Fujitsu announces LifeBook tablet, ultramobile PC

Fujitsu Computer Systems announced a tablet PC with 12.1-inch display and a 1.5-pound ultramobile PC on Tuesday, bringing the portable products to U.S. markets after unveiling them recently in Japan.

Fujitsu is selling the LifeBook T2010 for $1,599, featuring a design that converts the 3.5-pound notebook PC to a tablet when the user twists its screen by 180 degrees. And beginning Sept. 18, Fujitsu will charge $999 for the LifeBook U810 ultramobile PC, the U.S. version of the LifeBook U8240 it has been selling since July throughout Asia.

Fujitsu boosted the convertible ultramobile’s storage capacity and battery life compared to the Japanese version, hoping to make a statement as it enters a UMPC market against competitors like the Palm Foleo, VlipStart Labs’ FlipStart, OQO’s model 02, and Samsung Electronics’s Q1 Ultra.

“We don’t believe a product like this can survive in the American market unless it has the same storage as a notebook, the same battery life as a notebook, and a price point under $1,000,” said Paul Moore, senior director of mobile product marketing at Fujitsu.

The U810 includes a 40GB hard drive and four-cell Lithium Ion battery, compared to the 30GB and two-cell version available in Asian countries. Both editions feature Intel’s McCaslin ultramobile platform with A110 processor and a choice of Microsoft’s Windows XP or Vista OS. Fujitsu has no plans to sell the device in Europe.

Fujitsu plans to upgrade the product by the first quarter of 2008 with a docking station, making it easier for people to view the PC’s contents on a full screen instead of its 5.6-inch screen. Those advanced features will help Fujitsu to target business travelers and professionals, using mainly online sales instead of fighting for shelf space in retail stores.

“UMPCs are still niche enough that retailers don’t want to stock them if they’re just taking up space and not moving high volume. But eventually you’ll see them more in stores, just as retailers didn’t want to stock convertible PCs when they first came out,” Moore said.

Fujitsu hopes to add to the growing popularity of convertibles with its LifeBook T2010, an ultralight notebook with 12.1-inch touchscreen display, choice of Windows XP or Vista, and Intel’s Core 2 Duo ultra-low voltage processor with either the full Intel Centrino Duo mobile platform or an Atheros wireless LAN card.

The product is a lighter-weight, single-drive version of Fujitsu’s current T4220 convertible, and will be targeted at vertical markets, competing with Hewlett-Packard. In time, Fujitsu hopes the T2010 will take off, appealing to a wider audience.

Fujitsu could succeed in that goal if they stay dedicated to quality instead of chasing fast product launches, according to one user. Tablet PC users demand extensive product testing and high-quality components such as the stylus and interface, said Jon Stiles, director of campus technology at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, in Denver.

Stiles maintains a fleet of hundreds of tablets used by the school’s admissions counsellors in recruiting and used by students in creating digital art, such as animation and computer aided design (CAD). He is now planning a “tablet initiative” that will require the 150 students in the 2008 freshman class to buy a tablet PC as part of their basic school supplies. The college has standardized on Gateway tablets, mainly the E-155C model.