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Flexbook concept serves up candy-coated convertible
It seems Fujitsu's got a thing for morphing PCs. Way back in 2006, we saw this mysterious tri-fold concept, which was rumored to be making the rounds inside Fujitsu R&D, and now the outfit's short-listed this déjà-vu-inducing transformer for its 2011 "Life with Future Computing Award." The Flexbook, designed by Hao-Chun Huang, features a foldable 21:9 touchscreen and similarly flexible keyboard that allow its users to switch from laptop to tablet to book-like e-reader. It's also been designed to sport a number of interchangeable sleeves in a Benetton-esque array of colors and patterns. It might have seemed impractical five years ago, but with convertibles coming of age, we'd say the Flexbook isn't really all that far out. %Gallery-123544%
Fujitsu's Stylistic Q550 business slate up for US pre-orders, starting at $729
We're still not sure what's stylistic about Smart Card readers, fingerprint scanners and TPM modules, but you won't find them in many slates, so if you've been considering the Fujitsu Q550 -- which has one of each -- today's your lucky day. The Oak Trail-powered Windows 7 tablet with a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 IPS screen is ready for US pre-orders today, with $729 bringing you the base model with a 30GB solid state drive and a two-cell rechargeable battery. $849 upgrades the slate to 62GB of storage and four cells worth of swappable Lithium-ion joy, while both sport front and rear cameras, HDMI out, a bootable USB 2.0 port, a full-size SD slot and dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi. Let's just hope the UI is a tad more optimized than last time. [Thanks, Manish]
Fujitsu LifeBook S761/C and P771/C replace optical drives with pico projectors, past with future
Optical disc drives may be passé nowadays, but the enclosures usually reserved for them in laptops need not go to waste. Fujitsu has just rolled out its latest line of portables and a pair of them pack a pretty awesome new extra: an integrated pico projector. The 13.3-inch LifeBook S761/C and 12.1-inch P771/C both fill their ODD slots with a small visualizer, and while the specs of its actual output aren't clear, the two machines have been fully specced and priced. The S761/C can offer you a Core i5-2520M CPU, a (presumably upgradeable) 1GB of RAM, 160GB of storage, and a 1366 x 768 resolution for a price of ¥219,450 ($2,675). Moving down in size class but up in price, the P771/C matches those specs, but for a squarer 1280 x 800 resolution, and asks for ¥255,150 ($3,110). Both will be available in Japan in mid-May, which is also when Fujitsu will release its LifeBook E741/C, whose claim to fame is the ability to authenticate users by reading the veins in their palms. Sexy!
Conceptual 'Fujitsu Lifebook X2' folds into quarters, makes regular notebooks look lame
Being that doomsday and the robot apocalypse are nearing quickly, now seems an appropriate time to gaze into the future of laptop design, right? Well, maybe those anomalies aren't actually around the corner, but you know us -- we always fancy a warm cup of concept tea. Designer Park Hyun Jin over at Yanko recently posted some renders of the Fujitsu Lifebook X2, a laptop-like invention of his fervent imagination that allows for two orientations thanks to its four folds. The design features a full QWERTY keyboard that can be used when the notebook is folded out in full, as well as a half-folded option with an onscreen keyboard. Naturally, we'd love for this concept design to become a reality, but we can't wrap our brains around the seam between the two screens. Well actually, we could probably get used to it. Update: We got a request from the designer to pull this prototype, which was submitted to a competition and leaked. To be nice, we're complying.
Fujitsu to build 1Gbps fiber optic broadband network in the UK, but needs BT to play fair first
Good news for anyone feeling left behind by the broadband revolution just because of their post code: Fujitsu has just announced a joint venture to deliver fiber optic connectivity to neglected rural homes in the UK. Built on hardware provided by Cisco and supported by Virgin Media and TalkTalk, this network will focus on channeling fiber directly to the home, which is said to provide symmetrical 1Gbps bandwidth with up to 10Gbps speeds considered possible down the line. Best news of all, perhaps, is that the cabling will be available on a wholesale basis to all ISPs, not just the ones involved in the project, so the UK may finally get a decent taste of what competition in the internet service space feels like. Alas, there's a key line in the press release that notes the new venture is dependent on BT providing "access to its underground ducts and telegraph poles on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," which it apparently isn't doing at the moment. Ah well, we're sure they'll sort things out like the mature professionals that they are. Full PR after the break.
