Fujitsu Introduces Cell Phone That Splits in Two
Fujitsu
announced a new cell phone this week that is capable of splitting into two parts. The F-04B was
announced as part of NTT DoCoMo's new line-up. It
is scheduled to hit Japanese shelves in March or April.
At first glance, the new phone looks like a conventional slider. After closer examination, however, you'll see that you can decouple a catch to allow the entire back half of the cell phone to pull off. The top half of the unit contains a 3.4-inch touchscreen display, radio module, and antenna. The back half is comprised of the QWERTY keyboard and a slide-out numeric keypad. When disconnected, the two halves will stay in contact with one another via a Bluetooth connection up to a distance of about 10 meters.
The top half of the unit is functional on its own, allowing you to lighten your load by leaving the back half at home. When kept together, you'll get additional benefits, such as the ability to use the keyboard half to make or receive a call and the top half to check email or take a picture.
Both halves of the phone have a microphone and a speaker, so either can be used for receiving calls. The top of the phone has the ringer and vibrator while the bottom has a light that will alert you of an incoming call. In addition to receiving calls with either half, you can also place calls though the bottom half lacks a display to let you know if you're entering the correct phone number.
Full details of the phone are not yet available, but NTT DoCoMo has said the phone measures 11.4 x 5.1 x 20.4 centimeters and weighs 173 grams. Standby time is 600 hours in WCDMA mode and 400 hours in GSM mode. Talk time is 300 minutes and 330 minutes respectively. Other specs include a screen resolution of 480 by 960 pixels, a Japanese and English interface, built-in Felica contactless smartcard, and a 12.2 megapixel camera. Fujitsu also plans to offer an optional projector unit that can clip onto the bottom of the phone in place of the keyboard.
While this phone definitely seems unique and cool, sadly, there are no plans to put the F-04B on sale overseas, so if you want one, you'll have to head on over to Japan.
At first glance, the new phone looks like a conventional slider. After closer examination, however, you'll see that you can decouple a catch to allow the entire back half of the cell phone to pull off. The top half of the unit contains a 3.4-inch touchscreen display, radio module, and antenna. The back half is comprised of the QWERTY keyboard and a slide-out numeric keypad. When disconnected, the two halves will stay in contact with one another via a Bluetooth connection up to a distance of about 10 meters.
The top half of the unit is functional on its own, allowing you to lighten your load by leaving the back half at home. When kept together, you'll get additional benefits, such as the ability to use the keyboard half to make or receive a call and the top half to check email or take a picture.
Both halves of the phone have a microphone and a speaker, so either can be used for receiving calls. The top of the phone has the ringer and vibrator while the bottom has a light that will alert you of an incoming call. In addition to receiving calls with either half, you can also place calls though the bottom half lacks a display to let you know if you're entering the correct phone number.
Full details of the phone are not yet available, but NTT DoCoMo has said the phone measures 11.4 x 5.1 x 20.4 centimeters and weighs 173 grams. Standby time is 600 hours in WCDMA mode and 400 hours in GSM mode. Talk time is 300 minutes and 330 minutes respectively. Other specs include a screen resolution of 480 by 960 pixels, a Japanese and English interface, built-in Felica contactless smartcard, and a 12.2 megapixel camera. Fujitsu also plans to offer an optional projector unit that can clip onto the bottom of the phone in place of the keyboard.
While this phone definitely seems unique and cool, sadly, there are no plans to put the F-04B on sale overseas, so if you want one, you'll have to head on over to Japan.
