We love ultra-portable notebooks at PC Authority, not quite as much as they do in Japan, but a lot anyway.
But even with recent price drops they’re still expensive and/or under-featured options in a highly competitive notebook market. But the fact you can carry a fully-working laptop, smaller than a big book, in your bag and barely notice it makes it incredibly useful. The fact that Twinhead’s offering comes in at just under $2499 also got our juices flowing.
The F10D weighs in at 1.6KG and sports a 10.6in screen. This offers a crisp and bright widescreen 1280 x 768 resolution that is perfectly useable for anyone without proven bad eyesight. Viewing angles aren’t bad either and watching films on it was a treat. The twin 1W speakers don’t get very loud but offer passable quality.
Typing can be an issue due to the small keys (some, like the arrow keys are just 11mm wide). But it didn’t take us long to get used to it and it’s crisp and not rattly. The trackpad is responsive, though feels a touch small, and we had no complaints with the buttons.
Naturally, this is no powerhouse but the Pentium M 1.1 ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) and 512MB RAM still managed to score 0.52 in our benchmarks – easily enough for responsive office applications and web browsing. The integrated Intel graphics are unsuited to gaming though.
Other features include a decent 60GB hard disk and excellent dual-layer DVD writer that also supports DVD-RAM. Connectivity isn’t bad either, with a memory card reader which supports SD/MMC and Memory Stick and 802.11.b/g wireless (BlueTooth is optional). We also like the switch on the front which turns it on and off. TwinHead also squeezes n two USB 2 ports, mini FireWire, two audio jacks and a VGA out.
There’s a nice software bundle too. The target market won’t sweat Windows XP Home edition instead of Professional and Trend Micro’s Internet Security is only temporary, but CyberLink’s DVD Solution is a great offering and usefully provides all levels of DVD watching and creation to at least some extent. The warranty is a decent three years RTB.
Most ultra-portables cost well over $3000 but offer more features, better build quality and features in return. However, at $2499 we can’t complain with the F10D. But there is a big cloud hanging over it in the form of
Fujitsu’s Lifebook P7120. This only costs $150 more but offers features like a fingerprint reader, better build quality and connectivity options. It also managed five hours under intensive use and eight hours in our light use test whereas TwinHead managed three-and-a-half and four-and-a-half respectively. However, the F10D also weighs half a kilo less due to the less-metallic chassis.
We’d prefer the Lifebook, but there’s no denying TwinHead’s competitor is a decent piece of kit that is great value for money for something so small.