pulled the trigger on Fujitsu T902 tablet pc convertible

[gorobei]

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Fujitsu-LifeBook-T902-Convertible.87552.0.html

I was torn between this and waiting for the ivybridge refresh of elitebook 2760p series. But the price dropped at the egg and I didn't want to wait to see if HP was waiting for haswell or dropping the entire line. Plus the lenovo x230t was just too low res.

Main things i wanted:
- ips 1600x900 13.3" screen
- wacom active digitizer
- multi-touch screen
- bay for optical drive with options for extra hd, 2nd battery(ups it to 12hr or all day on 1 charge), blu ray. [I will likely be doing some demo reel editing on it and being able to burn off the work bins for long term storage without having to plug in an external usb is nice. The extra 2nd battery is just the cherry on top.]
- access covers for ram upgrade, mSSD, cooling fan, hd upgrade

Only real downsides
- lack of magnetic latches to lock down screen when in tablet mode.
- price and price of accessories.
- 16:9 aspect raito.

I'm using it as a cintiq alternative. So i'll be using sketchbook pro, painter, PS, and maybe Artrage or Mangastudio. whichever one supports multitouch pan/zoom the best.

The scary part is I saw an older fujitsu convertible back when I bought my hp tz2500(still going strong 5 years later, though a bit warm). It was a floor sample at frys an it was 'tore up'(swivel hinge grindy and loose at the same time, keys falling off, cheap white plastic frame looked even cheaper and dirtier than I would have thought possible). I'm shocked to be buying a Fujitsu all these years later.

will post review when it arrives. Cheers.

update#1:

compared with HP tz2500

The ips display doesnt really come thru with these pics, but it really is a massive difference. I'll probably do some shots with only backlighting and levels adjustment to try to show what it looks like to naked eye.

 

[max347]

Wow that looks like a nice laptop. My only concern would be the LCD- based on the review, those viewing angles look like no IPS panel I have seen. I guess you will be able to tell better in person though.

 

[gorobei]

It's a business class laptop, all the IPS screens on the elitebook, x230, and t902 source nearly the same panels. The white glow on the extreme side angles on the review site is pretty standard for IPS(the photography looks like the exposure was a little over biased). Short of mac retina displays this is as good as last gen laptop lcds get. It would be nice to have a 1080p display but older gen IPS panels are less likely to have any issues as most of the kinks have been worked out.

 

[gorobei]

Initial impressions:

-very light compared to tz2500(alloy lower shell) vs t902(plastic shell).
-ips display is glorious, resolution bump is nice.
-very responsive mostly due to win7 cutting the animations and making menus instantaneous and probably the 7200rpm drive.
-backup/restore discs have french printed on disc?
-very mild anti-glare screen, matte slightly rough feel may be better for drawing but makes me wonder about needing replacement screen protector later on.
-pinch zoom multitouch a little laggy on win photo albums.
-seemed to charge up in 2-3 hours (I was doing system settings setup while charging so it may be faster).
-auto rotate makes it feel very ARM tablet like, I'll need to test with some of my art apps to see how it handles dynamic orientation.
-lots of interesting little features, very little hand holding documentation.
-seemingly minimal bloatware, everything requires you to install the respective software(pdf reader, optical drive player/burner, fujitsu specific stuff, etc.)

My plan right now is:
-get the OS up to date and install basic utilities (anti virus, libreOffice, 7zip, foxit, cccp, firefox, macrium reflect)
-backup
-install main art apps
-backup
-optimize performance

 

[Whiskey16]

-very responsive mostly due to win7 cutting the animations and making menus instantaneous and probably the 7200rpm drive.
-pinch zoom multitouch a little laggy on win photo albums.
-auto rotate makes it feel very ARM tablet like, I'll need to test with some of my art apps to see how it handles dynamic orientation.

Too bad you just missed out on the $15 Windows 8 upgrade for new systems with Windows 7. With that system you'd likely be far more pleased with its memory/speed efficiency, superior touch/rotate/zoom support, power options, etc...

 

[gorobei]

Too bad you just missed out on the $15 Windows 8 upgrade for new systems with Windows 7. With that system you'd likely be far more pleased with its memory/speed efficiency, superior touch/rotate/zoom support, power options, etc...

