CES 2008

Could 2008 be the year of the ultraportable? Just a few days after Lenovo launched the tiny IdeaPad U110, Fujitsu has announced its own featherweight laptop. The LifeBook P8010, which weighs less than 3 pounds, manages to pack a 12.1-inch backlit-LED display and a DVD burner into a footprint the size of a piece of paper.

While Fujitsu's previous P-series ultraportable, the 10.6-inch LifeBook P7230, came stocked with a Core Solo CPU that provided middling performance, the LifeBook P8010 will come equipped with a Core 2 Duo processor. And the company is promising up to 6.5 hours of battery life with the standard six-cell battery.

The P8010's glossy black lid with silver accents will mark a new look for the P series. Aside from the distinct physical appearance, all the standard Fujitsu business-system features are here: optional Webcam, Trusted Platform Module, and a fingerprint reader that doubles as a scroll button, plus a spill-resistant keyboard and hard drive shock protection.

Pricing for the LifeBook P8010 starts at $1,699. The laptop won't be available until February, but we'll be taking a look at the P8010 this week and reporting back with our first impressions.

The LifeBook U810 is one of the first notebooks offered with HSUPA connectivity.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Road warriors and geeks without power rejoice: soon you'll be able to buy a laptop that's equipped to tap into AT&T's BroadbandConnect High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) network. Today Fujitsu announced that it would be adding the high-speed cellular data connection as an option on its UMPC-like LifeBook U810 and its 12.1-inch ultraportable tablet, the LifeBook T2010.

According to Fujitsu, the faster connection, with upload speeds between 500 Kbps and 800 Kbps, should make it easier to send e-mail attachments or upload videos and photos when you're beyond the reach of Wi-Fi. For Web surfing, both notebooks also support enhanced High Speed Downlink Packet Access, which typically provides download speeds ranging from 600 to 1,400 Kbps. Fujitsu is the first manufacturer to launch notebooks with HSUPA technology.

Though you can currently purchase both the LifeBook U810 and the LifeBook T2010, the HSUPA-equipped models are planned for March.