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Fujitsu updates tiny LifeBook tablets

Japanese company announces the 5.6-inch LifeBook U820 and 8.9-inch LifeBook P1630 tablets, designed primarily for markets such as health care and manufacturing.

Michelle Thatcher Former Senior Associate Editor, Laptops
Tech expert Michelle Thatcher grew up surrounded by gadgets and sustained by Tex-Mex cuisine. Life in two major cities--first Chicago, then San Francisco--broadened her culinary horizons beyond meat and cheese, and she's since enjoyed nearly a decade of wining, dining, and cooking up and down the California coast. Though her gadget lust remains, the practicalities of her small kitchen dictate that single-function geegaws never stay around for long.
Michelle Thatcher
2 min read

On Tuesday morning, Fujitsu announced updates to two of its LifeBook lines, the UMPC-like U series and the tiny P-series tablet. Designed primarily for use in vertical markets (think health care and manufacturing), the systems are also sure to appeal to buyers who want something as portable as a Netbook but are willing to pay more for a more thorough feature set.

The U820 doubles as a Garmin GPS

The 5.6-inch LifeBook U820 updates the U810 we reviewed last year, adding a GPS receiver, plus integrated Garmin Mobile PC software for driving directions and points of interest.

The U820 is built on a Z-series Intel Atom processor and includes 1GB of RAM, plus your choice of a hard drive up to 120GB or a solid-state drive up to 64GB. There are plenty of features to appeal to mobile workers and their IT departments, including a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, fingerprint reader, and Kensington lock slot; WWAN will be offered as an option in 2009.

Fujitsu lets buyers choose between a two-cell battery, which reportedly lasts 3.5 hours, and a four-cell battery, which lasts 7.5 hours. The battery choice will also make a difference in weight: The laptop weighs 1.3 pounds with the smaller battery and 1.6 pounds with the larger one.

The LifeBook U820 is available immediately at prices starting at $1,049.

LifeBook P1630: A slightly larger tiny tablet

If that 5.6-inch screen seems too small, you could bump up to the 8.9-inch LifeBook P1630. This new 2.2-pound tablet updates the P1620 with Centrino 2 components, including an Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300 Ultra Low Voltage Processor and 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity. The new model also includes a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, an optional solid-state drive, and optional Bluetooth connectivity; WWAN will be offered as an option in 2009.

The company claims that the LifeBook P1630 can run up to 6.2 hours with the high-capacity battery. Starting at $2,179, the tablet is available immediately.