Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook C1320 review

The Lifebook C1320 occupies one of the wider chassis this month, as it's also offered in a widescreen version; we look at the 4:3 15in model. This makes it more bulky and less portable than others, but it's still a well-equipped and versatile notebook.

Its main strength is battery life, lasting an impressive four hours, 19 minutes under light use. This dropped to just under two hours when running our intensive tests, but it's up there with the best on both fronts. An LCD above the keyboard shows a battery status symbol when plugged into the mains, so you won't need to switch the system on to check it.

The C1320 is one of only three notebooks here to use a Serial ATA hard disk, and the 60GB capacity should be plenty of storage space for most business use. This is just as well, as there's no DVD writer, just a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive.

Future-proofing is evident by the inclusion of an ExpressCard slot above the standard Type II PC Card. This should ensure compatibility with any expansion cards that may appear in the future. A reader for SD and MMC media cards sits below the larger slots, and serial and parallel ports take care of any legacy devices. You'll be able to communicate with Bluetooth devices, while infrared and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi round off a full set of wireless communications.

In our application benchmarks, the Lifebook ran everything smoothly, scoring 0.77 overall thanks to the 1.73GHz Pentium M 740 and 512MB of memory. There's no spare memory socket for future expansion, but this shouldn't be a problem for most office tasks.

The chassis is well built and sturdy, and the lid offers good protection to the TFT. The screen itself is bright and even, and the keyboard makes good use of the wide base. A scroll button sits between the two mouse buttons, but the touchpad is a little small and unresponsive at times. Finally, the shortcut buttons double up as media playback controls.

The Lifebook C1320 is forward-thinking in some ways, yet not in others, and its bulk may be a deterrent. But when you consider the great three-year collect-and-return warranty and client-management software included, this is made up for somewhat. However, the £800 price ruled it out of contention for awards, as there are better- value systems on offer this month.

It's a non-standard configuration, so call Fujitsu Siemens directly if you decide to order.

Author: David Bayon