Fujitsu-Siemens laptops, any good ?

steady__eddie

I have got to get the small one a laptop for Uni and had a look round this morning. My 3 year old Tosh is still running well so I thought I'd look at them first, £500 for an L20 in P.C. World. On the way home I popped in staples and saw a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V2040 for £550 and the spec seems considerably higher than the Tosh but I do not associate them with laptops.
has anybody had one and are they any good ?
Did a Google on them to get the complete spec. and cheapest price was £650, are Staples that cheap ?

shropslad

I bought an AmiloPro 2000 from Currys online last Aug. No real complaints to be honest.......only that you do not get that long battery life before you need to recharge it again.

scheming_gypsy

I've got an Amilo myself, not the Pro V2040 and it's not bad. Only things i don't like are:
Battery life - lasts about an hour. Could be as it's a Celeron processor and not a mobile processor.
Touchpad - seems hyper sensitive. Pretty often i'll be typing and look at the screen and i'm suddenly typing in the middle of what i've already typed.

mp7125

I bought an Amilo two years ago and have generally had good value out of it. It was more at the mid range end of the market (paid just under £1000) and still going strong. Did have a problem with the internal speakers whilst still under warranty but it took F-S over 2 weeks to repair with numerous calls. For that reason alone I would not buy another F-S. I bought an IBM Thinkpad R50e yesterday from Staples for £399 and very pleased with it.

steady__eddie

I refuse to use Staples any longer due to their policy on guarantees, I reckon that they have taken a leaf out of Comets book. I tried Currys, they don't stock F - S and P.C. World who rubbed their hands together and said that they could match the spec. They did eventually but at an extra £120.

StockportGerbil

Hi!
I work for Fujitsu, so we almost exclusively Fujitsu Siemens kit. This means I don't have much to compare it with. However we still have laptops from 7-8 years ago that are going strong and the things seem reasonably well constructed.

If you want to buy over the counter then (don't laugh) toys-r-us stock the things.

Regards

Kev

rrwfotr

Fujitsu seimens laptops are built quite well they are constructed very well. I've used loads of laptops in the past, sony, dell, compaq in the past and I would say the fujitsu seimens pc that I have now s7010 is the best laptop I've ever used.

Fifer

I bought an Amilo Pro V2000 about a year ago and it's been fine. I get over 3 hours of wireless use, but I notice that the replacement models introduced since have a downgraded 4 cell battery which only gives an hours use. The replacement has also lost the firewire port. If I was buying today, I'd go for the IBM from Staples (actually, just bought one on behalf of my MIL for FIL's Christmas). It's an excellent machine, has a DVD writer and decent battery life.

I refuse to use Staples any longer due to their policy on guarantees

Tell us more ...

inatomato

I have had two F-S laptops in the last three years. The only reason I got a new one is because the old one got broken (long story). I can recommend them to anyone. True, the older ones ate battery, but the new one (around 3 months old now) performs very well with an Athlon processor and a fairly bog-standard 512Mb of RAM. I think mine was around 750 quid and came with wireless, firewire, USB2, DVD+/- RW, built in card reader and sandwich toaster (OK, not really). scheming_gypsy is right about the touchpad - if you look at it funny, it'll move the pointer. I use a USB mouse where possible so I don't notice it that much.

MDUK

i have had mine 3 years and reccomended it to my wife. the reason she wanted it was so she could hook it up to a large screen, keyboard and mouse when she was at home and the docking cradle was comparitively inexpensive. we also got a free PDA with it!

steady__eddie

re Staples guarantees, if you buy something from them with say a one year warranty or guarantee or whatever you want to call it (I appreciate that there is probably a legal distinction between the two), if it mal-functions after I think it is 90 days after the purchase date (not sure exactly of time period but somewhere between 28 and 90 days, check instore for details) YOU, THE CONSUMER, are responsible for contacting the manufacturer of the product (invariably an 0870 job) and arranging for it to be returned for repair/replacement. All that Staples will do is give you a contact number.
It is no good turning up at the store with the product in its original packaging and clutching your receipt expecting to be given a replacement.
This happened to me with a Zen micro about a month ago, the infamous earphone jack problem, fortunately for me it was only £4-50 p + p. I'd hate to think what it would be for a laptop. I got fed up trying to explain the finer points of the Sale of Goods Act only to be confronted with "It is not Company policy....etc."
I understand that Staples will sell you an additional Insurance policy/Service agreement ? at the point of sale which covers probs. after the "qualifying period" for the length of the guarantee.