Ever since Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook
Air Tuesday at Macworld 2008, the whole Internet has been abuzz about the
3-pound notebook. Within hours, every sub-notebook from the past and present
was compared to Apple's ultra-thin "halo" product.
Although Fujitsu doesn't have the massive advertising budget
or sex appeal of Apple's line of products; the company recently introduced a
tablet that is worthy of attention.
The new Fujitsu
LifeBook P1620 makes use of a 1.2GHz ULV Core 2 Duo processor (U7600),
512MB of DDR2 memory (Micro-DIMM, upgradeable to 2GB) and an 8.9" WXGA touch
screen display. Like the MacBook Air, the LifeBook P1620 has to make do with a
1.8”, 4,200 RPM HDD; albeit a 60GB unit.
Other features include an integrated fingerprint reader, two
USB 2.0 ports, a PCMCIA slot, Secure Digital (SD) slot, 802.11a/b/g wireless,
GbE, a docking connector and a 3-cell battery. With the included 3-cell
battery, the LifeBook P1620 weighs just 2.2 pounds -- opting for the 6-cell
unit will boost weight to a still manageable 2.5 pounds.
When it comes to operating systems, Fujitsu gives customers
the choice of Windows Vista Business, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 or
Windows XP Professional.
The Fujitsu LifeBook P1620 starts at $1,749 with 512MB of
RAM and a 60GB HDD. Stepping up to 1GB of RAM, 60GB HDD and a 6-cell battery
will set you back $2,094. Opting for the top of the line model with 1GB of RAM,
80GB HDD, Bluetooth and a 6-cell battery will cost you $2,224.