04/23, 10:00pm
comScore sees smartphone take hold in Japan
Smartphones have broken the reign of the traditional Japanese cellphone for the first time, comScore found late Monday. As of February, smartphones were overall more popular than keitais, the often feature-heavy but complicated basic phones that have dominated Japanese use for more than a decade. Local brands like Sharp still led at 23.5 percent, but they were either flat or down slightly as frequently foreign smartphone brands took hold.
more
04/19, 3:50pm
Fujitsu updates LifeBooks with Sandy Bridge CPUs
Fujitsu has refreshed two of its Lifebook notebooks with the last wave of Intel Sandy Bridge processors. The 15-inch AH532 and 14-inch LH532 are now powered by a 2.3GHz, dual-core Intel Core i3. It's paired with the onboard Intel 3000 HD for graphics.
more
04/02, 2:40pm
Fujitsu buys out Toshiba's stake in joint venture
Fujitsu has bought the remaining 19.9 percent of the shares it didn't own from Toshiba in the pair's jointly owned Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications business. The Monday announcement means the new company is now a fully-owned subsidiary of the Fujitsu Group and has thereby been renamed to Fujitsu Mobile Communications. The joint venture worked on the IS12T Windows Phone smartphone that was launched in Japan at KDDI, but little else outside of an Android equivalent.
more
04/02, 8:55am
NTT DoCoMo and firms don't reach pact in time
In a rare instance of backing off of a major deal, NTT DoCoMo said Monday that it had broken up its planned 4G chip alliance. The Japanese carrier along with Fujitsu, NEC, Panasonic, and Samsung had ended their joint venture in chips after an agreement on exact terms "could not be reached" by the end of the fiscal year, at the end of March. The company NTT DoCoMo had made to get ready for the alliance, Communication Platform Planning Co., was being closed and liquidated as a result.
more
03/20, 11:15am
AMD's Opteron 3200 web server chips start to ship
Chipmaker AMD has just detailed its new eight-core Opteron 3200-series CPUs, meant primarily for cloud and web hosting servers. Based on its current Bulldozer architecture, it can be had in four- or eight-core variants and is rated at 2.7GHz. A Turbo Core mode bumps the clock speed up to 3.7GHz, though only at half the active cores.
more
03/09, 8:45am
Apple gets absolute lead in Japan phones
Apple now has the top-selling cellphone of any kind in Japan, IDC Japan determined late Thursday. The iPhone 4S launch helped Apple claim 26.6 percent of all cellphone shipments in the country this fall. It may have been the first non-Japanese company to top local ranks, ending a longstanding emphasis on local makers.
more
03/05, 1:35pm
14-inch Lifebook ultrabook sports magnesium body
Fujitsu took the opportunity at the CeBIT show to introduce its ultrabook under the working name Lifebook Premium. Images, specs, and a video come courtesy of NotebookItalia, with the 14-inch notebook sporting a 'frameless' design and the ability to open 180 degrees. The notebook is just 16mm (0.63 inches) thick and weighs 1.5kg (3.3lbs).
more
02/28, 7:30am
Claims to be thinnest waterproof smartphone
Fujitsu first introduced its Arrows F-07D smartphone in December, though the device at the time was only confirmed for a launch in Japan. The company brought the handset to Mobile World Congress, where it was displayed beside a sign noting that it had "cleared the FCC." Electronista checked out the compact Android phone, which is claimed to be one of the thinnest smartphones on the market.
more
02/27, 9:20am
Handset has yet to receive official name
Fujitsu was one of many companies that have adopted NVIDIA's Tegra 3 chipset to power their latest smartphones. The company has yet to give its new offering an official name, calling it an "ultra-high-spec smartphone," however the device appeared to be ready to arrive on the market. Electronista stopped by Fujitsu's booth at Mobile World Congress for a bit of hands-on time.
