May 16 - 3:45pm EDT   Fujitsu is developing a graphics adapter that would give ultraportable or budget notebooks a visual upgrade, according to leaked images from a presentation. Not unlike the ASUS XG Station, the AMILO GraphicBooster would plug into a notebook and receive the performance of a faster video chipset without having to tote a larger system. It also saves energy by allowing users to drop back to integrated graphics just by removing the box, Fujitsu claims in its notes. [full story]

May 15 - 11:45am EDT   Fujitsu today supplied an early look at the LifeBook U2010, its sequel to the U810. The design shares the unique twist of a rotating 5.6-inch display, which offers a convertible tablet at the size of an ultra-mobile PC, but promises improvements both inside and out. The U2010 is the company's first to use the Intel Atom processor and should run faster while lasting longer than the original's A110 chip; it also builds in an HSPA modem and a GPS for wide-area 3G wireless and navigation respectively. [full story]

April 23 - 4:15pm EDT   Fujitsu has announced a new desktop system, the F/A50. The computer represents part of an increasing trend in the PC world, in which low-cost PCs by the likes of Gateway and Dell have attempted to reproduce the all-in-one design of Apple's famous iMac. Similarities in this case are extremely close, as the A50 features an identically-proportioned case, rear-mounted ports, and glowing indicator lights buried under plastic. The display is smaller however, measuring 16 inches, which limits it to 1366x768 resolution. [full story]

April 21 - 7:00pm EDT   Fujitsu on Monday announced the "first ever" hard disk drive line-up using the hardware-based AES-256 bit encryption standard. The company's mobile HDDs are joined by the MHZ2 CJ-series laptop drives, consisting of full disk encryption, 2.5-inch, 7,200RPM SATA drives with capacities up to 320GB. Fujitsu claims not only improved data security, but also improved system performance for its newest offerings. The hard drives themselves encrypt and decrypt the password, leaving system performance minimally affected; the passwords are not accessible in system memory when powered off, the company claims. [full story]

April 11 - 3:20pm EDT   The Japanese division of Fujitsu is preparing to demonstrate two unusual new notebooks at a design exhibition in Milan, the company has announced. The "WoodShell" is merely a concept PC, but uses a case built primarily out of cedar wood instead of typical metal or plastic materials. This has the benefit of tapping into renewable resources, while at the same time making the computer biodegradable when it is inevitably thrown away. The WoodShell follows a few short weeks after ASUS revealed its bamboo notebook. [full story]

March 24 - 8:10am EDT   Fujitsu is claiming a performance advantage today by introducing the largest-capacity fast notebook drive yet available. The MHZ2 BJ series holds the same 320GB as all but the most capacious 2.5-inch hard drives but spins at 7,200RPM versus the normal 5,400RPM. Combined with 16MB of cache, the extra speed reportedly provides a more desktop-like level of performance without the sacrifice in capacity dictated in the past. [full story]

March 18 - 8:05pm EDT   In brief: We have a review of Madden NFL 08, one the best of the Electronic Arts Intel only Mac titles so far, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S300M is now available, MAXPower wireless hardware price drops are in effect, a quarter million users have downloaded bento, and MP3-based swim workouts have been released ... We have posted a review of Madden NFL 08, one the best of the Electronic Arts Intel only Mac titles so far. Madden requires a simple drag-and-drop install. Before you play, you must enter the authentication code, register it on the site, and we recommend you check for updates. Madden NFL 08 has a memorable soundtrack, offering a mix of rock, rap, and R&B tracks. The ... [full story]

March 11 - 12:30pm EDT   GGT Enterprises has announced the release of ReceiptWallet 2.0, an upgrade to the company's receipt and document management application for Mac OS X. This release adds new features for cataloging non-receipt documents, an updated interface, support for on-the-road document scanning via Apple's iSight camera and the ability to organize documents into multiple libraries that can be tracked separately. With ReceiptWallet, paper receipts and documents can be scanned from any TWAIN-compatible scanner. Web or email-based receipts can be saved as PDF files from any Mac application and automatically sent to ReceiptWallet using the Print command. In addition, ReceiptWallet has ... [full story]

