Fujitsu Lifebook E8410

The business-focused Fujitsu LifeBook E8410 offers security features, a modular bay for expansion, a 15.4-inch screen, and an optional Webcam. It's also light and has pretty good battery life. For improved performance, invest in 2GB of RAM instead of our test unit's 1GB.

Fujitsu lays out its usual smorgasbord of security options for safeguarding your data. A SmartCard reader and a security button panel that you can program with a number combination are standard; a built-in biometric fingerprint reader costs $50 more.

This notebook lets you use two batteries at once, thanks to a modular optical drive bay with side release: Pop out the DVD burner and hot-swap in a second battery. Or insert the included hollow filler module to trim the notebook's weight to a very comfortable 5.7 pounds.

The nice design extends to the E8410's big, readable 15.4-inch screen, its comfortable keyboard, and its small but easy-to-use touchpad. The notebook's look is business-dressy, with a black lid and bottom and an off-white keyboard. My only gripes involve the lack of USB ports on the right side of the notebook and tinny sound of the speakers.

Our $1849 (as of July 15, 2007) review unit equipped with a 2.2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor would have earned a better WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score than 72 if it had carried another gigabyte of RAM, which costs only $130 more. The laptop turned in average performance for a recently tested desktop replacement anyway. It's battery life was top-notch at 3.7 hours.

If a nice screen on your next business notebook sounds good, take a closer look. The E8410 delivers that and much more for a good price.

Carla Thornton