Fujitsu phones coming to UK after MWC

Fujitsu smart phones are headed for the UK, and alongside them the Japanese giant will sell tablets too. It'll be the first time Fujitsu's mobiles have come to Europe.

The company has lined up "a range of high-end mobile devices for both Android and Windows operating systems", according to the FT (requires registration). So good news regardless which non-Apple OS you favour.

Fujitsu is big in Japan, taking about a fifth of its home market of phones and tablets, so it launching in the UK is big news. The devices will come equipped with NFC tech -- the very same needed for Google's Wallet mobile payment system -- and LTE for super-fast mobile broadband. Not that the latter will be much use to us, for a while anyway.

The devices will also use biometric security, so you'll have the option of unlocking using your fingerprints.

Fujitsu's main gadget fare over here is its LifeBook range of laptops, which score pretty well in our tests. Andy went hands-on with the F07D smart phone and F01D tablet at CES, both of which are waterproof to a depth of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes. The phone runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, while the tablet is on Honeycomb, rather than the latest version, Ice Cream Sandwich.

There was no word at CES of a UK launch, but Fujitsu could well have been holding back for the more European-focused Mobile World Congress. (We all know CES is so passe, anyway.) So this pair could be among the first Fujitsu mobile devices to hit the UK.

At the tail end of last year Rich reported Panasonic was also eyeing a phone launch in the UK. Could MWC see a double whammy of Japanese goliaths bringing their mighty handsets to little old Blighty? I hope so. More competition is better for us consumers. I'm a big fan of Panasonic's cameras too, and any phone featuring its excellent imaging tech is fine by me.

Would you buy a Fujitsu or Panasonic phone? Let me know in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.