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I have a Fujitsu t5010. The tablet functionality on a full blown laptop is very nice for students or anyone else who needs to be able to draw, write math, and type. Adding touch/stylus functionality to a laptop is a high-end feature, and the main drawback for current models are that too many corners were cut. A hybrid has to have substantially better hinges than a normal laptop, which is something the more expensive Fujitsu hybrids excell at, but is nonexistant in the case of the Surface Pro.

The reason hybrids haven't taken off is that they are a very niche product. Nothing in my Masters program requires more than a keyboard, so I no longer use the tablet functionality. An artist would need a very high end system with a very good screen and full wacom integration, which would carry such a high price tag, I've never seen such a system.

Because tablet functionality is useless when you need to be productive (have a real mouse and keyboard for tactile feedback), what I see as the best course of action would be to design laptops and tablets to pair via a connection like USB 3.0. The laptop could provide the raw processing power if required, and the tablet could clip to the back of a monitor and disable the laptop's lid-closed power switch for ease of use without a table. This would also allow for quick keyboard access and dual screen real estate when working at a table.

And I'll leave this: http://www.shopfujitsu.com/www/content/products/Tablet-PCS/History/tablet-pc-history_04.php

The Fujitsu Stylistic ranges from 1.7 to 1.9 lbs. The iPad 2 is 1.33 lbs. At worst, this is 42% heavier, not "1.5-2x heavier". Fujitsu claims over 8 hours of battery life on their midrange model (1.9lbs total with that battery). Apple claims 10 hours, about 25% more. These numbers make the iPad look incrementally better, not insanely great.

http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=Q550
http://www.apple.com/ipad/

There are lots of them - and have been for good long time. I have one of these, that I got when a local hospital was selling off the old generation of computers and upgrading to these. These things are freaking amazing - usable in full sunlgiht, nearly indestructible, great battery life (plus hot-swappable batteries), but they do cost $2000+, which is why you never see them, except in hospitals or government contracted job-sites, or on sci-fi tv shows.

Fujitsu, Acer, HP, Dell, or Lenovo all have Windows tablet offerings. They just tend to be full-fledged computers, rather than toys, and so carry a higher price. Windows 7 with gestures / flicks works quite well as a tablet OS, but it is helpful to have the active digitizer with stylus, regardless of whether you also have a iPad style touchscreen.

"he's conveniently omitting convertibles like the above ThinkPad, which likely make up 90%+ of PC tablet sales."

I wouldn't be so sure, Fujitsu has a large line of popular LifeBook Tablet PCs, and Newegg has a wide variety of tablet pcs available with the most models coming from Panasonic and their $2400-$4000 Toughbook series

There are already tons of Windows tablets with both a digitizer based stylus and multitouch. Apple just cheaped out on their touch screen.

Fujitsu only claims 3 hours and 30 minutes.

Paying lage premia for weight and power savings is what buying a laptop is all about.
One thing that I would like to see on portable specs is operating noise. A noisy laptop is obnoxious.

get a notebook (not net , note) with the new intel core i7 640M (U or L - http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=43563,47700,). The U model at 18W TDP gives the atom chips a run for their money (well, not really in same category, but much better performance/wattage than anything before mobile nehalem came along). Lenovo has the x201s, but I'd take a look at the fujitsu P770 series - http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=P770. Not really in the netbooks price range, and not featuring ION (which is a true shame) but more than adequate from power consumption versus performance standpoint. If you want a portable gaming platform, either alienware or one of the eurocom models ( http://www.eurocom.com/ ) might suit you better.

Someone mod the parent up, this is the most spot-on comment here. Why do you need pressure sensitive touch when pressure sensitivity is for capturing handwriting, which is most naturally done with a stylus, which can commonly support sensitivity with current technology?
For a perfect example of this, check out the LifeBook T-4310 or T-4410.

mp3 players and smartphones were pretty niche too until someone made one that customers wanted. Kind of similar to before smartphones "broke the cusp" and offered everything I wanted in a smartphone (like a decent amount of memory, a real headphone jack, a usable web browser, and a real keyboard- well I caved on that when I got the iphone), tablets have been too heavy, too clunky, too short battery life, and too expensive. About 6 months ago I saw something I would have died to have about 6 years ago- a tablet that would open like a regular laptop, but then swivel around to be a typical tablet form factor so I could use it as an e-reader- I think they call these "convertibles" now. http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/productoverview.do?type=TB&pgid=Tablets Unfortunately it came too late, as the iphone works pretty well as an e-reader, and if I really want a dedicated e-reader now, I will just pick up a Kindle.

