Advanced Search

Choose a Category                  Announcements Audio Desktop PCs Digital cameras & camcorders Displays Environment Events Film, TV, manga & anime Gaming GPS Home theater Household Internet Interviews iPad iPhone Japan Mobile computing NOT Japan Off Topic Peripherals Power R&D Robots Software Storage Toys Transportation Video Wireless WTF?

Choose a Month                     October 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005

 Get the stories!  Or just the comments...

• Home
  • Top
  • Archives
  • Categories
  • Tags
  • Sites We Like
• About & Contact
• Datefinder
• Buy J-Gadgets!
• Snapp! PR
• Advertise!

Fujitsu laptops also ditching hard drives for flash
Tweet

Fujitsu will soon join two other major PC makers in putting on sale a portable computer that uses flash memory in place of the traditional hard-disk drive.

The company will offer a 16GB or 32GB flash memory disk as an option with new B-series machines due on sale in late October and new Q-series machines that will be available from early November, it said Friday. Choosing the 16GB disk will add ¥80,000 (US$670) to the price of the computer while the 32GB disk will add ¥160,000.

The disks are made by Samsung and can already be found in two Samsung machines, the Q30 laptop and Q1-SSD ultra-mobile PC. Both machines went on sale in South Korea earlier this year. In Japan Sony is also offering a version of its small-size UX90 portable PC with 16GB of flash in place of a hard-disk drive.

The flash disk has several advantages over a conventional hard-disk drive. These include longer battery life because the flash memory uses less power and a slight weight reduction. Fujitsu said the B-series machine will run an extra 15 minutes and the Q-series will run an extra 30 minutes on flash disk compared to hard-disk drive.

Most noticeable to the user will be faster start-up. Because data can be accessed from the flash memory much faster than a hard-disk drive, the B-series machine takes about 19 seconds to boot up Windows XP Home Edition compared to 32 seconds for a hard-disk drive version of the same machine.

The company is also offering a hard-disk drive that automatically encrypts data as an option with the B-series machines. The drive, produced by Seagate, uses hardware to encrypt all data being written on the drive and decrypt data as it is read. Choosing such a drive will add ¥15,000 to the price of the computers.

Fujitsu also unveiled Friday a new convertible machine running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005. Fujitsu has been a keen supporter of Microsoft’s Tablet PC push and the FMV-P8230 will join its existing line-up in mid-November. The computer has a 8.9in XGA resolution (1,280 x 768 pixels) screen and an Intel Core Solo processor. It will cost ¥240,000. Fujitsu said plans to sell the computers overseas are under consideration.

— Martyn Williams

02:21 PM Mark Hiratsuka • Permalink
Add a comment | More DWT | Get a cool job in Japan! | Follow us on Twitter

Date much?

Japanese gadgets from Tokyo Zakka! — Perfect gifts for your nerdiest friends back home!

C'mon - let's hear it...

Spammers beware: Any links in comments to commercial websites will be treated as paid advertising and will be charged at rate of $10 per link per day. Invoices will be sent to the idiots who hire you for so-called SEO jobs. All you good people will always keep it real, of course - thanks!