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Fujitsu outs new Lifebook laptops and an Ivy Bridge-packing Ultrabook

Fujitsu started announcing its new summer lineup yesterday, unveiling two new Lifebook LH series laptops with Ivy Bridge under the hood. The company is back today with more Intel third-gen goodness and a new super-light notebook, all of which will start shipping in Japan on May 17th. Up first is the Lifebook UH75H, which we glimpsed at CeBIT back in March, and Fujitsu has wasted no time in giving it the "world's thinnest Ultrabook" distinction. The UH75H has a 14-inch display, measures a super-thin 15.6mm at its thickest point and weighs 3.2 pounds (1.44 kg). Its little brother, the UH55H, packs a smaller 13.3-inch screen, and both will be available in red or silver.

There's also a new ultraportable, the Lifebook SH76H, which weighs just 1.34 kg (2.95 pounds) and is 16.6mm at its thinnest, though that sleek profile doesn't prevent it from offering an integrated optical drive. Fujitsu says this Lifebook will last almost 14 hours on a charge, about an hour longer than previous models. Like all SH machines, the SH76H has a 128GB SSD.

Next on the announcement agenda are three new media-centric all-in-ones from the ESPRIMO FH family: the FH56, FH77HD and FH98M. All include a new "Quick TV" feature for launching the built-in TV viewer with the press of a button. Finally, there's the new 15.6-inch Lifebook AH78HA, the first notebook to include "nanoe" air purification for minimizing "fungi, smells, mold and allergens." That's making some pretty big assumptions about the cleanliness of your living space, but can't hurt, right?

To accompany those new systems, Fujitsu is offering a new "My Cloud" feature that works with the company's FlashAir SD cards to wirelessly transfer media from a camera to a PC. My Cloud will also incorporate voice recognition to organize albums in My Photo Museum. Get all that? Good. Check out the presser below the break for the full lowdown.

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Fujitsu Announces Summer 2012 Line of FMV Series of Personal Computers

Tokyo, May 9, 2012 - Fujitsu today announced that it has updated its FMV Series lineup of consumer-oriented personal computers. The summer 2012 line of LIFEBOOK notebook PCs and ESPRIMO desktop PCs features a total of 17 models in six product families that boast enhanced basic performance capabilities and new innovative designs. The new models will be available in Japan beginning May 17, 2012.

The LIFEBOOK family of notebooks includes the new UH family of "Made in Japan"(1) Ultrabooks™. Lightweight and measuring just 15.6mm at their thickest point-making them the world's thinnest(2) notebook PCs with an integrated hard disk drive-the UH family features a seamless, beautiful design and is equipped with a CPU from the powerful 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ processor family.

From the ESPRIMO family of desktops, the FH family of all-in-one LCD models (FH98/HM, FH/77HD and FH56/HD) comes with a new Quick TV feature that can launch the PC's built-in TV viewer in approximately five seconds.

Fujitsu today also announced "My Cloud," a revolutionary new concept for PCs. In aiming to bring about a human centric intelligent society, the announcement is part of Fujitsu's continued efforts to create a prosperous future through a wide range of transformational technologies. Based on Fujitsu's human-centric approach of placing top emphasis on the user, My Cloud is a fresh concept in personal computing that will offer customers a new kind of experience. My Cloud will take advantage of Fujitsu's portfolio of transformational technologies-both past and future-and will present new possibilities for employing cloud computing.

1. Key Features of the Summer 2012 FMV Series Models

The new lineup includes the latest models from the UH and SH families of LIFEBOOK notebook PCs, which have been designed with a total emphasis on slimness. In addition, the ESPRIMO family of desktops boasts new models from the FH family that feature enhanced TV functionality and a revamped design.