Personally I am quite skeptical of a tablet from either MS or Apple- unless they managed to do something like putting an OLED or e-ink screen on one at a reasonable cost without losing functionality, I think the time of the tablet has more or less passed.

BTW- I heard the technology for overlaying an e-ink screen over an LCD was close to becoming a reality last summer, so maybe this will be the big news?

I have a Fujitsu and in terms of features, it's the best there is. Boots from everything, pen drives, cars, external HD, you name it. It comes with a 2nd battery as an option, 3g card, N wifi, fingerprint reader, and lots of whistles. If you're looking for a good laptop that it's not built in china. you're going to the right place: http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=S7220 Cheers

Hello,

Both Fujitsu and Kohjinsha have been offering small (<9" screen) tablet PCs for a number of years, so I'm not sure exactly why this is considered newsworthy. Asus' contribution here seems to be in reducing the price and shipping them into the consumer channel. While it is nice to have inexpensive hardware, I would hardly qualify that as revolutionary, let alone evolutionary.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Fujitsu P1000 series machines with 9" screen has been available for a long time. I bought my first in 2002. It had Transmeta CPU, 256MB of RAM, and came with XP- a little slow, but perfectly practical. It had a touchscreen, which was very convenient. The P series is still manufactured http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=P1620

I was also somewhat intrigued by the '8"-11"' comperable ultraportable statement...I'd think you'd have to put this in the class with the Fujitsu Lifebook S for a proper comparison. Despite its thinness, this thing is wide and deep enough that it seems like a more natural grouping.

The Air seems to be a prestige product, like a V12 BMW. Almost no one really needs it, but quite a few people will pay a premium price because they think they do. :-) It's a pretty little thing, though.

It so happens that I unpacked and set up a few Fujitsu Lifebook T2010 convertible tablets yesterday. Handling those makes the tradeoffs Apple made with the Air really obvious. The little Fujitsu is slower, cheaper, larger, and heavier... but not much slower, larger or heavier, and not all that much cheaper. They obviously didn't minimize on ports, as it has 2xUSB2, Gig-E, Firewire, headphone, mic, and VGA ports; slots for PCCard, Smartcard, and SDCard; a fingerprint reader, a Wacom touchscreen, and almost twice the battery life. On the other hand, it only has a/b/g wireless and it doesn't come with OS X or integrated multitouch, and it is not much of a looker.

Apple clearly optimized for different requirements than Fujitsu did. I'm sure the Air will fly off the shelves, but it's not for me.

Darn it.

Oh... you meant an Apple laptop. Well, Apple is late.

... the smaller versions of the Fujitsu Lifebook, the P1610. I still run Ubuntu on my old P1120. And the battery life is usually about 4.5 hours (even with wifi running).

.... What about having a fully functional subnotebook like this Fujitsu:

http://store.shopfujitsu.com/ca/EcomCA/buildseries bean.do?series=P7120

Plus by using off the shelf stuff in it, they lower the cost. Works for me.

What a wonderful notebook. Unfortunately, I see no GPRS/UMTS/HSDPA antenna built-in. I wonder why notebook manufacturers keep releasing subnotebooks with no built-in Internet capability. An innovative company has released Flybook which can connect to the Internet with up to 1.8mbps speed through HSDPA 3G networks. While it's true that you can just put a PCMCIA card and have 3G in every laptop, I think that the internal antenna worths the extra money. All high-end PDAs, like HTC Universal, have 3G connectivity nowadays, but few high-end laptops have it. In this sense, PDAs seem to be more advanced than laptops. I just wonder when manufacturers will wake up and understand that built-in GPRS/UMTS/HSDPA connectivity in a laptop multiplies its value to the user more than one hundred times.

I just got a Fujitsu Lifebook 1610 convertible tablet/notebook with the 6 cell battery pack, which brings the weight up to 2.5 pounds from the 2.2 pounds it weighs with the 3 cell pack. I'm getting 4 to 7 hours depending on how I'm using it - movies, books, drawing, etc. I'm very happy with the 1610 - it's actually the tablet I've been waiting for. 2.5 pounds is still too heavy, but the UMPCs that are coming in around 1 pound require so many add-ons (portable keyboard, USB-RJ45 dongle, etc.) and too tiny screens (4.5") they're less usable, less convenient, and ultimately more expensive. My second runner up was a TabletKiosk eo.