more
02/24, 2:50pm
We travel to Barcelona for MWC 2012
Electronista is traveling to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress 2012. Updates may come in at unusual times, but we should have updates over the weekend, especially mid-Sunday, as most of the cellphone and tablet world shows its hand. Hands-on coverage will continue through mid-week.
more
02/24, 11:40am
LSI chips will allow for multi-network modems
Japanese wireless provider NTT DoCoMo has teamed up with hardware makers NEC, Panasonic, and Fujitsu on developing a rare large-scale integration (LSI) chip for modems that supports GSM, WCDMA, HSPA+, and LTE networks. The companies have developed both the software and hardware intellectual property. An engineering sample of the chips exists, and testing on major mobile networks has been completed.
more
02/22, 12:50pm
Fujitsu to show waterproof Tegra 3 at MWC
Fujitsu now plans to bring its quad-core Arrows smartphone to Mobile World Congress, and release more information about, perhaps including shipping and prices. We saw the phone at CES behind glass, and now the Japanese company has revealed its major specs. The phone will be powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 3 chip, which is capable of 1.5GHz clock speeds.
more
02/20, 12:55pm
Fujitsu's Euro phones to get NFC, LTE support
Fujitsu plans to offer smartphones and tablets for the first time in Europe and will bring some of its new hardware to the Mobile World Congress next week. They will include devices that run on Android and Windows operating systems, the Financial Times reported. The phones will also get NFC chips for wireless payments and support 4G LTE where it's active.
more
02/16, 12:10pm
Fujitsu conference shows off Windows 8 tablet,
Slides from a Fujitsu press conference held on Wednesday show that the company is planning on releasing ultrabooks later this year. At the same time, the fourth quarter will see the release of a Windows 8-powered tablet, the roadmap shared by Notebook Italia indicated. The notebooks will continue to be known as LifeBooks, while the tablets will carry the Fujitsu Stylistic brand name.
more
02/15, 6:45pm
NVIDIA Q4 disappoints but promises quick follow-up
NVIDIA in a mix of quarterly and yearly results disappointed investors even as it teased quad-core phones coming quickly. It expected its first fiscal quarter of the year to get it between $900 million and $930 million in revenue, under a $944 million average investor target, with a lower 49.5 percent margin on what it sold than the 52.1 percent most wanted. The company didn't say what prompted the particular outlook.
more
02/08, 11:00pm
NVIDIA likely to show HTC Endeavor at MWC
NVIDIA has sent out invitations to a special event at Mobile World Congress that's likely a strong clue of what at least one partner will show at the event. It plans to show more "quad-core firsts," hinting that a Tegra 3 phone will appear at the event. Most likely, the reference is to either the HTC Endeavor or the upcoming Fujitsu Arrows phone.
more
02/07, 4:15pm
Three Japanese to merge chip-making business
Three large Japanese electronics makers are involved in talks on merging assets to build computer chips. Renesas, Fujitsu and Panasonic will at first spin off their separate chip design and development divisions to create a joint company, according to Japan's Nikkei newspaper (login required). The three are doing so in order to better compete in the industry for devices and vehicles.
more
01/17, 8:25pm
Tablet unveiled just after CES
Fujitsu has introduced a new tablet, the M532, that has surfaced just days after most companies showed off their latest gadgets at CES. The tablet, which was detailed by the German site TechFokus, is powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 3 chipset and previewed with Android 3.2, however the device will be outfitted with Ice Cream Sandwich before launch.
more
01/15, 9:05pm
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.
more
12/27, 12:15am
Samsung, Pana, DoCoMo may co-create by late March
(Update: official details) Samsung, Panasonic, NTT DoCoMo, Fujitsu, and NEC are working together on smartphone processors, according to apparent slips from the industry early Tuesday. A joint venture as cast by the Wall Street Journal would probably have Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo have majority control over the project, which would go live by late March. Little else is known other than that official news could come as soon as later on Tuesday.