(1) LIFEBOOK UH family: World's thinnest Ultrabook™

There are two new models in the LIFEBOOK UH family of Ultrabooks™: LIFEBOOK UH75/H (14" wide-format LCD model) and LIFEBOOK UH55/H (13.3" wide-format LCD model). The LIFEBOOK UH75/H measures only 15.6mm at its thickest point, making it the world's thinnest LCD notebook PC with an integrated hard disk drive, weighs only 1.44kg, and offers 9.1-hours of battery runtime(3). Continuing with its efforts to pursue thinness and compactness, Fujitsu has utilized Ultra Compressed Grid Construction technology and a durable magnesium alloy clamshell, which has undergone load testing of approximately 200kgf(4). These enable both durability and thinness, making this the ideal Ultrabook™ to accompany users wherever they go.

LIFEBOOK UH75/H is extremely beautifully designed thanks to an ultra-thin frame that is only 4.3mm on the top of the LCD screen and 4.1 on the left and right, and a full flat fine-panel. Both models are available in two different colors-LIFEBOOK UH75/H in Satin Red and Satin Silver, and LIFEBOOK UH55/H in Alumite Red and Alumite Silver. LIFEBOOK UH75/H also comes equipped with the latest high-performance CPU from the 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ processor family.

(2) LIFEBOOK SH family: World's thinnest13.3-inch wide-format LCD notebook PC with an integrated optical disk drive

In addition to boasting high-spec performance that makes it perfect for use as a main machine, the thin, lightweight and long-lasting SH family of notebook PCs also features a built-in Super Multi Drive, enabling it to be carried anywhere at any time, both at home or when on the road.

As the world's thinnest 13.3-inch wide-format LCD notebook PC with an integrated optical disk drive(5), LIFEBOOK SH76/H measures only 23.2mm at its thickest and 16.6mm at its thinnest point, while also featuring a lightweight 1.34kg(6) body and achieving a long battery runtime of nearly 14.0 hours(7) (as opposed to previous models' runtime of 12.9 hours). Furthermore, an integrated mobile multi-bay allows customers to exchange standard-equipped units with an expanded internal hard disk unit (option) or an expanded battery unit (options) based on their needs. With LIFEBOOK SH54/H, customers can select from three different color options: Urban White, Shiny Black and Garnet Red. Since all models in the SH family include 128GB solid-state drives, they can record data at super fast speeds and are incredibly quiet, even when accessing data.

(3) ESPRIMO FH family: Enhanced TV functionality and a revamped design

LIFEBOOK FH56/HD, FH77/HD and FH98/HM all come with a new Quick TV feature that can launch the built-in TV viewer in approximately five seconds. By simply pressing the TV power button on the accompanying remote control or the TV button on the PC itself, users are able to start watching digital terrestrial TV shows in a mere five seconds. The new models can record content in full high definition for up to fifteen times longer than previously, and they are also equipped with smart pre-set recording capabilities, so users can make full use of them as a TV recorder device. Moreover, these models are compatible with DTCP-IP, which protects copyrights while still allowing downloaded contents to be shared on digital devices, customers can record TV shows on their ESPRIMO desktop PC and then watch them on mobile devices such as a LIFEBOOK UH family notebook PC, ARROWS Tab tablet device, or smartphone. This enables recorded TV shows to be enjoyed in a wide variety of locations.

Fujitsu has increased the size of the LCDs on the LIFEBOOK FH54/HT and FH56/HD from 20 to 21.5 inches, while at the same time designing the PCs with an even smaller body. On top of this, through the use of full HD full flat fine-panel IPS LCD technology, all models feature a revamped design and simplified audio-video functionality.

2. New "My Cloud" Feature for the Summer 2012 Line (Enhanced My Photo Museum Functionality)

My Photo Museum automatically imports photos taken with a smartphone, digital camera or other device and automatically creates and edits albums. The latest version has been updated to include the following features, which enable integration with My Cloud.

(a) Automatic album organization through built-in speech recognition

When browsing an album created in My Photo Museum, comments spoken by the user about the photos and comments regarding the people featured in the album are collected as voice data. Then, speech recognition(8) is performed on the collected voice data, and personalized photo albums are automatically organized.

(b) Wireless data transfer made possible through F-LINK and FlashAir™

Using F-LINK, still and moving images can be automatically downloaded wirelessly to the user's PC from a digital camera or video camera equipped with Toshiba's FlashAir™ wireless LAN SDHC memory card.