Here's one example of a machine the argument about running Mac OS X might make sense on:

http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/PrdBrid ge.jsp?pclass=ST5000

Unfortunately, Apple still hasn't made good on their promise that discontinuing the Newton would result in interesting hardware to replace it.

William
(who wrote out this post on his Stylistic using RitePen)

Thanks to those who replied pointing that Fujitsu-Siemens also produces AMD64+trackpoint notebooks (I really didn't know about that).

Fujitsu-Siemens seems Linux-supportive enough on their website :
"Linux is a core part of our technology solutions aimed to solve specific business problems. Fujitsu Siemens Computers is a full-line infrastructure provider with close cooperation to leading Linux distributors, ISVs and service partners. Fujitsu Siemens Computers offer best-in-class support for Linux, Windows, Solaris with the same level of support and commitment for all operating systems. [...]"

The rest of the page focuses Linux use on servers; it isn't clear whether they support (or even acknowledge) Linux on their notebooks, but at least it's an auspicious start; On the less-auspicious site there's the ubiquitous "Fujitsu Siemens Computers recommends Windows® XP Professional" banner on top of almost EVERY PAGE on their website, but then they probably are forced to do that by some part of their Windows OEM contract with Microsoft.

Regarding my quest for an AMD64+trackpoint notebook: checking their website , their current AMD64 offerings are limited to the Lifebook S2110 and A3040, and neither has a trackpoint... They seem to follow the same strategy as HP, that is, keeping the AMD64 offerings on the "low end" (relatively so: Fujitsu notebooks are more expensive than most other vendors') and the trackpoint offerings on their "high end" (which seems to be Intel only).

<sigh> at least it's another vendor to monitor.

You might want to check out this. It's the Fujitsu Lifebook P1500D that I've been looking at getting for the last few months.

You are hallucinating.

1. Business purchasers are consumers. Deal with it. IBM has millions of TPM systems deployed with software that actually makes use of the TPM module. Using your definition, educational institutions and the publishing industry are also not "mainstream consumers." Frankly, you're also ignoring the large numbers of individuals that buy IBM laptops because they're high quality and nigh indestructible.

2. The number of Windows based systems with installed TPM modules dwarfs anything that Apple has shipped in the last few months, even if you exclude IBM. Dell sells them. Fujitsu sells them (E8000, S7000, P1500, ST50XX. B6000, T4000). (Here's a whole list of manufacturers that have shipped TPM modules in Windows based machines.

3. Really, knock off the drugs. Intel invented USB. Intel pushed USB. Intel rammed USB down every whitebox manufacturer's throat well before Apple introduced its USB keyboards and mouse with those candy colored iMacs in January 2002. I have Microsoft USB keyboards that are older than that. Roundup of USB optical mice from August 2000.

Now that I've addressed the specific points therein, I'd appreciate external references to things that give sales numbers, introduction dates, and other points that prove that Apple got either of those technologies on the market before Windows PC suppliers. Otherwise, have a nice day, and seek counseling.

Or, you could save a couple hundred bucks by getting the Fujitsu version of the same idea. It's very similar to the X41, although it might be a smaller display. My office has two, and our experience with them seems superior to what's described in the review (Arstechnica.com) I read about the Thinkpad.

(Keep in mind that these are niche devices. It so happens that my office also sits in that niche, so we love 'em. YMMV.)

Agreed. I just picked up a T4020 about a month ago and I don't think I'll ever be able to use a "normal" laptop again. It's a tad heavier than the X41 but it has an on-board CDRW in a modular bay that I can shove a secondary battery in when I know I'll be out for a while. The screen is slightly hard to read on a bright day outside, but a dream otherwise. The fingerprint reader was fun for a few weeks but the novelty ran off pretty quick.

As far as a solution looking for a problem, I agreed up until I got mine. Now there are just too many things that are much more convenient. FEX, I can draft up and manipulate Visio projects *incredibly* easily while on the go. Visio is a headache when you're limited to just a touch pad or clit stick, and a mouse is only handy if you're stationary and have space to put it somewhere. General research and reading are much more enjoyable.

My first recommendation is to only carry small and where possibile, hybrid gear.

Secondly purge your bag weekly.

Thirdly, a small bag with a well padded single shoulder strap seems to put less pressure on joints, nerves, etc. The older you get the more you will appreciate this. It is counter-intuitive but backpacks easily cause me more discomfort, even with a good belt.

