I have now installed OS X Leopard on my P1620.
Everything works fine apart from the SD card slot, PCMCIA and wireless.

Check out the insanelymac.org forums for more details.

PS: does anyone know if the p1620 has an internal mini-pci connection for the wireless card… hoping to swap it out for a compatible one.

It is great to see the P1620 receiving extra publicity with comparisons to the MBAir. But with Fujitsu positioning its handy tablet at corporate applications like sales force automation and supply chain planning, the two computers are aimed at very different markets. Perhaps a more direct competitor to the MB Air will be the soon-to-be-released Fujitsu P8010. This <3 lb ultra-portable will have a 12.1" screen and only a slightly larger footprint than the existing 10.6" Fujitsu P7230. It will also sport a chic (read: fingerprint magnet) diamond black exterior similar to the piano black finish on the LG A1/C1.

The MBAir will still be thinner, have a larger display, and a faster processor than the P8010; but the Fuji will provide longer battery life (6.5hr), a replaceable battery, internal DVD drive, a smaller footprint and less weight than the new MacBook. Seems poised for a “less filling/more taste” battle between the uber-sexy MBAir and the more practical charm of the Fuji. It’s like comparing Apples to, uhh, different apples.

Fujitsu press release:
http://www.computers.us.fujitsu.com/www/newsdetail.shtml?nf=08345195.nitf

cnet video:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Fujitsu_P8010/4660-13855_7-6826734.html

HTC who? Shift what? I’m sold.

HTC who? Shift what? I’m sold.

As a previous owner of a P1510 and P1610, I applaud the new processor and 2 GB of RAM. However, I think the P1620 would have been great indeed if it had a finger based touchscreen, instead of a stylus based (or nail based) touchscreen. The stylus on these units is really not very ergonomic so having the finger capability would have made it a real killer. Here’s hoping for the next version…

Hey Guys! I have to begin by telling you how much I love your Blog!!!! Have only recently become a Tablet convert and my god all I can say is I wished I’d done it years and years and years ago! And your advice, info, previews etc were absolutely pivotal in my eventual much protracted decision to buy a Fujitsu P1610. I am an academic at the University of London (hence the extensive and protracted research ) and have been using my Fuji to take notes (in onenote) etc on just about everything that I am doing! Its completely transformed my working experience! I even bought it from John Hill at Allegiance on your recommendation and had it shipped here and they were amazing. And have completely pimped it out!…. only to find out much to my horror that there is now a P1620 but one month later with 2G of RAM up to 100 Gig HD etc etc etc! Technology! What can you do! Right???… But seriously I just wanted to say thanks… leave a message… and really ask is there anything I can do? What can I upgrade? Is it worth it? Any advice? ps am originally an Aussie and in my home sickness I have even become addicted to Hugo thanks to you guys! Ciao!

Ricky, you must have some superhuman eyes if 1280×768 on an 8.9 inch screen isn’t enough for you. Oh, and wishing it ships with linux doesn’t even make sense. Isn’t the whole point of being a linux person that you’re 1337 and able to install your OS on any device from a graphing calculator to a supercomputer, by yourself?

maybe you outta drag that “portable” 15″ 8lbs monster from the living room to the bedroom & spend a few hours trying to install programs on your terribly nonmobile OS Linux?

Wow, they really do ship the Vista version with XP. You know, that’s smart of Fuji, but it would be even better of Microsoft to do that to get people to try it out. (Or is this on MS’s end?)

It looks like a great mini laptop, but the screen resolution is too low for my tastes — oh, and there’s no “Linux” option. Woe.

IMO, non user-replaceable battery, no SD slot, no ExpressCard/PCMCIA slot, and only 1 USB is too much compromise for something that’s only real benefit is looking pretty.
I could imagine the frustration if I had a USB EVDO modem plugged in and realize I’d have to go offline to transfer photos from a SD card.

If there were a better comparison, it would be the Sony TZ like Jobs mentioned in the keynote. I’d still prefer the TZ since it’s smaller, lighter, has internal WWAN, and has the option of having a 1.8″ HD/SSD and an 2.5″ HD or 1.8″ HD/SSD and 7mm DVD drive.

I’d probably still grab a normal MacBook instead (if i were to get a Mac in the first place) since it’s more functional and costs nearly half as much.

I’m still not clear who the target audience is for the Air.

scotty. i like to sleep myself but i wouldn’t buy something, that has so many compromises as the air, just because it sleeps better. i use sleep all the time on windows based systems and love it. takes about 6 seconds (wish i could do that in the morning).

For me the challenge is that I need more Mac than I do PC, because the Mac has to have bigger hard drive to hold Windows, OSX, programs and data, whereas the PC doesn’t need the Mac OS. I also want enough RAM and CPU to run Windows and Mac OS together. I’m needing to give up my BlackBook to my daughter for college and I’m not sure whether the Air is going to work for me. I’ve got 80GB filled on my 120GB drive. I can make the Windows partition smaller than the 32GB I set up on Blackie and run XP instead of Vista, but that’s about all I can do to free up drive. Or just don’t install Windows and connect to gotomypc at office if I need Windows? I’m not sure that will cover me.

To me its worth the extra money for the Air because I know that when I close the lid its going to sleep. And when I open the lid its going to wake up. Apple’s sleep is like flipping a light switch.

I don’t know what to compare WIndows sleep to. Normally, in the real world, anything that unreliable would get fixed or replaced.

Thanks for pricing it, James. I was beginning to think that with the new electrovaya tablet, and this new fuji, that my 2710p was the single worst financial decision I’ve ever made. However, my 2710p has identical specs to the fuji you priced, and it only cost me $1715.

It’s funny every device that comes out now will use the Macbook Air as a whipping boy for comparison purposes no matter what form factor or intended use.
The timing of the P1620 couldn’t be better though. Proof from the Eee PC, people are fine with 9″ wide notebooks.
So those looking for a Eee PC sized device with ooompf and convertible tablet functionality, this is the way to go.

Matthew – when it comes to portable computing, thinness is not the only factor to consider.

The MBA’s overall dimensions are 12.8″ x 8.94″ and the wonderful thinness.

The Fujitsu’s 9.13” x 7.32” x 1.36” makes it just a smaller device to carry around.

Obviously, when it comes to subnotebooks and the new MIDs coming out, it largely comes down to what you plan to do with the device.