Now that it is possible to easily transfer large-volume graphics data from smartphones, digital cameras or digital video cameras to their PCs, and create photo albums using speech recognition and face detection capabilities, users can enjoy a full range of album editing features with even greater ease.

3. Enhanced Power Saving Capabilities

The F-PLUG will be available starting in late May. This power adapter allows users to employ the FMV Series' simple and convenient power saving features and monitor electricity consumption. The new lineup also includes an improved version of the already available Conservation Navigator feature.

(1) F-PLUG: Power adaptor enabling users to monitor their electricity consumption

At WEB MART(9), Fujitsu's online shopping site, the company will be offering F-PLUG, a new optional power adaptor for the LIFEBOOK AH family (AH77/HN, AH76/HN and AH50/HN) that allows users to effortlessly monitor the electricity costs of personal electronics devices in their household.

F-PLUG measures the power consumption of connected personal electronics devices, as well as the surrounding temperature, humidity and brightness levels, and stores the results of these measurements in its internal memory. Measurement results can be downloaded via Bluetooth® to a PC by launching a special application. The computer is not required to be constantly turned on and connected, so it consumes very little electricity compared to other measurement devices of its kind.

Energy consumption can be viewed on different timescales, including one-hour monitoring mode, which displays energy usage status throughout a day in one-hour increments, and real-time mode, which shows data from every five seconds. Data can also be judged against set target values, and comparisons can be made on a month-over-month or year-over-year basis, in addition to offering advice to users based on the data collected to date. As a result, F-PLUG can be very helpful in saving electricity.

(2) Enhanced Conservation Navigator feature

Starting with the latest lineup, Conservation Navigator, a unified dashboard for monitoring power-saving settings, is now available on 15 different models (compared to only 10 in the past). In the power-saving settings menu for Conservation Navigator, users can select from two approaches to power conservation on their computers: Easy Conservation and Strict Conservation.

Strict Conservation mode provides a dashboard that allows users to manage detailed settings for power saving utilities, ECO Sleep, and other options. The latest version includes an added feature for instantly checking whether the user's current power setting parameters are in line with the recommended settings.

In Easy Conservation mode, users can manage settings for screen brightness, screen sleep time, and computer sleep time using a menu that is easy to understand even for beginners.

4. First Notebook PC to Incorporate a "nanoe" Air Purification Unit

The 15.6-inch LIFEBOOK AH78/HA notebook PC is the industry's first notebook PC to incorporate a "nanoe" air purification unit(10), which has to date only been employed in Fujitsu desktop PCs. Among the benefits of nanoe technology, users can expect a reduction in fungi(11), smells, viruses(12), mold(13), and allergens such as pollen and mites(14). Using a nanoe-equipped notebook PC can have a significant impact on one's daily life in reducing cedar pollen and deodorizing the scent of tobacco smoke.

* Tests results for fungi reflect the effects after 240 minutes of use in an enclosed 10m3 test area. For viruses, the test results reflect the effects after 120 minutes of use in an enclosed 1m3 container. Tests were not conducted in an actual occupied space.

Comment from Keiji Fujimoto, General Manager, Marketing Division, Panasonic Corporation Industrial Devices Company

Panasonic Corporation is excited to announce that, as part of a joint-development effort with Fujitsu Limited, we are bringing to market the industry's first notebook PC to feature a nanoe unit. We hope customers will have the opportunity to experience our nanoe air purification technology and enjoy the benefits it can provide.

New FMV Collaboration with Japanese Dance and Vocalist Group EXILE

Starting with its summer 2012 FMV models, Fujitsu is teaming up with the popular Japanese dance and vocalist group EXILE, who will serve as a new brand ambassador for the company's FMV Series. Recently EXILE has continued to be involved in a wide range of daily activities as part of its mission of helping to invigorate Japan after last year's earthquake and tsunami. In teaming up its FMV line with EXILE in this mission, Fujitsu aims to pioneer a new world of personal computing through its "Made in Japan" technology.