Fujitsu and DoCoMo's new dual-boot handset: Windows 7 and Symbian together at last?
Ever wished you could have a Microsoft main course with a side of Symbian? We haven't either, but if the rumors are true, Fujitsu and DoCoMo are teaming up to unleash a dual-boot device this year that can go from Windows 7 (the desktop OS, not WP7) to Symbian at the flip of a switch. According to the always untrustworthy interwebs, the LOOX F-07C will come with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a four-inch 1024 x 600 display, an Intel Atom CPU, and a 32GB SSD. We don't know if this latest handset with multiple personality disorder is real or not, but we do know its odd couple OS pairing has piqued our somewhat morbid curiosity.
Fujitsu LifeBook AH572 starts shipping, Sandy Bridge and 3D for under a grand
We saw the Fujitsu LifeBook AH572 way back in January at CES, and at the time, we were intrigued by the prospect of Sandy Bridge speed and 3D capability -- it boasts a passive 3D display and dual cameras for recording in the third dimension -- for an eminently reasonable $999. Well, were you able to resist the wave of laptops from the rest of computing's usual suspects, you can now get your hands on Fujitsu's 3D lappy packing Intel's latest silicon, a 500GB HDD, and Blu-ray combo drive to boot. Sound good? Hit the source link to grab some of the laptop love for yourself.
Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 hands-on
Unless you're eagerly anticipating your IT department handing one of these to you, something tells us the Stylistic Q550 isn't the tablet you're looking for. Why's that? Everything about the experience screams "corporate," starting with our time at Fujitsu's booth earlier today where business dealings to deploy the tablet in some corporate environment were literally happening before our very eyes. There was only one unit in the vicinity -- and the suits were relentless in trying to get their paws on it -- but we spent just long enough with it to figure out that there are far, far better-suited consumer options out there; as far as we can tell, that's exactly how Fujitsu wants it. That opinion was further reinforced by the presence of a smart card reader on the side (for secure logins), a fingerprint scanner on back, and old-school pen input, which Fujitsu tells us that legacy tablet users (read: medical personnel and field data entry folks) still want. It can take fingers, too, but we felt like the quality of the display is compromised a bit for the dual-mode support. Interestingly, there's no place to store the pen in the tablet anyway; you'll need the accessory case for that. The company is talking about its custom Windows 7 skin as a key differentiator. The build they had on the demo unit was a little buggy, but at any rate, we came away with the impression that it's basically just a finger-friendly view to launch apps; fortunately, the full Windows experience -- which is just as non-touch-optimized as ever -- is just a tap away. We were hoping the Oak Trail guts would keep everything snappy, but the pre-release code here was actually lagging pretty badly as we navigated from screen to screen. Don't get us wrong: we're sure these are precisely the specs that some enterprise customers are looking for... but as an individual, gadget-loving, tablet-wanting human being, we're pretty sure they aren't the specs that you're looking for.
Fujitsu and partners show off cord-free display using SUPA wireless power (video)
Cords suck. They tangle, they get lost, they're never long enough, and you never have the kind you need. Indeed, wireless displays are nothing new -- but when you hear "wireless display," you typically think that they've managed to cut the video cable alone. Well, Fujitsu's taken it one step further here at CeBIT this week, throwing together what it claims to be the world's first totally wireless desktop display -- no video, no power. The imagery is handled via wireless USB and can connect to any appropriately-equipped PC, while the juice is sucked in using a newly-minted proposed standard for wireless power delivery called SUPA (developed with the likes of Fraunhofer) that can function over wide surface areas -- in this case, an entire desk. Right now it's just the display, but it's easy to imagine how phones, laptops, tablets, and anything else that requires continuous power or a quick, convenient recharge could benefit from this arrangement rather than needing a special mat (which is, of course, corded) lying around. Fujitsu tells us that SUPA can deliver about 25 watts in its current incarnation, which isn't going to keep your gaming PC going -- but it'll certainly handle your typical handheld device (or, in this case, a 22-inch monitor). The demo we saw was a little glitchy; the first time we visited the booth, Fujitsu was having a hard time getting the WUSB connection to light up, but it was up and running the second time we dropped by. We got the impression there wasn't quite enough bandwidth to deliver smooth video at this color depth and resolution, but it was good enough for data entry tasks. Likewise, the monitor appeared to flicker from time to time, suggesting that it was either right on the edge of that 25W maximum or just experiencing typical prototype hiccups. On a couple occasions, they lifted the monitor to reset it, and it only required 2-3 inches of lift before power was lost -- so this isn't the kind of thing where you can get up and wander around with a device and expect it to magically continue to charge (we'd be awfully concerned about being turned into beef jerky at those energy levels, anyway). All told, we're excited about this technology, assuming SUPA can gain enough critical mass in the marketplace to be relevant. They're expecting the first commercial applications next year... so in the meantime, enjoy our pictures and videos while you plan how you're going to rearrange your workspace once you don't have to worry about power cords.
