The Stylistic ST5022 Tablet PC from Fujitsu Siemens boasts a 12.1-inch indoor/outdoor display and comprehensive connectivity in a slate form factor. A review by Jørgen Sundgot.
Making a twist on two other models in Fujitsu Siemens' Stylistic ST5020 series, the ST5022 offers a 12.1-inch indoor/outdoor combo display where the ST5021 and ST5020 offer either/or at 10.1 and 12.1 inches, respectively. Other specifications remain virtually identical except for the inclusion of biometric security, leading the ST5022 to share both the strengths and weaknesses of its siblings; let's have a closer look at just what those are.
What's on the slate
At 1.56 Kg and 324 x 220 x 25 mm, the Stylistic ST5022 is a tad heavy as compared to other recent slate entries. Mitigating the weight issue somewhat is a very good 12.1" display with a maximum resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels and good outdoor capabilities; use in direct sunlight is out of the question, but it does handle daylight better than its siblings and the majority of other Tablet PCs currently on the market. We would have preferred a slightly rougher texture to gain that elusive paper feel, but responsiveness still proved excellent.
Although the front of the ST5022 appears somewhat unbalanced at first glance, it is in fact quite well laid out. A multi-LED status panel offers unobtrusive indicators for vital functions, and a six-button array provides rapid access to frequently-used applications, backed up by a four-button array for scrolling. As a nice touch, it's also possible to map two application buttons to ones own preference, and the power button is also conveniently recessed to avoid accidental leaps out of standby mode.
The front also conceals dual infrared ports, straddling over to the left and right sides of the unit. Despite this seemingly clever idea, however, their placement invariably leads to a bit of finicky adjustment when using the ST5022 with its dock accessory in a portrait orientation. Similarly, the ST5022 also comes with a modestly-sized, collapsible prop-up stand with adjustable incline and rubber anti-slide knobs. Although a practical and welcome addition, it, too, suffers from the aforementioned infrared issue - plus it would be nice to be able to lower its incline further.
Moving on, we also find dual microphones, a single mono speaker and the biometric fingerprint reader of the unit in the upper left corner. The reader, however exhibited issues with recognition rather frequently; worthy of note, Fujitsu Siemens plans to exchange the 3rd party software relied upon to one of its own making shortly.
Connect plug A to port B, then press button C
Moving around to the left side of the slate, we find an assortment of connectivity options - an area in which the ST5022 excels. Dual USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire (IEEE1394) jack, 3.5 mm plugs for earphones and microphone in, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, 56K v.92 modem and a rubber flip-protected VGA out port are all present, as is a Kensington security lock and a conveniently placed AC in jack. On the note of the VGA out port, this supports resolutions up to UXGA, or 1,600 x 1,200 pixels and 16M colours.
The plugfest continues atop the unit, where Fujitsu-Siemens has managed to tuck an SD/MMC/Memory Stick card reader as well as a PCMCIA Type II slot and a Smart Card reader. The right side is entirely void of functionality, as is the bottom - unless one counts the battery, which slides downwards when extracted. As should be expected, no optical drive is present in the ST5022, however the lack of an accessory for this purpose - besides the bay-equipped docking station - is quite simply daft.
Mitigating this little oversight, the ST5022 can be had with either Wi-Fi 802.11b/g or 802.11a/b/g, the former of which was present in our review unit and proved to offer superb range. Additionally, Bluetooth 1.2 was also present - no support for Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), unfortunately, but with a broad selection of profiles and no apparent interference with Wi-Fi.
Making it all tick
Powered by a 1.1 GHz Intel Pentium M 733 processor, the ST5022 doesn't stand out in the performance department as compared to slates in general, yet delivers a good combination of sufficient processing power and battery life. The unit on review here was equipped with a roomy 1 GB of DDR333 SDRAM, half of the spacious maximum limit of the unit, with graphics courtesy of an embedded Intel 855GME chipset drawing up to 64 MB of memory from the main banks; not anywhere near enough for Photoshop diehards, but quite sufficient for typical Tablet PC tasks.
Local storage is delivered in a choice of either 40 or 60 GB drives spinning at 4,200 RPM or an expansive 80 GB drive spinning at 5,400 RPM. The latter mentioned variety was included with the unit on review here, offering more than sufficient data transfer rates whilst maintaining quiet operation. Whether as a result of this or its fake suede backpadding, however, the ST5022 displayed a tendency to run quite hot at times, resulting in the not-quite-so stealthy fan kicking in ofter than we'd like.
Also, it should be noted that the ST5022 includes a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for enhanced security, and also incorporates a handy (Windows-only) Security Panel which preempts a complete readout of the BIOS and thus any further resume of the unit unless the user inputs a PIN code.
Based upon its standard, 4,800 mAh Lithium Ion battery and the above mentioned feature set, the Stylistic ST5022 managed to last for slightly in excess of 3h 45 min when in presentation mode with all wireless radios switched on but not active. Comparably, battery life climbed to 5 hours with wireless radios switched off.
Mediocre software offerings
Fujitsu Siemens does provide some additional software with the ST5022, but among the few pieces included, none stand out as particularly noteworthy. We have the Softex OmniPass suite which manages the biometric security and also acts as a password broker; Corel Grafigo, a more drawing-focused jotting application than Microsoft's Windows Journal ; Norton Ghost 2003, for creating and restoring full system images; a TPM package from Infineon and a virus scanner from F-Secure.
There is one surprise, however, and that is Fujitsu Siemens' System Menu application, which is called up through a double-click on the ST5022's Fn button: a handy little marvel which provides quick access to applications and applets frequently in use by Tablet PC users. All in all, a well-rounded software bundle, but none of which particularly heightens the Tablet PC experience.
Availability
The Fujitsu Siemens Stylistic ST5022 is now available in Europe, starting at €2899 EUR for a basic configuration.
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