Fujitsu Does Wireless with Style

Fujitsu’s Stylistic RF Offers a New Level of Versatility

While not in its infancy, the personal and mobile computing industry is certain to undergo its share of maturing before it reaches the status of other established industries. However, even in this relatively young and dynamic market, it’s not too early to identify an important trend that has characterized the emergence and acceptance of new technologies.

In its most simplified form, technology purchases are based on one of two factors: lifestyle or utility. The lifestyle market is characterized by early adopters of consumers making individual purchase decisions. For obvious reasons, many industries have a goal of reaching the lifestyle stage of their market, if possible. Until then, however, manufacturers and developers must concentrate on providing utility.

It is through utility that vertical markets are formed and nurtured. By providing a cost-effective solution to an audience that has an overriding interest in competition and return on investment, developers sow the seeds for future markets. In many cases, this development may not involve entirely new technologies by themselves, but innovative integration of existing systems. And in industries ranging from cassette tape recorders—which started as a professional recording tool—to the personal computer itself, it’s clear that this market development takes time.

The Stylistic RF

When we first covered the introduction of Fujitsu’s Stylistic 500 tablet last September, we noted that Fujitsu was taking a strategy not unlike the tortoise in the classic fable of the tortoise and the hare. This is not to say that Fujitsu has been slow at introducing new products and solutions. Indeed, the timing for their introduction of new products and new features for existing products indicate that their platform is exhibiting a healthy, confidence-inspiring growth.

Instead, Fujitsu is exhibiting tortoise-like discipline and determination in addressing customer issues and providing utility in its new products to match these needs. Case in point is the company’s recent introduction of the Stylistic RF. Building from its innovative and successful Stylistic 500, the new device is designed for people that require high-speed wireless local area network support coupled with a small, lightweight, and high-power tablet computer.

Fujitsu has done this by incorporating Proxim, Inc.’s RangeLAN2 wireless LAN adapter directly into the enclosed housing of the Stylistic RF. This means that, aside from the small external antenna that is necessary for any type of wireless communication, the Stylistic RF is both cable-free and clutter-free without any external mounted hardware. By employing an integrated design, Fujitsu is demonstrating its understanding of how people ranging from blue collar workers to mobile professionals use these devices.

On the technical side, Proxim’s RangeLAN2 wireless adapter utilizes frequency-hopping, spread spectrum technology in the 2.4 GHz bandwidth, an area of the radio spectrum that is allocated to this type of wireless communication perhaps the most consistently around the world. By using these high frequencies, Proxim and Fujitsu are also able to extract better data throughput. Fujitsu claims that the Stylistic RF is capable of sending and receiving data at rates up to 1.6 Mbps across 15 independent channels at distances up to 1,000 feet (305 m) in open spaces and up to 500 feet in normal office locations.

The RangeLAN2 enables the Stylistic RF to provide seamless access to standard LAN operating systems such as Novell NetWare, NetWare Lite, Microsoft LAN Manager, and Windows for Workgroups.

Summary

Using an elegantly crafted design, the Stylistic RF builds on its innovative and powerful sibling, the Stylistic 500, providing the utility and benefits of faster and more versatile communication between it and the enterprise.

With its traditional concentration on the vertical markets of health care, transportation, retail automation, and package delivery, Fujitsu is well positioned to take the Stylistic RF from the category of interesting technology to getting it into the hands of people who can use it.

Fujitsu Personal Systems
5200 Patrick Henry Drive
Santa Clara, CA 95054 |
Jeff Tingley
(408) 982-9500
(408) 496-0575 (fax)

Fujitsu Stylistic RF — specifications

• CPU: Intel 486DX2-50
• Dimensions: 7.2″ x 10.7″ x 1.5″ (18.3 x 27.2 x 3.8 cm)
• Weight: 2.8 lb. (1.27 kg)
• Screen: 8″ (20.3 cm) transmissive backlit, 64-level VGA
• Memory: 4 MB expandable to 20 MB
• PCMCIA: Type I/II/III version 2.0
• Ports: parallel, serial, keyboard, floppy disk, and external VGA
• Wireless: Proxim’s RangeLAN2, 2.4 – 2.483 GHz band
• Battery: Lithium-Ion
• Software: MS-DOS 6.2, Windows for Pen Computing, supports PenDOS and PenRight!
• Cost: $3295 (Base product), $3785 (with 105 MB drive, DOS, and Windows), $3995 (with 170 MB drive, DOS, and Windows)