Fujitsu's Stylistic Q550 Windows 7 tablet: orders kick off tomorrow starting at €699
Expanding on some tidbits fleshed out last week, Fujitsu has dropped all the details on its Oak Trail-based Stylistic Q550 Windows 7 tablet here at CeBIT this week. Along with your choice of 30GB or 64GB SSDs, you'll be able to select Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional atop a 10.1-inch WXGA IPS display capable of four-finger multitouch with stylus input, 2GB of RAM, and an optional Gobi radio that'll push 14.4Mbps down and 5.76Mbps up over HSPA. Pricing will vary by market, but it's starting at €699 (roughly $966) here in Europe when it goes on sale tomorrow. Follow the break for the full press release. Update: We just snapped a few glamor shots of Fujitsu Technology Solutions CEO Rolf Schwirz showing off the Q550 here at the company's CeBIT press conference -- see 'em below! %Gallery-117743%
Fujitsu unveils world's first MeeGo netbook, world barely notices
It hasn't been a terribly good week for MeeGo, but there's a scant silver lining in the cloud -- the first MeeGo netbook has arrived in Singapore, courtesy of Fujitsu. Actually, to be precise, it's the first netbook to ship with MeeGo preinstalled, as Fujitsu's simply shoehorned the lightweight operating system onto its existing LifeBook MH330 machine. Sadly, the MH330's about as boring as they come -- it's a plain vanilla 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 ultraportable with 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 LED-backlit screen. The company says it's customized MeeGo to take advantage of hardware buttons, but other than that there's nothing noteworthy here, just a (roughly $400) netbook that managed to find a place in the annals of history for being the first to preinstall an operating system that's already on the outs -- albeit a very pleasant, quickly-booting one. PR after the break. [Thanks, Edwin C.]
Fujitsu's next-gen Milbeaut image processor does single-chip Hi-Vision video, 20MP stills
Fujitsu's latest image processor, the Milbeaut MB91696AM, has a new bag of tricks on tap, and it's fixing to unload them in April. The new Milbeaut sports ARM processors and a "newly-developed" Full HD H.264 codec engine, making for 14-megapixel shooting at 8fps (or about 20 megapixels at 5.5fps) and low-noise Hi-Vision video recording at 1920 x 1080. So the processor, in its sixth iteration, sports high resolution photos and HD video all on the same chip, and features continuous photography speeds up to five times faster than its predecessors. Fujitsu's got plans to show off Milbeaut's mobile solutions at MWC next week, and we wouldn't be surprised to see the MB91696AM make its debut in Barcelona as well. Either way, samples of the new processor is scheduled to ship starting in April for ¥3,000 (right around $36) a pop, which means new Milbeaut-equipped cameras won't shouldn't be far behind. Full PR after the jump.
