Fujitsu's Giant Laptop

As a computer, I'd swap it for my desktop in a heartbeat. The Mobile Intel Pentium 4 - 3.2GHz processor handled Photoshop image editing easily at the same time I was recording a video stream from the TV tuner. With 1 GB or memory and 100GB of disk space, there's plenty of room for storage, and connecting to a LAN is simple; choose an option. There's an onboard 100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet connection along with a modem port. Also included is an Atheros A+B/G WiFi LAN connection, so you're sure to be able to link up if there's any kind of WiFi available. There are 4 USB 2.0 ports, 1 FireWire port, and slots for both SD and MemorySticks.

The removable disk is both CD and DVD recordable in nearly any format, including CD-R/RW, CD, CD+ R/RW, DVD, DVD+ R/RW and DVD-RAM. Also included in this model is an extended life battery. Unfortunately "extended" only means 2 hours or so, but then this really is nearly a desktop unit.

There are a couple of minor annoyances that keep the N6010 from being perfect, but with so many goodies packed into the case, it's fair that some compromises had to be made. The unit weighs in at just over 10 pounds making it tough to shoulder for long periods, and unless you fly first-class you'll have a very difficult time opening the unit on a standard tray table. Because of the unit's width (just under 16") you get a full-sized keyboard plus a full-sized 10-key pad alongside. However, I found the placement of the touchpad to be a little tough to get used to. It's centered under the keyboard which makes it off-center to the left with respect to the computer.

Then, of course there's the price. This is not a low-priced computer, though the overall value seems more than fair. The basic N6010 with a 60GB drive and 512MB of memory, no TV tuner, and a standard CD/DVD drive lists at $1,700. Add the multi-format DVD writer for $200. The system I tested with all the bells and whistles sells for $2,400.

If you try it, you'll like it. And if you're looking to upgrade your desktop, or even your desktop display the N6010 might make sense as a very flexible replacement.