inconvenience is the need to use the Function key to use the directional keys as well as the multitude of other keys.

Handheld usage was also fraught with similar challenges. Sometimes it felt like my thumbs had declared a Thumb War on each other whilst typing. Considering this method of entry was meant to be used while on-the-go, we'd recommend against doing this as too much concentration is required which may distract you from other more important tasks, such as being careful not to walk into oncoming traffic.

As a tablet, the cursor had trouble reaching the outer edges of the screen and required some coaxing with the stylus. However, handwriting recognition was good and managed to pick up words with little trouble.

The battery life of the U1010 3.