Hugo Ortega does Fujitsu U1010

Ive pushed the envelope and burnt the candle at both ends this week to bring you, yesterdays "The Shift" video, and todays video of what we lovingly term The Stormtrooper! Both were promised and as such both were delivered.

These videos have been much anticipated so with the burden of your buying decision in mind I have made the humanly impossible, possible. If you pay close attention you will notice that I am in the same attire for this video, as I am for The Shift Video, as I am for the Nova SunPad video - which is no coincidence as I filmed and edited them all on the same day! (Plus currently uploaded my TechED Speech which I will post shortly!)

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Watch or download the High Res InkShow Video Review (39 minutes, 297MB, Windows Media streaming or direct download)

Visit the Official U1010 Homepage

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Hugo Ortega plays with Fujitsu T4020

I announced several posts back that I’d been handed a Fujitsu T4020 Convertible Tablet PC. Today, although not intended as a full review, I decided to posts some thoughts.

I must disclose that my original purpose for having this device was somewhat selfish. Since I’d been handed the role as blogger for the CeBIT Australia Fair I knew that my primary dilemma in accomplishing this task would be my love for the slate pc. I hunted and looked through my piles of Tablets to only realise that I have a rather refined Slate fetish; the only convertible/hybrid I own is a HP TC1100 which would definitely be under-processed and under-sized for the task.

David at Fujitsu answered my call rather enthusiastically with the delivery of a “Brand New” T4020 Convertible Tablet PC that had been sitting in the office and designated as a “Emergency Only” Tablet… I peeled open the boxes, and layers of insulation, to find what at first site appears to be a rather good attempt at post-modern Tabletism. The reason I term it post-modern is that Fujitsu’s design team has gone to considerable effort to create a funky machine; with its rounded edges and two-toned grey/silvers it seems that Fujitsu colour coordinators have definitely done away with PC Beige as a preferred hue.

Booting the T4020 quickly gives the Tableteer a glimpse of great things to come…speed (impressive for an Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 1.86GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB) ! As we all know faster is better, right? In this case absolutely, positively better. From the word GO this Tablet screams. Gone are all the proprietary software bits that make very good computers run like dogs, i.e. infamous with IBM and Sony VAIO. When I first booted this device I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in the Windows environment well before many more fabled machines. One Windows Mobile fanatic friend of mine pointed out a very ironic little quirk in this device just recently: “stupid isn’t it that the fingerprint scanner is located on the body of the computer and not the screen? What if I want to swipe my finger when in Tablet mode?”

All-in-all the keyboard feels great and the weight/functionality ratios are all tipped in the favour of the T4020. I like it so far but stay tuned for a more comprehensive Video Review later next week.

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Fujitsu to enter the UMPC space later!

As Australias relentless Tablet guy today I sat with David Niu of Fujitsu PC Australia. He had been lead to me, by Microsoft Australia, as a “warm body” that knew a little about Tablet PC in the Australian Market place. :-)

As we sat in my local delicatessen, where I’d also held talks with Lenovo, I realized that this man had the same passion for Ink as I. We ate lunch, we drank coffee, and shared Tablet Tales; David, with his T4000 and P1510 on the table, and me with my trusty Sahara Slate. We discussed the past the present and the future, so I’d thought I’d ask the million dollar question; will Fujitsu announce the release of a UMPC device? Absolutely! Will it be anytime soon? Hmmmmmmm! Let me explain.

Fujitsu has a very strong connection with Siemens. Most of you in the European market would be aware of Fujitsu Siemens via their release of product focused in the mobile phone and notebook space. Some of these devices, like the LIFEBOOK Q2010, even ship with SIM card slots! This venture is focused on mobility and has developments in the pipeline that will have release dates for later this year. David talked of developments due later this year that would see Tablet PC reach as thin as 1cm (slightly over 1/3 of an inch) and see them ship Broadband-Enabled.

As I explored the Fujitsu Siemens relationship further I realized that it is much engrained; so much so that Fu (in FUjistsu) relates to the founder, while (Ji) relates to Siemens. Having established this I felt it could only mean one thing…a broadband enabled UMPC!

So where’s the dilemma? Fujitsu is a Japanese based firm that prides itself in sustaining a very non-western approach to business. If you look at a traditional business plan in the United States or Australia you may find a 5, 10 and maybe 20 year plan. If however you look at the same plan in Japan it’s not rare to find a 100-year outline of things to come. Fujitsu, as explained by David, is focused on getting it right! Does this mean that they are sometimes play follow, and not lead, for sure! Does it mean that this year may not be a scrucial for them as 5-years from now? Yes!

So what do I conclude? All this told me one very vital thing: Fujitsu will get it right before shipping with devices that potentially get it wrong. So what about UMPC, is it in their 5, 10, 20 or 100-year plan? I don’t know. What I do know is that when Fujitsu enters the Ultra Mobile PC market place it will be with confidence, and product that works…stay tuned.

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• Do you own a Fujitsu Tablet? Share your tales.
• Would a Fujitsu UMPC be exciting?

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