Photos: Fujitsu pitches Windows 8 hybrid tablet at the enterprise

Fujitsu is once again dipping its toes into the tablet market.

This time, it's offering up a Windows 8-based device that can be used as a pure tablet or as a replacement for other hardware.

The Q702 comes with a keyboard, allowing it to be used instead of a netbook or laptop, or without the extra kit, as a normal slate.

"This is a hybrid form factor, with a split personality," Dave Shaw, Fujitsu tablet product manager, told ZDNet. "It is absolutely capable as a tablet but it can be used with a keyboard for heavy-duty data entry where necessary." 

It also comes with a stylus for precision operations, which includes a right-click button on the side.

Alone, the tablet weighs around 850g, making it on the heavy side for the class.

Combined with its keyboard dock, it weighs 1.7kg, making it only a little lighter than many traditional 15-inch laptops, and heavier than most ultrabooks.

The tablet's internals can be specified by the buyer, and can include an Intel i3 or i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and solid state drives (SSDs) up to 256GB. 

It also comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, and provides the option for adding in a 3G or 4G mobile data module.

The Q702 comes running Windows 8 as standard, but Fujitsu is providing the option to downgrade it to Windows 7.

While Fujitu is targeting BYOD users with the enterprise-centric Q702, the company still expects to sell the majority of units through the traditional IT buying cycle rather than to consumers directly.

"Businesses are now properly reviewing their estate, and thinking more proactively about where the tablet form factor can deliver the productivity gains," Shaw told ZDNet.

"Some of the hype and buzz around tablets is just starting to subside a little bit and business are starting to realise that tablets can [provide] real productivity gains for the right users."

Given its enterprise roots, it's little surprise the Q702 offers some handy features omitted on other tablets, such as a USB 3.0 port, HDMI-out and microSD expansion.

Placing the tablet in the dock adds more connectivity options that include additional USB (2.0) ports, an RJ45 (ethernet) port, and a VGA output. 

When docked, Fujitsu claims the battery life of the device is around 10 hours. As a tablet on its own, that drops to around 4.5 hours.

The battery on the base of the dock can be replaced by the user.

The Q702 also comes with enterprise-friendly security features, such as an embedded Trusted Protection Module, embedded Absolute Computrace Agent, full disk encryption and a biometric scanner on the rear (pictured top-right).

The tablet has a 5-megapixel camera on the back, and a 2-megapixel forward-facing camera for video calling. 

Fujitsu has yet to give out pricing or the exact release date for the Q702, but has said the device should be available from mid-November.