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Apr 22

Fujitsu Notebook Ditches Optical Drive, Packs Pico Projector

Fujitsu’s latest Lifebook packs a pico projector in place of a DVD drive

Making super thin laptops isn’t the only thing you can do when you ditch bulky optical drives. If you keep the computer the same size, there’s suddenly a whole lot of space for cool new accessories. Take the new Fujitsu Lifebooks, for example, which pack tiny pico projectors into the newly freed-up space.

The computer comes in two models, with 12.1 inch and a 13.3 inch screens. Both can be had in a confusion of configurations, including Celeron, Core i3 and i5 processors. But the smart part is the projector.

When I say the pop-out projectors take the place of the optical drive, I mean it literally. They are designed as optional swap-in modules to replace an optical drive. To use it, you partially eject the unit from its bay and adjust it up and down on a hinge. Fujitsu doesn’t disclose the specs of the projector other than a resolution of 800 x 600, but pico projectors are all pretty similar, giving a decent, bright image as long as the room is dark and you’re not to far from the wall or screen.

The projector-packing Lifebooks will go on sale in Japan next month, starting at a rather steep $2,690. Given that pico projectors can be had for under $500, and take up almost no space in a laptop bag anyway, you might prefer to stick with an optical drive for now.

Projecting Lifebook product page [Fujitsu via Crunchgear]

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