Fujitsu unveils Esprimo FH99/CM, touts it as the world's first glasses-free 3D desktop
After seeing Sharp's 10.6 glasses-free 3D display last September, we left convinced that parallax barrier 3D technology was a long way off from being ready for prime-time, and then we reached for a bottle of aspirin. Demonstrations by Intel and Sony at CES this year proved, however, that a lot can change in four months, and we hope for Japan's collective eye sight that Fujitsu's Esprimo FH99/CM desktop PC follows this trend. That's because Fujitsu claims it's the world's first glasses-free all-in-one, and it's scheduled to launch in the country on February 25th with a whopping $3,100 price tag. All that dough will get buyers a naked-eye 23-inch full HD 3D display plus top-of-the-line features such as a Blu-ray drive with 3D Blu-ray support, a 2Ghz Core i7 processor, 4GB of memory, a 2TB hard drive, and two USB 3.0 ports. There's no word whether the computer will land stateside, but if it doesn't, Toshiba has hinted they could fill the void with a glasses-free 3D PC of its own by late 2011. Still, we wouldn't recommend stomping your 3D glasses just yet.
Fujitsu launches 11.6-inch Lifebook PH50/C, complete with AMD Fusion APU
Now that AMD's Fusion is finally real, we're all sorts of excited to see what kind of numbers the E-350 Zacate APU puts up in honest-to-goodness machines like Fujitsu's latest. The minty fresh Lifebook PH50/C is just one of the many new lappies unveiled this week by the company, but this particular 11.6-incher has managed to grab our heartstrings and not let go. Boasting a cute, albeit familiar design, the PH50/C is equipped with a 1.6GHz E-350 APU, Radeon HD 6310 graphics, 2GB of memory, a 500GB hard drive, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) and a 5,800mAh battery good for up to seven hours of life in ideal conditions. For those more interested in Intel's Sandy Bridge, the like-minded PH74/C gets powered by a Core i3-2310M, and given that it's a Japanese machine designed for Japanese owners, an in-built WiMAX module is thrown in for good measure. We're also getting the impression that both of these can be ordered up with Intel's Wireless Display technology, and considering that Buffalo just introduced a new WiDi adapter for this very market, we'd say things have lined up quite nicely. Pricing remains up in the air, but they should be out in Q1 for under $800 or so.
NVIDIA and Fujitsu Ten's Android Car Nav hands-on (video)
We're seeing a few companies mixing a little Android on the dashboard, most notably Parrot, and while we think the little green guy certainly has a future in next-gen infotainment systems, we're not quite sure this is it. It's a prototype display, running on Tegra power and developed in conjunction with Fujitsu Ten. Right now it's offering little more functionality than a raw Android tablet, made more car-friendly only by the addition of big home, back, and menu buttons. The UI is showing only a simple maps app, centered in Tokyo, and overall things look... early. But, we're certainly eager to see what the companies can do with Android on the dash -- down the road a little.
NVIDIA makes GeForce GT 500M family official, introduces GTX 485M as its fastest mobile GPU
Yes, NVIDIA's naming scheme really is all over the place, but here's what you need to know: as of today, the fastest mobile GPU coming from Jen-Hsun Huang's team will be the GeForce GTX 485. That chip will be equipped with a 256-bit memory interface and GDDR5 RAM and succeed the GTX 480M as the king of the (relatively) mobile castle. Moving up in numbers, but not performance, the new GT 520M, 525M, 540M, 550M, and 555M represent very mild refreshes of their 400M series counterparts. We were initially unimpressed by NVIDIA's decision to keep things stagnant but for some more aggressive clock speeds at the same TDP envelopes, but a recent review of the earlier-launched GT 540M showed appreciable gains from its predecessor, so maybe these graphics gurus actually know what they're doing. We've gathered some imagery of early units sporting NVIDIA's new graphics hardware -- notably paired with Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs -- in the galleries below, but we'll surely have more for you as we explore the halls of CES. After all, NVIDIA has an awesome 200 design wins combining its tech with Intel's latest, there should be plenty of previously unseen hardware for us to find. In the mean time, skip past the break to see a couple of benchmark runs showing off NVIDIA's new graphics processors. %Gallery-112252%%Gallery-112060%
Fujitsu announces Intel Oak Trail-powered Windows 7 slate, Android tablet coming later this year
Given Fujitsu's long long history of making tablets it's not much of a surprise to see the company venturing into the modern-day slate business, and while there won't be a formal announcement of its 10.1-inch Windows 7 slate and future Android tablet today, the company has decided to release some details about its forthcoming touchscreen slabs here at CES. Unlike past Windows 7 slates, Fujitsu's unnamed tablet is powered by Intel's new Oak Trail Atom Z670 processor, which was designed specifically for tablets and should improve both battery life and performance. In addition to the new silicon, the 1.5-pound slate has 2GB of RAM, dual cameras, and an all-important removable battery bay that can store two- and four-cell batteries. It certainly sounds like one of the better spec'd Windows 7 tablets out there, and Fujitsu also seems to be using some sort of Windows skin (there's another picture after the break), but Fujitsu isn't only betting on a Microsoft version -- it's also planning to introduce an Android version once Honeycomb is ready for larger touchscreen devices. According to the company, the Google model won't be ready until the end of 2011, but the Windows configuration should be ready to ship early in the second quarter. Word on the street is that Fujitsu has brought a working Windows 7 unit to Vegas as well as a waterproof tablet concept so stay tuned for all sorts of zany impressions.