more
12/08, 3:55pm
New process/technology breaks 1V barrier
Fujitsu Semiconductor and SuVolta have demonstrated a new process and technology that promises to greatly reduce the power consumption of SRAM. The new technology could be used to create SRAM capable of operating at ultra-low-voltages of 0.4V, less than one-half of today's power consumption levels. The new lower voltage SRAM could soon be seeing its way into mobile devices, tethered servers, and networking equipment.
more
12/05, 5:30am
Fujitsu unveils a super thin Android smartphone
Japan’s KDDI has announced the Fujitsu Arrows ES IS12F that measures in at just 6.7mm at its thinnest point, and 8.5mm at its thickest. The Arrow also only weighs 105 grams despite being fitted with a 4-inch (480x800) AMOLED display. This makes the device thinner than the Motorola RAZR and lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S II.
more
11/14, 11:55am
Gartner sees Apple, ASUS taking over European PCs
Apple and ASUS are cutting deeply into the European computer market, Gartner found on Monday. Apple was now in the top five in Western Europe, having seen its shipments this past summer jump 19.6 percent over the past year to get it 7.6 percent. ASUS was the only other company in the top five to gain share and grew roughly as quickly, with a 20.3 percent jump putting it above Dell at 10.6 percent of the computer space.
more
11/09, 11:20pm
Chip uses latest Midgard architecture
ARM has introduced a new graphics core, known as the Mali-T658, that promise to bring a significant leap in performance over its predecessor. The GPU is designed for mobile applications, working in conjunction with the company's Cortex-A15 and Cortex-A7 processors. The system is also compatible with a range of APIs such as OpenGL ES, OpenCL, OpenVG and DirectX 11.
more
11/07, 7:30pm
System centers on 16-core processors
Fujitsu has introduced a new supercomputer, known as the PrimeHPC FX10, that is said to be capable of theoretical processing performance up to 23.2 petaflops. The system relies on the company's new VIIIfx processor, which serves as the successor to the existing IXfx chips. The 16-core water-cooled design supports standalone performance up to 236.5 gigaflops, with performance-per-watt reaching 2 gigaflops.
more
10/11, 9:40am
Tesla GPUs could deliver up to 20 petaflops
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory will use the parallel processing capability of the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 GPU in a new supercomputer, a Cray XK6 nicknamed "Titan." The new supercomputer could deliver over 20 petaflops, making it more than twice as fast as the most powerful supercomputer today, the Fujitsu K supercomputer. Titan will also be three times more energy efficient.
more
09/26, 5:20pm
Almost entire lineup waterproof
Japanese carrier KDDI has announced its winter lineup for the last quarter of 2012. The second largest wireless provider in Japan will be offering six Android phones, two feature phones and a new tablet. In a unique touch, most of these phones offer waterproof protection.
more
09/14, 11:45pm
Microsoft CEO disappointed with year-one WP7 sales
Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer during the company's Financial Analyst Meeting acknowledged that Windows Phone 7 still wasn't performing well. Treating it as a first-year wrap up, he said Microsoft phone partners hadn't sold "quite as many as I would have liked" between its October release and today. He didn't quantify the numbers, but shipments have been flat and have led to steady losses in market share.
more
09/09, 5:20pm
White Android tablets will hit Japan in October
NTT DoCoMo has officially announced two new tablets for its Xi LTE service, which it launched in December. The Japanese service provider will be offering its customers the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE and the Fujitsu Arrows Tab LTE F-01D. Both Android 3 tablets will come in white and feature 10.1-inch 1280x800 displays
more
09/06, 1:15pm
Fujitsu 10-inch Android tablet undergoes FCC test
A newly discovered FCC filing suggests Fujitsu is readying to bring its recently leaked and Japan-only F-01D 10-inch Android tablet to the US. The device meant for American shores won't have access to mobile or broadband networks however, only supporting Wi-Fi. This could also indicate Fujitsu is just trying to get an FCC certificate for the tablet for travelers who come to the US often.