I am currently carrying an Eagle Creek Travel Gear shoulder bag. In it I carry:
Sony Clie UX40 in an aluminum case
crap Cell phone (if work didn't pay for this it would be a Treo 650)
Bandana (almost as good as a towel)
2 pens
business cards
Mini flash light
usb ROM stick
mini tape measure
Leatherman Squirt mini-multi-tool
spare stylus
A small Moleskin notebook
earplugs
Sony noise reducing earbuds(passive)
Motorola HS820 BT headset (crap)
2.5 lb convertible Fujitsu Lappy w/extended battery(I fuckin dig this thing!)
Caselogic neoprene DVD Player Case for the laptop.

On the laptop there is easily 500 ebooks including textbooks for school, reference books for work and fiction for downtime. The whole enchilada weighs only 5.5 lbs!

And as soon as I figure out how to get Outlook to wake my laptop out of standby I'll ebay the PDA.

My sister carries a "healthy back bag" from LL Bean that is even more comfortable. I'll try that next.

Take care of your body before it turns on you!

BillyBob

http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildse riesbean.do?series=P7D

Your suggestion isn't really that far-fetched. Personally I can't see going with a PocketPC, they can do a whole lot, but they're kind of clunky to use. I'd go for an ultraportable laptop over one of those (better Linux support as well...)

However, you can have my Palm V when you pry it from my cold dead fingers. They need to just do an update on that model. Same screen (at least keep it legible-anywhere green & black) a bit more storage and power, and wireless.

Neat ultra-portable there.

How's wireless support under the Linux installs you have on the Fujitsu? I have a Fujitsu S6210 and Suse 9.3 works like a champ with this notebook and a bog standard Intel 2200BG chipset.

Semi-OT: Suse 9.3 is the only install I've put on this notebook that I haven't had to do *any* configuration to get WPA-PSK working. Fill in your pre-shared key and take off. I've tried just about every distro and although I could get WPA working it wasn't nearly as seamless as it is in Suse 9.3. The kinternet tool in 9.3 is what keeps me on Suse. No mucking with config files and custom scripts to bring the wireless up and down. Very nice.

Trying to keep it on topic here :) How about suspend to RAM or suspend to disk in Suse ... any issues with that? I ask because I'll be damned if I can get suspend to anything working on this notebook using any distro.

Looking at the datasheet on Fujitsu's site it is stated that that particular model is fixed at 256MB of RAM. That looks like it will be the only sticking point for me. As far as build quality, the only other notebooks I've used personally that compare to and surpass Fujitsu is the excellent Thinkpad. I still miss my T30 that a Diet Coke destroyed *sniff*.

Anybody have any experience with the ultra-low voltage Pentium-Ms? I'm looking at the entire Fujitsu ultra-portable line due to the pleasant experience I've had with this S6210. Obviously speed isn't my main concern but portability and battery life are.

one of these with a spare battery will get you to Tokyo with compute all the way.

http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildse riesbean.do?series=P1

If you're over 40 a pair of good reading glasses is essential.

I have to admit, I've been looking at the convertible form factor for TPC's lately and have grown increasingly interested in them for upcoming dental school. I went down to compusa the other day and fiddled around with the averitech 3500 something or rather model. It was pretty sweet and I can forsee how useful it would be to take notes on.

I am also considering the Fujitso 4000 series convertible TPC.

When looking at these I have also asked myself how I would use it in a classroom environment. My research on electronic textbooks has lead to many dead ends. It seems that when electronic versions are available, they're usually wrapped in some proprietary software which renders them mostly useless to products such as onenote and the like. Beyond this, there are options to get electronic textbooks via scanner (opticbook 3600 is nice) or digital camera with OCR step inbetween scan and end product.

I could be easily inticed to pay an extra percentage for textbooks that included fulltext in pdf format, however I see this as a DRM issue that will not be solved in my lifetime.

Does anyone else have any experience with aquiring full text of textbooks? I know there are alot of IT textbooks available in oreilly's safari but it seems that other domains are lagging behind.

Well, Sony always had uber-sexy Vaio laptops that made people drool for as long as Apple's Powerbooks. And many other manufacturers have great designs. as well. For instance, LG has nice looking laptops and Fujitsu has some beautiful slate TabletPCs.

Apple has a very strong brand. They can make a white plastic box, slap a logo on it and it will sell. I am not saying that they don't have great design, just that they are only marginally better than designs from other manufacturers. But Apples are perceived to be much more stylish, because Apple is... "different".