Fujitsu unleashes four LifeBooks with new Intel processors, AH572 promises 3D viewing and recording
The Intel Core 2011 laptops just don't stop rolling in here at CES, and today Fujitsu is jumping on the Sandy Bridge train with four new LifeBook laptops. We'll start with the most intriguing of 'em all -- the 15.6-inch AH572, which not only boasts 3D viewing with included polarized glasses but can record 3D video through its dual integrated cameras. For $999, there's no doubt that the 3D features sound pretty awesome and we're planning to go hands-on with that all later tonight, but let's not forget about the rest of the impressive package -- it packs a Core i5-2410M processor, Intel's WiDi 2.0, and supports up to 6GB of RAM. Not enough power for ya? Chin up, Fujitsu's got the 17.3-inch NH751 too, which boasts an quad-core Core i7-2630QM processor, NVIDIA's fresh 500M graphics, and a Blu-ray drive for $1,200. In true Fujitsu spirit, there's also a convertible tablet; the 13.3-inch T901 is powered by Intel's latest Core i5 and i7 processors and is the first tablet to include NVIDIA's Optimus graphics. Like most of Fujitsu's other tablets, it has a multitouch display with an active digitizer for taking notes as well as a modular bay for swapping in a second battery or hard drive. This one will retail for about $1,900 and won't be available until this spring. Last but not least is the 12.1-inch P771, which is all about packing power into a smaller chassis. The black glossy system is powered by Intel's latest Core i7 processors, has a USB 3.0 port as well as a dual-layer DVD drive. There's no word on pricing on the last of the four, but if you're dying for a few more details on the LifeBook quadruplets head on down below for the full press release. %Gallery-112290%
Fujitsu Lifebook T580 Tablet PC now on sale in North America
It took awhile for Fujitsu's Lifebook T580 to hit the US market, but at last, the 10.1-inch, three-pound Tablet PC has landed on this side of the Atlantic. The netvertible, if we can even call it that, is about double the price of the usual convertible netbook, and for good reason -- the system eschews Atom for Core i3 / i5 processor options and also has an capacitive display with an N-trig digitizer, which can support both pen and finger input. The $1,149 "Express Buy" model packs a Core i3-380UM processor, 2GB of RAM, 160GB of storage, and a 5,800mAh six-cell battery, while going on up to the Core i5-560UM CPU adds an extra $250. The T580 sure does seem to fill a pretty niche market these days, which is why we're guessing Fujitsu dropped the early "slate-beating" descriptor, but there's got to be some out there that still want the power of a mainstream system in a shrunken Tablet PC form factor, right?
Fujitsu hybrid energy harvester makes power from light or heat, gets us closer to human batteries
As fleshy meatbags, we tend to give off a lot of excess heat as we futilely live our lives. Fujitsu wants to help capture every last particle motion, and all the other warmth we generate through the myriad of other inane activities like driving cars, firing rockets, and trying to not freeze to death. But, it's not just happy with that, developing a new "hybrid energy harvesting device" that does double-duty by also capturing light from the sun. It's a process shown after the break but, with no hard numbers to go with that pretty picture, we're not sure just how efficient it is at doing either. Still, there are some 6.7 billion people worldwide. How efficient does it really need to be?