Fujitsu's quad-core Android plays games fast and furiously

LAS VEGAS--Fujitsu's prototype Android smartphone highlights that quad-core processing in smartphones is just around the corner.

Set up in the company's booth at CES, Fujitsu claimed the powerhouse device ran Nvidia's latest Tegra 3 CPU and was contained under a solid block of transparent glass. The phone's few connections to the outside world were an HDMI port linking it to an HDTV along with Bluetooth wireless to speak to a wireless gamepad.

The Fujitsu rep I spoke to eagerly touted the phone's impressive horsepower provided by its four main computing cores running in tandem. A fifth core, said the representative, runs the device in down times to save battery power. I can't say exactly how much faster this quad-core prototype may be than its dual or even single-core brethren. I can confirm that the device appeared to output the HD video from a graphically demanding video game to an HDTV with no lag whatsoever.

Unfortunately no word was mentioned as to availability, but Fujitsu did hint a version of the prototype could become legit at the Mobile World Congress show in February. The handset was said to feature LTE 4G wireless data access too, which is interesting, since I was also told the phone would likely be a global product. Looks like European flavors of LTE are in the cards, and soon. Check back for more details as they develop.