The Fujitsu Lifebook S6420 isn’t exactly a very new model. In fact, it has been in the market for some time already. But nevertheless, it is still quite a good machine.
The Fujitsu Lifebook S6420 is plain looking 13.3 inch laptop. I wouldn’t call it ugly. It’s just plain. Nothing fanciful or special about the looks. It comes with Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor, 2GB RAM and 320GB harddisk. And it comes with a lot of ports. 3 USB port , VGA, Ethernet, Modem, IEEE1394, Video out, HDA-in, HDA-out and a Multi card reader. I was wondering why did Fujitsu still include a Modem on its laptop. Does anyone still use a modem frequently other than for faxing? I don’t know man, I can’t remember when was the last time I need to use a modem. Well, its always good to have it anyway, so long as it doesn’t add extra weight to the machine. At 1.9kg (weight saver option), you won’t complaint much about the weight either.
There’s a awful lots of LED indicator lights on the S6420 which I have to refer to the manual to find out their functions. From left to right, the indicator lights are: Power indicator, AC Adapter indicator, Standard battery charging, Standard battery level, Bay battery charging, Bay battery level, Disk drive access. I don’t know about you but I feel that some of the indicator lights are redundant.
The Fujitsu S6420 comes with a fingerprint sensor for login which doubles as the mouse scroll. Interesting concept I would say, but its kinda hard to master. Luckily for me, the traditional option of having the mouse scroll on the side of the touch pad is still available.
The most amazing and the best thing about the Fujitsu Lifebook S6420 is the battery life. I managed to pull off nearly 4 hours plus a little on the 6 cell battery. The specs says it can last up till 4.7 hours. Nevertheless, 4 hours on a 13.3 inch laptop is amazing. I was so pampered by the long battery life that I totally ignore the need to hunt for a powerpoint while at Starbucks. I got 4 hours of juice here, why worry? Battery life is very important for a mobile warrior and I would recommend this laptop to mobile warrior who are always on the move and find it difficult to locate a powerpoint.
There are a couple of multimedia buttons (Play, stop, prev & next) above the keyboard. On top of that, you can switch the mode and use these multimedia buttons for applications like Support, Mail and Internet. You may even customize these buttons to launch the application of your choice. Brilliant. But one thing I don’t understand is why Fujitsu didn’t include buttons for volume control and mute. Instead, you have to use the fn button to control the volume and mute.
I’ve been testing out the Fujitsu Lifebook S6420 for a couple of weeks. Its a pretty good laptop. Didn’t find any major problems. Just some minor “personal” preferences issue. For example, although there are 3 USB slot, all of them are located on the right side. And also the power adaptor slot is a little too close to the LAN port. Other than that, its a great machine. The keyboard is pretty comfortable and I’ve typed several long blog entries using this keyboard. Battery life is one of the major selling point of this laptop. I really love the long battery life. I think all mobile warrior will love this.
In short:
A long battery life laptop for mobile warrior
Likes:
Long battery life
Comfortable keyboard
Dislikes:
No dedicated buttons for volume control and mute
Many thanks to Sheena from The Right Spin and Fujitsu for passing me this review unit. I love the battery life so much that I wish I could keep it.
on May 7th, 2009 at 5:33 PM
I’m using S6520 from the SMU laptop scheme from last August.
Light and solid.
I agree on the lights, but don’t seem to bother me that much.
I’ve dropped it once… (YES) onto a carpeted floor, and kinda cracked the Media card slot area. but it’s still working.
Agreed on the long battery life, but it has shorten to less than 4 hours, but well, can’t complain much on that, cos it’s still long enough.
Last of all.. it’s LIGHT… 1.7 kg… This series is good… Yah, can be simple, design-less, but a laptop’s ability, should prioritize weight and battery life. Both satisfied by Fujitsu.
Shan’s last blog post..Superfriends Vs Maritess
on May 7th, 2009 at 5:34 PM
BY the way, since u getting a lot of products to review…
HOPE You can get nearer to Samsung products…
like, YP-P3 MP3player…………
Shan’s last blog post..Superfriends Vs Maritess
on May 7th, 2009 at 7:48 PM
Shan: S6520 seems like a better model than the one I reviewing. Hahaha.
And since when do I have a “review request” segment?
OK, let me see what I can do.
on Jul 1st, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Hello,
I’m looking around for a new portable notebook and have some questions about this machine. How is the build quality? Is it “solid and robust”?
on Jul 22nd, 2009 at 2:26 PM
Hey hi, i’m going to purchase a laptop for uni. Do you think Fujitsu Lifebook S6520 or S6420 would be a better choice? really appreciate your advice on this as i’m kinda of an IT idiot. thanks!!!
on Jul 22nd, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Xinyi: The only major difference I find between S6520 and S6420 is the screen size. So it really depends on whether you need a slightly bigger screen or not.
on Dec 24th, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Hi, good that i found your review on the notebook. I have one, but don’t know how to use the fingerprint sensor. Do you mind teaching me how to on/activate it please…? Thank you in advance!!!
on Dec 24th, 2009 at 6:42 PM
Ling: I can’t remember where is it already. Try looking under control panel to see if there is anything related to biometric or fingerprint. You will need to enroll your fingerprint in order to start using it.