T580 and Q550 thoughts/questions

[Liberty]

Since you already have a powerful convertible tablet pc, you might want to go for a more mobile option. Q550 would be a good complement.

[Steve S]

<<...Do they both have glass screens or are they plastic?..>>

...My recollection is that they are both glass. I don't know of any serious contemporary tablet that doesn't have a glass screen...

See my review of the T580 at TabletPCBuzz:

http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/showthre...eview-Apr-2011

[2disbetter]

Since you already have a powerful convertible tablet pc, you might want to go for a more mobile option. Q550 would be a good complement.

The Q550 makes the least amount of sense really. I find the X220t big. The slate 2 while ideal with regards to size, is just not convenient enough for text entry. This means a bluetooth keyboard is required. If this is the case I might as well get a device with a built in physical keyboard. The Q550 also has the same guts as the slate 2, meaning all I'm really getting is a larger screen and better resolution.

The T580 is the same size as the Q550 (roughly, but it is also thicker).

I think I am going to pull the trigger on a T580 i3. I'm going to sleep on it for a few more nights, and see if I don't change my mind.

I'm wondering if going with the i3 and getting the 6 cell off the bat is better than going with the i5, and having to get the 6 cell later. (This is a $150 price difference)

Ie: Is turbo boost and the performance increase as a result worth the $300+ price difference?

2d

[2disbetter]

<<...Do they both have glass screens or are they plastic?..>>

...My recollection is that they are both glass. I don't know of any serious contemporary tablet that doesn't have a glass screen...

See my review of the T580 at TabletPCBuzz:

Fujitsu Lifebook T580 TabletPC User Review - Apr 2011

Thanks for the link to the review! I noticed you talked about the hinge being a bit worrying. Do you feel this means the hinge could fail prematurely? Also how loose is the rotation?

I actually like Fujitsu's hinge design on the t580, especially while it's in tablet mode, as it just seems like a great way to prevent screen wobble while in tablet mode. Did you notice wobble while the tablet was closed, in laptop mode, and also in operating tablet mode?

Thanks for the feedback!

2d

[dceggert]

2d,
The screen sizes are not really the same. The T580 is 16:9 while the Q550 is 16:10. They are both 10.1" diagonal. Here is the difference graphically (screen size not machine size):



The screen size of the Q550 seems more roomy in portrait mode, and it is, by the tune of 3/8" wider. It is the difference in Outlook that the information on an incoming email fits on one line while the T580 has to wrap to a second line. Not a real big deal, but the text, pics, etc. all looks bigger on the Q550.

The T580 is a fine machine, and so is the Q550. The Slate 500 and/or Slate 2 are too small of a screen for my liking, and they both have 16:9 screens as well (although at that size it would likely be in landscape nearly all the time)...

Edit: I thought of one more interesting difference; the T580 is slightly narrower than the Q550 because of it's 16:9 screen so it actually fits in an old Franklin Planner 2" binder with the rings removed. To me that was an awsome discovery. The Q550 is too wide to fit in the planner binder so it is in my 8.5"x11" portfolio.

[Hattori Hanzo]

I'm wondering if going with the i3 and getting the 6 cell off the bat is better than going with the i5, and having to get the 6 cell later. (This is a $150 price difference)

Ie: Is turbo boost and the performance increase as a result worth the $300+ price difference?

Well, if the only thing keeping you from the Q is the lack of a keyboard, why do you consider whether you should get an i3 or an i5?
The i3 has two cores of which one should be a good bit faster than a Z670s.

And why would you consider 300$ for just the turbo boost?
You don't get anything else, no more cache, no better memory interface, no higher base clock.

If money's not a concern, sure, the turbo will add a bit of performance, but I would not consider the premium worth it. For that money you better get an SSD or switch to the next machine some months earlier.

[ronr9286t]

Part of your decision will hinge on (no pun intended) your work/liesure computing needs. My last 6 computers have been convertible tablets (5 of them Fujitsu). I currently have a T2020 as in a port replicator as my main home-office system, with the large monitor, keyboard, and external drives attached. I got a T580 for travel, both local and around the US, and out of the US on vacation (about 1/3 of my working time is spent out of the office).

For air travel, I found a slate to be not very useful, as it was difficult to keep reliabley upright. The convertible form-factor is much better for me, as it not only provides the keyboard, but a solid base upon which to use the system.

The performance, including inking, is fine for me. I got an i5 system with the exteneded battery from the Fujitsu e-Bay store, and immediately added 2 gig of RAM (for a total of 4) and a 120gb SSD. I need a Windows system as I live in Outlook and OneNote in my business.

The battery life is more than adequate and the inking works well for note-taking in meetings. I also use the T580 in the house away from my desk.

I recently added a Samsung Galaxy Note as my mobile phone and for taking quick notes on the fly, and it works better for that than any Windows tablet.

Ron

[Agent 9]

i5-560UM Intel Core i5 560UM Notebook Processor - Notebookcheck.net Tech
vs
i3-380UM Intel Core i3 380UM Notebook Processor - Notebookcheck.net Tech

a slight edge to the i5, is it worth the price difference? IMO no, you are far better off with a large SSD and maybe an extra battery.



keep in mind that these are N-trig equipped systems, and you won't be able use the Wacon pen(s) you can on your x220t

[Steve S]

<<...I noticed you talked about the hinge being a bit worrying. Do you feel this means the hinge could fail prematurely? Also how loose is the rotation?..>>

...This is going back several months, but what I remember is that the hinge / pivot didn't feel as tight (as in precision of movement) as I expected. I've handled a lot of tabletPCs in my time, so I was immediately struck by this feeling the first time that I rotated the screen. I don't know that this automatically equates to "will likely break," though. Interestingly, it's sometimes desirable to make a mechanical joint a little loose specifically to achieve better durability in service. Let's just say that given the price point (at the time), I expected a better quality "feel' to the hinge / pivot...

However, the ability to rotate the screen in either direction is a real liability in my opinion. Unless you remember to consistently counter-rotate the screen between convertible and slate mode, you run a real risk of twisting a wire bundle into failure...!

<<...Did you notice wobble while the tablet was closed, in laptop mode, and also in operating tablet mode?..>>

...I don't remember, but apparently I didn't because I would have commented on it if I did...

[2disbetter]

However, the ability to rotate the screen in either direction is a real liability in my opinion. Unless you remember to consistently counter-rotate the screen between convertible and slate mode, you run a real risk of twisting a wire bundle into failure...!

<<...Did you notice wobble while the tablet was closed, in laptop mode, and also in operating tablet mode?..>>

...I don't remember, but apparently I didn't because I would have commented on it if I did...

I'm not too worried about this as I've been raised on uni-directional hinges. I'll probably just treat it as such.

dceggert thanks for the diagram. I have pretty much decided at this point that the Q550 is out of the picture. It's just that going to it, basically means I have to deal with the increase in size, and no further performance increases, but rather more screen real estate for the already choked graphics chip to deal with. If I didn't already have a slate 2, I would still have the q550 in the running.

It's just if I have to live with a size increase, I might as well have better performance, and a physical keyboard to go with it.

2d