Fujitsu LifeBook P771 laptop review

The Fujitsu LifeBook P771 is a portable laptop that delivers good performance, but has two drawbacks that prevent us from wholeheartedly recommending it.

The 1.3kg device is clearly aimed at business users with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Professional and some meaty specifications housed in the 283x215x32.5mm chassis.

Designed to perform
Our review unit came with an Intel Core i7-2617M processor, running at 1.5GHz supported by 4GB of RAM.

Performance was extremely impressive, the laptop showing no signs of lag even when running multiple internet browsers, a video and Word and PDF documents.

The overall Windows Experience rating is 4.7 - one of the highest we've seen on such a small portable laptop - and it's easy to see why performance was so good.

The Fujitsu LifeBook's design is almost identical to its predecessor, which is a good thing. The 12in LED anti-glare display comes with a resolution of 1,280x800, and a 1.3-megapixel camera is housed just above it to enable video calling.

The matt finish means that the screen performs remarkably well in an office environment where reflection from overhead lighting can be a problem.

In terms of connectivity, the P771 comes with a single SD card reader and ExpressCard Slot, as well as one USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports. VGA, Ethernet and HDMI ports are built into the chassis, as well as a modular bay.

The modular bay can house a DVD drive or an additional battery, optional embedded 3G/UMTS, SSD drive or port replicator.

Fujitsu offers a number of storage options ranging from a 128GB SSD drive to a 320GB FDE or HDD. Our review unit came with a 500GB HDD, spinning at 7,200rpm, and one of the few problems relates to this.

When placing our wrists on the keyboard to type we could feel a dull vibration through the chassis. Although it does not affect the performance of the laptop, it can be irritating.

Shortcut central
Just under the display are five very useful shortcut keys that allow quick access to key functions. The Wi-Fi toggle and lock-screen keys enable users to quickly manage wireless connections and secure the device.

A third button brings up Windows Mobility Centre, which allows features such as screen brightness, volume, battery and the level of HDD shock protection to be adjusted.

Meanwhile, the 'E' shortcut brings up the power-saving utility to adjust CPU performance, wireless and audio connections, as well as shut down the DVD drive, to save power.

Finally, the 'Info' button provides one-click access to the user manual, as well as information about backup, recovery, security and power management.