Fujifilm claims it's 'reinvented' the bridge camera with the latest in its X line of premium snappers. The XS-1 is affixed to a Fujinon lens that opens up to f/2.8 and stretches all the way from 24mm to 624mm (in 35mm parlance) in an effort "cater perfectly for every photographic need" and prevent you from ever longing for the flexibility of a DSLR. It even sports a Super Macro Mode for focusing down to a rather intimate single centimeter. Behind the lens sits the same 12-megapixel EXR CMOS found in theX10, which means you get an undersized 2/3-inch sensor instead of the superior APS-C format found in the X100 and many DSLRs. Read on for more specs in the press release plus a short promo clip, and expect to see this hit British shelves in February for £699 ($1090).
Fujifilm X-S1: The bridge camera, reinvented
24th November 2011 - The Fujifilm X series of premium cameras has a third model, the X-S1, due for UK launch in February 2012. The XS-1 represents a new breed of bridge camera. Featuring a Fujinon 26x optical zoom lens through to the EXR sensor technology found in the X10, the X-S1 puts the photographer in control.
The X-S1 is the ideal camera for the safari and travel photographer – offering superb image quality, extensive zoom range and superior handling.
Maximum optical versatility
The centrepiece of the X-S1 is the superb Fujinon 26x optical zoom lens. Offering a range of 24-624mm (35mm equivalent) it caters perfectly for every photographic need and features a bright f/2.8 maximum aperture at the wide-angle setting.
This optical range is boosted further by Fujifilm's Intelligent Digital Zoom capability, which effectively doubles the focal range without the drop in picture quality tradititionally seen on older digital models As a result, the X-S1 offers users an incredible 52x zoom range of 24-1248mm (35mm equivalent).
Optically, the Fujinon lens comprises 17 glass elements, which includes four aspherical elements and two ED lenses, to deliver images with superb edge-to-edge sharpness and amazing clarity. The lens' construction is also of the highest standard, featuring metal cams for smooth zoom control and fast, precise framing.
The X-S1 is also ideally suited to capturing subjects close up. In standard mode, the zoom focuses down to 30cm, but by selecting Super Macro Mode, users can focus down to just 1cm for frame-filling close-up images. Furthermore, the lens' aperture is made up of nine blades for excellent bokeh effect photography.
Great results in every picture-taking scenario The X-S1 features the same 2/3-inch 12 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor as the X10 which guarantees high quality images regardless of the lighting conditions.
The unique EXR CMOS technology pioneered by Fujifilm allows the user to switch between three modes – High Resolution, Wide Dynamic Range and High Sensitivity/Low Noise - depending on the lighting conditions – or leave the camera to make its own choice in the Auto EXR mode.
Coupled to the EXR CMOS sensor is a Fujifilm high speed EXR processor, which offers a minimal shutter lag of just 0.01sec and a high speed continuous shooting capability
The X-S1 also takes high-quality movies. It captures Full High Definition (1920 x 1080 pixels) video with stereo sound at 30 frames-per-second.
Easy composition and image review The X-S1 offers a powerful combination of high quality electronic viewfinder and rear LCD, with the 0.47-inch electronic viewfinder (EVF) featuring 1.44 million pixels for superb image clarity with a wide viewing area of 26 degrees to reduce eye strain.
The rear mounted high quality, tiltable three-inch LCD screen features 460,000 pixels to make it easier for users to scroll through menus, assess exposure accuracy and view images. The LCD also offers a useful Daylight mode that overcomes the problem of viewing the screen in bright conditions.
Full user control and picture taking versatility The X-S1 offers a superb level of functionality whether users want to make picture taking as simple as using a compact or as involved as a fully-manual digital SLR.
For simplicity, the X-S1 will assess the subject and then select the relevant scene mode for the perfect result, automatically switching the EXR CMOS sensor accordingly. The XS-1 can also calculate whether an image contains a person, features backlighting or has any subject movement. ISO settings are taken care of too by the Auto ISO mode.
