While the company’s latest additions to its LIFEBOOK range hold few surprises, for Fujitsu’s fans in the business market and the public sector, they are exactly what’s required
Fujitsu has always had a reputation for being dependable and reliable, which is why the company has become popular with both business and public sector buyers. There are many organisations that use no other brand and there are good reasons why they make that choice. Fujitsu designs are also practical, making them easy to integrate, manage and maintain.
All models, except the LIFEBOOK A series, come with optional business-class security, including Fujitsu’s own PalmSecure biometrics system. This is becoming more important to the boardroom level decision-makers now. Fujitsu also maintains its business approach to design around ensuring legacy ports and service hatches to help with upgrading and servicing of devices (memory, storage & LTE modules – on selected models) while allowing users to replace batteries.
This results in designs that work well for B2B customers that want to lower the cost of hardware ownership, Fujitsu design systems that suit the everyday needs of users and that of course, is exactly what they want.
Built for everyday use
In the new LIFEBOOK A357 and LIFEBOOK E448 models, Fujitsu once again demonstrates its pragmatic appeal. The former is a classic entry-level, 15.6-inch machine that’s perfect for education and simple business use. The LIFEBOOK E448 is a much slimmer and lighter model that is ideally-suited to everyday business use.
The LIFEBOOK A357 is a practical system. If this is just what you’d expect from Fujitsu, this machine does not disappoint in any way. It offers a good balance of essential features in a robust and sturdy design. There are ‘outdoor-friendly’ anti-glare HD and FHD display options and a textured cover that looks good and is scratch resistant.
A separate numeric keypad is a feature many schools – and some commercial buyers – will note with interest. Another notable feature is the inclusion of an optional DVD drive. This is unusual today but will also interest some users as it’s still something that some users in education, public sector or domestic settings want. With all of this included, it’s a sturdy 2.2kg, and has a solid, dependable feel.
The A357 can ship with a 6th Gen Intel Core i3 or 7th Gen Intel Core i5 and between 4GB and 16GB RAM, as well as up to 1TB HDD or 512GB SSD. There is a good selection of ports - HDMI, VGA, RJ-45, three USB 3.0, a single USB 2.0 and SD card and integrated TPM 2.0 for security.
A reliable friend
Fujitsu bills the LIFEBOOK E448 as ‘Your well-equipped everyday partner’ and that’s not a bad way of describing this powerful, robust, well-equipped notebook that offers a very fair price-performance ratio and excellent connectivity (HDMI, VGA, RJ-45, 2 x USB 3.0 and USB Type-C without power delivery), optional 4G/LTE and security options, which include an integrated fingerprint sensor and TPM 2.0.
As you might expect, Fujitsu is a little understated about the E448. It is quite slim at 23.9mm, and the base weight is only 1.79Kg, so it’s relatively light for a 14-inch notebook. It is also robust and as it’s a Fujitsu product, you can expect it to be reliable. The cross-wave 3D textured finish makes it look professional.
Models can come equipped with 7th Gen Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors, up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB SSD, so there is plenty of power and storage at the user’s disposal.
It all makes sense
Also significant for the business buyer is Fujitsu’s well-thought out approach to everyday servicing. The E448 is designed for easy access to key components, making it simple to replace or upgrade the memory, storage and battery.
While Fujitsu’s new LIFEBOOK A357 and E448 models are not likely to be lauded as ground-breakers in the notebook market, they do offer an excellent range of practical features that many education, public and business buyers will find useful. These are sensible systems for serious users. Sometimes it’s not the flashiest, fastest or most innovative machine that appeals, it’s the one that offers the best combination of performance, features, reliability, practicality and value. On all of those points, Fujitsu gets high marks.
