Fujitsu ICS tablet: Cheaper, thinner, lighter than iPad
Summary: Fujitsu may have accidentally stumbled across the ideal tablet for consumers that brings the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, a quad-core processor and good connectivity, but is pitching it primarily for business use
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Fujistu Stylistic angled
The last time I had a look at a Fujitsu tablet — the Stylistic Q550 — it was running an almost standard version of Windows 7 and provided an example of exactly what you don't want in a tablet. It was heavy, large and had the most unresponsive operating system on a mobile device that I'd ever seen.
So when Dave Shaw, a senior manager in Fujitsu's tablet business, promised to bring in the latest and greatest from the company recently, I didn't have high expectations.
The not-very-catchily named Stylistic M532 [shown above] is due to arrive in the UK in June. It isn't designed to be a follow-up to the Q550, which will eventually have its own Windows 8-based successor. Instead, the M532 uses the Ice Cream Software version of the Android platform, which is about as current as any tablet could be and a sure-fire win in appealing to consumers. The same goes for the M532's processor, the quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3, which should have enough oomph to keep customers happy.
Shaw was quick to point out — and did so repeatedly — that the Q550 and the M532 are separate product lines, with different aims. Looking at the two, the Q550 line is more of a traditional enterprise device, while the M532 is seen as "Fujitsu's response to the BYOD trend", with all the support for personal use that implies.
Credit: Ben Woods
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