more
09/06, 10:35am
Still no official word on timing of Mango update
Amateur coders have posted an unofficial ROM of the upcoming Windows Phone "Mango" update for European HTC Mozart users. The OS update has been finished since late July, and leaked in early August. The new ROM is the first version that contains hardware-specific firmware and manufacturer customizations.
more
09/01, 1:35am
Hulu Plus now active in Japan
Hulu on cue has launched Hulu Plus for Japan. The country is the first outside of the US to get Hulu and gives it a very different business model. Plus is the only option in the country and costs the equivalent of $19 per month, almost twice as much as the $8 it does in the US.
more
08/29, 2:30pm
NTT DoCoMo to get 10-inch Fujitsu 4G tablet
The seven-inch Android 3.1 tablet from Fujitsu that surfaced back in May is likely to turn out to be a 10-inch device, according to a new leak from China's Juggly. The tip puts the device to launch at Japanese provider NTT DoCoMo near the end of September. The device would also support the carrier's LTE-based Xi 4G service, with the carrier itself promising to launch two such 4G tablets this fall.
more
08/23, 10:05am
Toshiba-Fujitsu IS12T ships early
KDDI confirmed talk an early ship date and moved up the launch of the Toshiba-Fujitsu IS12T to a month earlier. The very first Windows Phone 7 Mango phone should be in Japan on August 25. It's expected to sit at about $253 on contract.
more
08/20, 5:30pm
Windows Phone Mango may come in August with IS12T
The first Windows Phone 7 Mango device, Toshiba-Fujitsu's IS12T, may arrive earlier even than what Microsoft has suggested. Both a KDDI Au listing and retail shop sightings (pictured) have the IS12T being ready on August 25, as much as a month ahead of schedule. In addition to spotting the phone's details, Nanapho in a follow-up has also shown that it might cost a steep 73,500 yen ($960) off-contract after tax, although it may dip down to $253 on regular terms.
more
08/19, 3:50pm
Microsoft says Mango waiting only on hardware
Microsoft's Nordic mobile leader Peter Wissinger revealed that phone makers now had Windows Phone 7's Mango update was now contingent only on others. While the firm had already said it was finished early, Wissinger said that it was now only "up to our manufacturing partners" to actually ship their devices. He wouldn't say when that was.
more
08/02, 3:20pm
Fujitsu sees iPad and other tablets passing PCs
Tablets are likely to overtake PCs within the next five years, Fujitsu CTO Dr. Joseph Reger claims. He expects devices like the iPad to eat into PC sales to where tablets become the dominant models by 2016. Most users consider consuming content more important than creating it, Dr. Reger says in Register-caught statements, and it's mostly just business that needs desktops and notebooks.
more
07/26, 9:55pm
Toshiba-Fujitsu IS12T to be first Mango phone
Toshiba-Fujitsu held a special event in Tokyo in the evening that gave it the distinction of being the first with a Windows Phone 7 Mango device. The IS12T is a close cousin of the Regza phone but has the unique touch of being waterproof and dust-resistant to IPX5 and IPX8 levels. It also packs one of the most powerful cameras of any phone with a 13.2-megapixel sensor.
more
07/26, 4:05pm
Windows Phone 7 Mango officially RTM
After a possible quiet completion, Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed that Windows Phone 7's Mango update had been finished. The new mobile OS has reached its Release to Manufacturing (RTM) stage and is being sent off to phone makers for production-level hardware. Carriers also use the RTM build to make sure the OS doesn't create problems on their networks.
more
07/22, 1:25pm
Microsoft wraps up WP7 Mango ahead of apps
Microsoft has quietly finished Windows Phone 7's major Mango update, according to details in an episode of the Windows Phone Dev Podcast. Build 7710 has been released to manufacturing, which will make it the version the first shipping phones use. The company has already said it will take app submissions on August 22, likely a sign the OS will be on shipping devices soon afterwards.
