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Saturday, March 05, 2005

New Hope for the Tablet PC?
Here's a shocker....tablet PCs may not be dead after all. They've bombed as a category for a number of reasons: price, form factor, no real need outside a vertical industry like healthcare or warehouse management. But I digress....

Here's a new tablet from Fujitsu that is attempting to push the envelope with a new design. Instead of trying to make a tablet look like a laptop, the tablet is a real tablet. Not sure if that will sway buyers, but I applaud them for trying again. Here are some more details:

"Highlights of the Stylistic ST5022 include a dual microphone system which, according to Fujitsu Siemens, filters out background noise when recording, as well as a fingerprint sensor for biometric-based security. Furthermore, Fujitsu Siemens claims an impressive 9 hours of battery life for the tablet. Available immediately in several European markets, recommended prices for the Fujitsu Siemens Stylistic ST5022 start at 2899 EUR, or $3,800 USD." Source: Infosync World

But the real question is: would you buy one?

# Permalink Posted at 6:57 AM 5 comments Email this Link

Comments on this Item:

At $4,000 I don't think this thing is going to be breaking out of the niche markets that tablets already find themselves in. It does look *very* nice for what it does, but it's still amazingly expensive and not necessary for most people.

# posted by David 8:12 AM

Agreed. Two weeks ago, Compusa had a sale/discount on the Averatec C3500 for $1000. I wonder how good their sales were?

# posted by rg 9:49 AM

I don't get why they had to make it that pricey. Scares people off.

# posted by Alice 11:03 AM

Increasing the price seems like the wrong way to go on something that has continued to be a total flop. The way I look at it one of those things is worth maybe $1000 tops. When they drop to sub-$1000 I'd like to get one for the living room (the IMDB and Tivo control box you know). Until then it's the old ibook laptop.

# posted by Jim Frost 4:58 PM

I know you were quoting, but you might want to double check the US price for the ST5022. Fujitsupc.com shows them starting at $2249. The unit is a little more expensive because it uses an indoor / outdoor display with a wide viewing angle. It's really useful outdoors.

If you're going to be inside more than outside, most people would be happier with the ST5020. It looks the same as the ST5022, same features, has an indoor display, and starts at $2099.

http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=O3&ptype=TB

# posted by Lora 8:47 PM

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