Fujitsu Stylistic Q550

“The Fujitsu Q550 is a genuinely interesting tablet, and one that will appeal to buyers other than the business crowd Fujitsu's gunning for. As a graphics tablet to use out in the field, it's an excellent device thanks to its matt screen and digitizer. However, it's also not particularly powerful given its price. It demands some patience, but for arty types it arguably has more to offer than an iPad 2.”

“Everything about the Q550 has been designed with business usage in mind: the 10.1-inch screen has no Super-TFT coating, meaning you can use it in brightly lit areas. A stylus is included with the tablet so that you can navigate the Windows interface. And there's a fingerprint scanner in place for extra security.”

“The Q550 makes a lot of compromises and they may not be the right ones for you. You get business security features and full-size ports in compact but sturdy package - but not the full power to go with them. Although it doesn't compete with the price of Android tablets or the iPad, it's one of the cheapest Windows tablets with both pen and touchscreen interfaces. Unfortunately, keeping the price down means it's short on memory and storage. Performance is the real problem here, the Atom Z series was promised as the right chip for tablets with full features and good battery life and here it only delivers the reasonable battery life.”

“Despite what is a deal-breaking lack of performance for me, the Q550 is the first rugged, sealed and lightweight Windows tablet I’ve used. Others have hit two of those points but not all three. This, along with the excellent battery life, gives the Q550 a small but solid niche to serve. If you need a tough Windows 7 tablet that weighs under 2 lbs. and provides enterprise-level amenities, the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 delivers. It just delivers by ground mail instead of next day air. On a final note, while I’m not letting Fujitsu off the hook for shipping the Q550 with this meek processor, it’s only fair to point out that both Intel and Microsoft made grand claims about Oak Trail. This was the platform that was supposed to make Windows 7 tablets “happen” in 2011. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer claimed Oak Trail would change things. Companies, such as Fujitsu, were banking on this new platform to deliver on that promise. Well, it’s here and I think it’s ruined what should have been a great tablet. Or should I blame Microsoft for their delusion that their fat OS could run properly on such a slim processor? Oh, but I’m sure things will be much better with “Cloverview” (or Windows for ARM or whatever comes after that…).”