March 10 - 2:05pm EDT   The very small Z-P140 solid-state drive is just a prelude to a series of much more significant announcements over the course of 2008, Intel's flash memory marketing head Troy Winslow says in a recent interview. The senior official explains that one of the chipmaker's introductions this year will be a series of 1.8- and 2.5-inch drives targeted at ultraportables that not only hold more but are also faster. While they will hold between 80GB and 160GB versus today's 64GB and just-shipping 128GB drives, they should also outperform the claimed 100 megabytes per second reading speed of the Samsung Flash SSD, which itself is already much faster than most rotating hard disks, ... [full story]

February 25 - 9:25am EST   Fujitsu today said it would not be left out of the mobile storage race and updated its MH-series drives with the MHZ2 BT, its first 500GB notebook-class disk. The 2.5-inch drive is comparatively slow at 4,200RPM but draws just 1.8 watts of power in peak use, ensuring that it can run for long amounts of time in notebooks and other energy-sensitive devices. This performance is the best in class, Fujitsu claims. Idling and sleep power use are also said to be lower than any other disk in the category along with noise, which is an exceptionally low 2.1 decibels. [full story]

February 6 - 4:00pm EST   In brief: We've posted a Fujitsu ScanSnap S510M review, Polk Audio products will soon show up in Apple stores, Northwestern students used iPhones to gauge Super Bowl ads, Nielsen has Yahoo!/Microsoft merger metrics, and Tessera has acquired Fotonation ... We have posted a review of the Fujitsu ScanSnap S510M, which seems to be the one exception to various negative assumptions about scanners. It is a small scanner, about the size of a loaf of bread (11.2 in. × 6.2 in. × 6.2 in.), and weighs only 5.9 lb. The paper feeder can hold 50 sheets and it can scan a variety of paper sizes, including 8.5 x 14.17-inches (216 x 360 mm) down to 2 x 2-inches (50.8 x 50.8 mm). At best, ... [full story]

January 31 - 3:50pm EST   The two unknown companies reported to be using the MacBook Air's processor are Fujitsu and Lenovo, CNET claims to have confirmed. The systems themselves have not been leaked but are expected to roll out "shortly," the alleged sources say. The extra-small packaging of the processor is nonetheless expected to offer a blend between the thinner and smaller designs of ultraportables and the performance of a standard notebook. The chips in use by Apple are clocked slower than most Intel mobile chips at 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz but include the 4MB of Level 2 cache from faster processors and consume much less power on average than current full-size chips. [full story]

January 22 - 4:30pm EST   Fujitsu has announced a new phone for the Japanese market, the F705i. The device's primary claim to fame is its waterproofing, which protects it from events such as rain or falling into a bathtub; it is safe at depths of up to 3.3 feet, where it can last as long as 30 minutes. The phone is also said to be the thinnest such phone in the world, measuring only half an inch thick when closed. It does have other features however, such as a 2.7-inch QVGA LCD, a microSD slot, and a 1.3-megapixel camera. It runs on NTT DoCoMo's 3G FOMA network, and the back of the phone has a sub-surface LED display, able to display various words and characters. It should be carried by ... [full story]

January 18 - 2:40pm EST   Fujitsu on Friday rounded out its week with a new American version of its LifeBook P1620 convertible tablet PC. Smaller than most other tablets, the new system uses a small, 8.9-inch, stylus-sensitive LCD but still makes room for the components from larger, viewing-only ultraportables, including a 1.2GHz ultra low-voltage Core 2 Duo, at least 60GB of storage in a 1.8-inch drive, and up to 2GB of memory courtesy of small RAM slots. Wireless over 802.11a/b/g as well as PC Card and SD card slots also fit into the case. Despite these, the computer weighs just 2.2 pounds, Fujitsu says. [full story]

January 14 - 3:20pm EST   Fujitsu today introduced its ScanSnap S300M mobile scanner (site not updated, similar model shown at right), which it claims is the world's smallest color duplex automatic document feeding scanner for Mac users. The new device weighs less than 3.1-pounds, and boasts a compact footprint of 11.2 x 3.7 x 3.0-inches. Operating via a USB connection, the ScanSnap S300M operates without the need of an external power supply to scan documents on-the-go. The Fujitsu ScanSnap S300M scanner is slated for shipment after March 15th, 2008 for $300. [full story]