Fujitsu-Siemens LifeBook S-4572

Review The LifeBook S-4572 only just scrapes in under the heading of Budget notebook at £1499, but this high price is partly compensated for by a few extras. The most notable of these is a combined DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive - the first we've seen at this price. The drive offers eight-speed DVD playback and 24-/8-/4-speed read/write/rewrite facilities.

This drive is fitted in a chassis that measures just 288x225x27mm and weighs only 1.75kg. In fact, the S-4572 looks more like a sub-notebook and, as with all cut-down computers, you do lose something, in this case a floppy drive, which is an optional extra.

The hardware line-up is nothing special, with a 750MHz Mobile Pentium III processor, 128MB of RAM and a 10GB hard drive that add up to a WorldBench 2000 score of just 128. However, the S-4572 uses a 4MB ATI Mobility M graphics card, which is marginally better than the integrated chips usually found on budget models. This supplies a 12.1in TFT screen with images up to a maximum resolution of 1024x768. Display quality is respectable, with a wide viewing angle. It uses a six-cell lithium-ion battery, with a claimed life of 2.24 hours.

Build quality is good, and the blue metallic finish is attractive. Ports have been kept to a minimum, with two USB ports, infrared, VGA-out, modem and network ports and a Type I or II PC Card slot. There is also an option to add on a port replicator. The software bundle includes Works and Word 2000 and Easy CD Creator, and the warranty covers parts and labour for three years.

The LifeBook is well-built and packs plenty of features into a small unit. But its high price is not matched by its performance, which ultimately excludes it from our chart. However, if speed is not all, it does offer attractive extras. ®

Info

Price: £1499.00
Contact: 01344 475 555
Website: www.lifebooksonline.com

Specs

Processor type: Mobile Pentium III
Processor clock speed: 750MHz
RAM: 128MB
Hard disk drive: 10GB
Graphics card: 4MB ATI Rage Mobility M
Screen: 12.1in
Weight: 1.75kg
Dimensions: 288x225x27mm

Scoring

Build quality: 8
Features: 8
Performance: 4

All details correct at time of publication.

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