It is supposed to come with a win8 free upgrade. There were 2 SKU at newegg one that came with w7 + w8 upgrade, and one that came with w8 installed. Most of the programs and the wacom drivers I will be using dont work well with w8 yet.

There may be a w8 download from Fujitsu, i need to look into it more.

 

[Throckmorton]

That review says Displayport but it looks like an HDMI connector

 

[Whiskey16]

It is supposed to come with a win8 free upgrade.

Ah, good. You'll find the touch support to be much better.

 

[gorobei]

That review says Displayport but it looks like an HDMI connector

It's hdmi, I did a test extending the display out to a hd tv. The review is a typo or misquote. If you get the dock there is a displayport out on it.

Ah, good. You'll find the touch support to be much better.

If I only wanted it for ARM tablet functionality, w8 would probably be the better experience. However for most of the programs I'm using, the wacom support in w8 is near non existent. The MS surfacePro has a wacom digitizer yet no support for the wacom driver in w8. It's a better bet to rely on wacom drivers since the software makers will have better access to that than they will to microsoft's consumer hardware division or even waiting for ms to come out with a fix.

 

[gorobei]

quasi update:

• so up to 8gb ram,
• main os and tools installed and imaged
• sketchbook pro installed

issues:

• wacom pen and touch dont seem to reactivate after either deep sleep or hibernate. restart fixes it but the microsoft hotfix is still beta and no guarantees on not borking the system.
• auto rotate seems to prefer certain orientations for pen calibration. too many flips and the pen registration goes really wonky(pen on one side, cursor on other) might need new wacom driver
• win7 taskbar autohide + inability to turn off taskbar always on top = utter stupidity for tablet autorotation.
• no wake from sleep by swiping touchpad option(might need new synaptics driver)

 

[Pandaberry]

Hey, I'm thinking of getting a tablet PC and it will primarily be used for digital art purposes. Do you recommend a Fujitsu T902, given your experience with it so far?

 

[gorobei]

Hey, I'm thinking of getting a tablet PC and it will primarily be used for digital art purposes. Do you recommend a Fujitsu T902, given your experience with it so far?

the sleep/hibernate issue and orientation/pen-registration issue make me hesitant to recommend it right now. these are things that can be fixed by either fujitsu or wacom getting their act together, but typically the fixes for these things take a long while.

the screen is probably worth it, but the price premium means you should only buy a new 902 if you can expense it as part of your work.

there are other cheaper alternatives just with less frills/bang-whistles.
the hp refurb elitebook 2730 or 2740 can be found on ebay for sub-$400 or less. some of the older toshiba q or t series can be found for similar discounts. the older lenovo x320t series are also an option.

i will probably pick up a hp 2760 refurb when they hit the sub 400 range just to see what sandybridge was capable of doing and for the 16:10 screen.

 

[IntelUser2000]

Hey, I'm thinking of getting a tablet PC and it will primarily be used for digital art purposes. Do you recommend a Fujitsu T902, given your experience with it so far?

Lenovo's upcoming Ultrabook Convertible sounds good. Thinkpad Helix.

Starts at $1499, comes with a Wacom digitizer, and the screen has the CPU and battery and can be detached for a dedicated Tablet. Also if you have it on Notebook or "Tablet+" mode(where its docked with screen closed but flipped) the battery capacity is almost as large as the T902.

 

[LumbergTech]

the sleep/hibernate issue and orientation/pen-registration issue make me hesitant to recommend it right now. these are things that can be fixed by either fujitsu or wacom getting their act together, but typically the fixes for these things take a long while.

the screen is probably worth it, but the price premium means you should only buy a new 902 if you can expense it as part of your work.

there are other cheaper alternatives just with less frills/bang-whistles.
the hp refurb elitebook 2730 or 2740 can be found on ebay for sub-$400 or less. some of the older toshiba q or t series can be found for similar discounts. the older lenovo x320t series are also an option.

i will probably pick up a hp 2760 refurb when they hit the sub 400 range just to see what sandybridge was capable of doing and for the 16:10 screen.

I just pulled the trigger on a 2740p from ebay for 329 + warranty. Had a big scuff on the back but otherwise in great condition. Picked up a decal to cover up the scuff.

I wanted to get it for my girlfriend who is going back to school to complete her masters degree. I am hoping that she is going to like it. Her last laptop was a Vostro 1500, which was a great laptop until it finally died. It was abnormally heavy and should be light in comparison.