Fujitsu Begins Taking Orders for Tablet With New Intel Chip

Fujitsu is now taking orders for its Stylistic Q550 Slate PC tablet, one of the earlier tablets to use Oak Trail, Intel’s first dedicated tablet processor.

The tablet is priced starting at US$729, and will be delivered in the U.S. starting in June, according to Fujitsu’s website.

It contains Intel’s Atom Z670 processor. The chip, code-named Oak Trail, was officially announced by Intel in mid-April at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing. It has a clock speed of 1.5GHz and includes specialized accelerators to enable 1080p high-definition video playback.

Fujitsu originally announced the Stylistic tablet in February and said the product would be targeted at business users. The device has a 10.1-inch multitouch screen, which can also accept stylus input. The tablet runs Microsoft’s Windows 7 Professional OS and also includes the Office Starter 2010 productivity software.

The $729 model includes 30GB of solid-state drive (SSD) storage and a two-cell battery. Another model, at $849, includes 62GB of SSD storage and a four-cell battery.

Fujitsu has for years offered tablet PC models with keyboards and folding screens. The Stylistic Q550 will be the company’s first tablet without a keyboard. It will compete in an increasingly crowded tablet market dominated by devices with ARM processors such as Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.

But Fujitsu won’t be the only Oak Trail supporter: Intel has said about 35 devices, including tablets and gaming consoles, will be available with the new chips starting in May. Lenovo, for example, showed an Oak Trail tablet at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, and the product is expected to become available soon.