Fujitsu demos quad-core 4G smartphone, Arrows Tab stateside
updated 09:05 pm EST, Sun January 15, 2012
Fujitus teases Tegra 3 and shows Arrows Tab in US
Fujitsu in its turn at CES was focusing mostly on the mobile side, demoing the Arrows Tab and, in a surprise, a quad-core smartphone. The Arrows-badged phone, which was using a Tegra 3, was behind glass at the main Fujitsu booth running the Riptide GP game NVIDIA likes to use to show the Tegra 3's graphics power. We were told it was running Android 4.0 and, on-device, had a 4.6-inch "HD" screen.
The hardware should be advanced outside of the processor, with a 13-megapixel camera that will reportedly shoot at sensitivities as high as ISO 25,600, making it more comparable in low light performance to a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera or a DSLR. LTE-based 4G should part of the mix as well.
Unlike other Arrows devices, the quad-core phone should go beyond Japan, the company said separately in an interview with Engadget. A more formal unveiling is due in March with a Japanese launch in summer, possibly under NTT DoCoMo given where existing Arrows models have gone. Talks underway with carriers could see the smartphone in the US or other Western countries by the fall.
We also got a test of the Arrows Tab at a pre-show event that showed just how waterproof it was. Staff dunked the Android tablet completely in a fish tank and could keep it working without interruption. Staff didn't know if the Android tablet would leave Japan.
