Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve spent time in the rain recently like many of us, you recognize the value of waterproof gear. And Fujitsu’s leaked Arrows Tab F-01D tablet gets it too, packing a 10.1-inch WXGA display, TI IMAP4430 1GHz dual-core processor, and Android 3.2 Honeycomb — all in a unique waterproof housing. The yet-to-be-announced device is rumored to be launching on Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo in September, and may include UMTS, HSPA, and LTE connectivity, along with GSM and GPRS compatibility for roaming abroad. There’s also a pair of CMOS cameras, 16GB of on-board storage, micro-USB and standard headphone connectors (with waterproof covers, we assume), and a microSD card slot. We haven’t received word on pricing just yet, or whether or not the device can survive scuba depths or just the occasional splash, but if the bizarrely named Arrows Tab is indeed slated to launch in Japan next month, we imagine those details will be bubbling to the surface any day now.

Update: Netbooknews has a wider view of the ad above confirming the F-01D.

Fujitsu to release waterproof Arrows Tab F-01D LTE tablet on NTT DoCoMo (update: confirmed) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For those who’ve been dwelling on this planet long enough, you might just remember a category of mobile computers by the name of UMPCs. In particular, think Sony’s VAIO UX, the OQO devices and the elusive xpPhone. Alas, those Windows devices were — and probably still are — well ahead of their time no thanks to their battery life, bulkiness and sometimes cost; though for some bizarre reason, Fujitsu begs to differ. In fact, said company took one step further and released a hybrid device in Japan: the LOOX F-07C, a QWERTY slider phone that can switch between Symbian and Windows 7 at a click of a button. Interesting combination, right? Read on to find out how this weird device fares in real life.

Continue reading Fujitsu LOOX F-07C review

Fujitsu LOOX F-07C review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications has only been in existence as Japan’s number two mobile company (behind Sharp) for a short time, but it appears even a decent earnings report wasn’t enough for Toshiba to stay in the business. While the joint venture prepares to release the au IS12T WP7 handset running Mango Fujitsu, Fujitsu is preparing to buy out Toshiba’s 19.9 percent stake and take sole ownership in 2012. Toshiba may not be the only Japanese tech giant taking a step back, as Hitachi is considering following Pioneer and exiting the TV biz stage left. As price competition squeezes out all but the largest manufacturers and even Sony feels the pinch, Hitachi is considering outsourcing the brand to overseas manufacturers. Neither announcement should put brakes on hardware we’ve been anticipating, but that REGZA phone or Wooo television you just dropped a few yen on could become a vintage item very soon.

[Thanks, Colin]

Toshiba is dropping out of Fujitsu / Toshiba phones while Hitachi considers exiting the TV biz originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 02:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plenty of Japanese earnings news today and, as with Nintendo, most of it’s pretty dire. Sony’s hit from the earthquake and PSN outtage has inevitably contaminated this quarter, but it’s suffered from slow Bravia TV, PC and camcorder sales too. Together, these factors contributed a hefty ¥15.5 billion ($200 million) loss in the three months to the end of June, compared to a ¥25.7 billion profit for the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, Fujitsu also lost ¥20.4 billion, which it largely attributed to a 6.7 percent decline in Japanese sales following the disaster. However, sales in other countries also fell 5.3 percent, reflecting a stronger yen and general lack of consumer demand.

Despite everything, Sharp managed to make an operating profit of ¥3.5 billion — but this was down an eye-watering 84.4 percent on the same period last year. Like Sony, the company is suffering from weak demand for TVs, and says it’s switching one of its main TV panel plants to make smaller panels for mobile devices instead — including the iPhone and iPad.

There was some more upbeat news from Toshiba, however, which has managed to stay in the green. It reported a slight rise in net quarterly profit to ¥470 million due to demand for its power systems and home appliances. At least that’s a note worth ending on.

Sony, Sharp and Fujitsu earnings all bring bad news, only Toshiba says something nice originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, you can’t say you didn’t see this one coming. Fujitsu Toshiba mobile communications — now there’s a mouthful — just unveiled the IS12T: Japan’s first Windows Phone 7 device, and according to Microsoft prez Yasuyuki Higuchi, the world’s first Mango one. The sexy and waterproof (!) 3.7-inch WVGA slate is powered by a MSM8655 CPU of undisclosed clock speed, and goes on sale in “September or beyond” on KDDI’s au network. The pink gizmo packs a 13.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and has a plentiful 32GB of flash storage to keep all those snaps. The usual Bluetooth (2.1 + EDR) and WiFi (802.11b/g/n) are also on board. Interest piqued? Peruse the gallery our Engadget Japanese brethren have handily tossed our way.

Fujitsu Toshiba announces au IS12T, the world’s first Mango phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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