more
07/16, 5:45pm
Fujitsu WP7 Mango device rumored shipping early
Fujitsu's first Windows Phone device may be one of the first to ship if a claim by Japan's Nikkei newspaper is accurate. The device, briefly seen atWPC this week, is purportedly arriving in August. If so, it would come earlier than Microsoft's official fall window for Mango and could be the first to carry the new OS.
more
07/15, 2:20pm
Fujitsu TH40D tablet due in Japan this month
Fujitsu's TH40D tablet, originally shown off in May, will now arrive in Japan on July 22, NotebookItalia wrote. This is about a month's delay from the promised end of June launch, though reasons for the delay weren't given. The 10.1-inch device is just 17.4mm thick (less than 0.7 inches) and weighs 1.1kg (about 2.4lbs).
more
07/14, 8:50pm
Microsoft spoils WP7 Mango launch timing
Microsoft's Imagine Cup account on Twitter inadvertently gave away timing for the first Windows Phone 7 Mango devices through a Twitter post (since deleted). The company promised that the finalists in the student competition would all get "Windows Phone 7.5 Mango." Every winning student would get a phone with the new OS "by September."
more
07/11, 7:40am
Fujitsu demos cholesteric LCD color digital paper
Fujistu has used the International Digital Publishing Expo to demonstrate its next-generation color digital paper module. The technology, which is made possible through the use of cholesteric liquid crystals, has made significant strides in its latest incarnation. Its writing speed has improved to 0.7 secs, while it can still display 4096 colors.
more
06/24, 9:10am
Fujitsu TH40D tablet already postponed
Fujitsu in a surprise step delayed its upcoming LifeBook TH40D tablet. Just days before its intended launch, it pushed the release back by an unmentioned amount of time. The company gave no reason other than a "development delay."
more
06/20, 11:20am
Takes top spot from Chinese supercomputer
A computer developed by Fujitsu and the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science has claimed the title of the world's most powerful supercomputer on the Top500 list. The Fujitsu K Computer is a series of 672 computer racks with a total of 68,544 CPUs. The K Computer handles 8.162 petaflop/s (quadrillion floating point operations per second) as measured by the LINPACK benchmark. Researchers expect the final configuration of the K Computer to exceed 10 petaflop/s. The supercomputer it bumped from the top spot, the Tianhe-1A supercomputer at the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin, China, performs 2.6 petaflop/s.
more
06/17, 9:30am
Works in conjunction with i-car GPS system
Fujitsu will soon be releasing the AVN-F011 GPS car navigation system. Fujitsu has developed a complementary iPhone app, "Doco Car" (Where Car). Using it, a driver can locate and be directed to a parked car.
more
06/06, 6:00am
SuVolta start-up slashes CPU power needs
SuVolta, a start-up created by a group of Silicon Valley veterans has developed a technology that they claim can reduce the power consumption of chips by 50%. Their technology has captured the eye of Fujitsu, who have licensed the SuVolta technology, which it will incorporate into chip designs from next year. Analysts watching the company believe that with Fujitsu onboard, that it is very possible that SuVolta’s technology could gain widespread acceptance and become commonplace.
more
05/24, 11:25am
WP7 Mango to include 4G models, Nokia phones
Microsoft during its live Windows Phone 7 Mango event on Tuesday provided extra details of its hardware plans beyond those revealed at the last minute. Along with adding Acer, Fujitsu, and ZTE as hardware partners for what's widely referred to as Windows Phone 7.1, it confirmed that some of its initial Windows Phone 7 partners, including HTC, LG, and Samsung, would be releasing their first 4G-capable phones along with the new software. Microsoft didn't explicitly mention a technology and left it open to include LTE, WiMAX, or another technology.
more
05/24, 10:00am
Windows Phone Mango hits summer with new phones
(Update: corrected to fall) Microsoft ahead of its live event on Tuesday gave word of the launch of its planned Mango update for Windows Phone 7. The update is still penned in to the fall. The upgrade will also come with some partners completely new to WP7, such as Acer, Fujitsu, and ZTE, as well as new models from existing phone makers.
more
