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Fujitsu, understanding the enterprise attraction to tablets, has introduced the Stylistic Z702 business hybrid tablet and the refreshed Lifebook T902 convertible tablet PC.
The Stylistic hybrid weighs 1.88 pounds and features an 11.6-inch Advanced High-Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS) high-definition multi-touch display for pen or touch input that’s paired with a keyboard docking station that enables it to instantly transition from tablet to laptop.
The new 4.1-pound Lifebook convertible features a frameless 13.3-inch HD+ anti-glare widescreen display. According to Fujitsu, it’s the largest screen available for touch or pen input. A twist of the display, and the T902 goes from laptop to clipboard-style tablet. Fujitsu expects it will be a fit for workers in health care, education, retail point-of-sale, insurance and other industries.
Who are these right for?
“If you’re buying a convertible, the majority of your work is keyboard-based,” Paul Moore, Fujitsu’s vice president of PC marketing, told eWEEK. “It’s for people who want to embrace the touch capabilities, but they have reports to do and that kind of thing. Then there are the tablet peopleworkers who can perform the majority of their work on a tablet, but still need that keyboard.”
These are serious business machines. Debuting ahead of Microsoft Windows 8, both will ship with Windows 7 but are optimized for Windows 8 and will definitely be able to make the upgrade. Both also feature Corning Gorilla Glass and, like Fujitsu’s newest Ultrabook and laptops, run Intel’s newest Ivy Bridge processors.
The Stylistic hybrid offers the option of third-generation Intel Core i3 or i5 processors. Users will also have the option of 3G/LTE (Long-Term Evolution) mobile broadband support from AT&T, Verizon Wireless or Sprintthis feature is in the works. The tablet alone offers 4.5 hours of battery life, but the keyboard adds on another 4.5 hours.
Importantly, says Moore, it’s been designed so that when a user attaches the two, “the power of the keyboard is drained first, so the tablet always has the [optimal] charge.”
The Stylistic also features USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, plus High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and Secure Digital/Secure Digital Standard Capacity (SD/SDHC) ports. There are front- and rear-facing Webcams, with dual microphones for video conferencing, Intel HD Graphics 4000, the option of a 64 or 128GB mSATA solid-state drive (SSD), 4GB of on-board double data rate type 3 (DDR3) memory, and also USB, LAN and external display support ports on the keyboard docking station.
The Lifebook convertible can be outfitted with a third-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor. The modular bay supports a second batteryfor a potential total of 11 hours of battery lifeplus a second hard disk drive (HDD), Super multi DVD-RW, BD-write or a weight-saving option.
It also (eventually) will offer the 3G/LTE mobile broadband module option. Included now are security features such as Computrace support, HDD and BIO password protection, Intel Anti-Theft technology and optional Intel vPro technology.
Other good stuff includes an accelerometer, a gyrometer, a magnetometer and ambient light sensorswhich Fujitsu says make for a “fluid computing experience”plus an anti-microbial keyboard, a hard-drive shock sensor and up to 16GB of DDR3 1,600MHz memory.
Given the vertical markets these PCs are designed for, they also offer easy access to their internals. “In finance, health care, government [regulations state that] they can’t ship devices with the hard drive inside,” said Moore. While the Apple iPad is attractive to many enterprise users, he adds, “The iPad is sealedyou can’t get into it.”
The Q702, on the other hand, has four screws on the back, offering easy access the wireless LAN, or in the event that repairs are needed.
Fujitsu has also worked to extend the life of its devices with design like, “anywhere there’s a fan, there’s a dust pump,” said Moore. Also, “We have a removable filter on the T902you lift a little edge and lift it out, and as you do, it scrapes out the dust.”
Dust, he explains, is the enemy of electronics.
Heat isn’t much better, though it’s also a foe of the user. To combat it, Fujitsu has employed various active and passive cooling techniques. When a user cradles a convertible or a slate, they’re “pushing the thermal envelope,” said Moore. To address this, Fujitsu strategically uses magnesium, to transfer and dilute the heat. The CPU and memory, however, are unavoidable heat sources, he adds, and to address these, the company uses a particular “thermal slate” material, like a suede, which puts air between the heat source and user.
“When the thermal slate touches your arm, you don’t feel the heat,” explains Moore. “That’s passive cooling.”
Pricing for the Stylistic Q702 hybrid will start at $1,099, while the Lifebook T902 convertible tablet will begin at $1,899. Both will be available during the third quarter of this year.