Photographers after full control are well catered for with the X-S1. The camera offers a full range of conventional shooting functions (program/aperture-priority/shutter-priority/manual), plus users can also fine tune levels of colour, image sharpness and tone.
Additionally, the X-S1 provides four auto bracketing options, eight Film Simulation and white balance functions and a Raw file format.
Due to be launched in February 2012 in the UK, the X-S1 will have an estimated selling price of £699.
Fujifilm X-S1 key features • High quality Fujinon 26x optical zoom covering 24-624mm (35mm equivalent) with Intelligent Digital Zoom boosting range up to 1248mm • Superb build quality and finish with rubberised coating and metal dials • 12 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor • Up to 10 frames-per-second shooting • Large EVF with 1.44 million pixels and 26 degree viewing angle • Tiltable three-inch rear LCD with Sunny Day mode • Full HD video • PASM modes • Raw file format • Film simulation modes • Macro focusing down to 1cm • Lithium battery providing up to 500 shots per charge • Optical image stabilisation • 360° Motion Panorama mode
Toshiba has plans of its own as the company decided to leave the joint venture with Fujitsu but the phone above seems to be that one last kick the two companies unleash upon the (Japanese) market. The Fujitsu-Toshiba Arrows Z ISW11F is an Android phone that is also waterproof, headed to Japan's KDDI.
Available in white, black and pink, the phone runs Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and packs a 1.2GHz dual-core TI OMAP4430 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of ROM, microSD card support for additional 32GB, 4.3-inch HD display with 720 x 1280 resolution, 13-megapixel camera with Sony's Exmor R for mobile backlit sensor, 1.3-megapixelwebcam, WiFi b/g/n, WiMAX/GSM/CDMA-capable radio, HDMI-out, microUSB port, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, IrDa, and the obligatory E-wallet and digitalTV tuner for the Japanese market.
Add to everything above the fact that the device is waterproof and you'll get a great device that will be available on the Japanese market in November. Now, can we please have that internationally?
For those who've been dwelling on this planet long enough, you might just remember a category of mobile computers by the name of UMPCs. In particular, think Sony's VAIO UX, the OQO devices and the elusive xpPhone. Alas, those Windows devices were -- and probably still are -- well ahead of their time no thanks to their battery life, bulkiness and sometimes cost; though for some bizarre reason, Fujitsu begs to differ. In fact, said company took one step further and released a hybrid device in Japan: the LOOX F-07C, a QWERTY slider phone that can switch between Symbian and Windows 7 at a click of a button. Interesting combination, right? Read on to find out how this weird device fares in real life.
To accommodate the full-featured Windows 7 OS, it is no surprise that the F-07C ended up being a fairly chunky device -- we're looking at a 125 x 61 x 19.8mm body weighing 218 grams (7.69 ounces), a far cry from many smartphones these days, especially those crazy thin ones that keep popping up in Japan. This is mostly to do with the Intel Atom Z600 inside the phone, but while this chip is capable of delivering 1.2GHz of number crunching power, it's actually limited to just half that clock speed on the F-07C for the sake of better battery life and less heat emission. That said, this is still technically one of the world's smallest Windows machines, let alone one that can handle phone calls, but more on that later.
By now you would've figured out that the F-07C sports a landscape QWERTY slide-out keyboard -- it slides up easily thanks to the spring-assisted mechanism (though it can still be slicker), though we noticed that the gap between the two halves of the phone is pretty wide as well. The keyboard has four rows of keys, garnished by a little black trackball on the right that can be tapped for toggling left-click, though its sunken-in nature means you might prefer using the dedicated left-click flat button at the top left of the keyboard. As for the layout, along with the usual alphabets and Fn1 symbols there's also a set of yellow Fn2 keys, which are just F5 to F12 keys, while there are dedicated keys near the trackball for F1 to F4.
Like many Japanese phones, the key travel is short thus easy to press with thumbs, but since we have a full keyboard here (even Ctrl, Alt, Tab and Windows keys are included), people with bigger hands will have to make do with the relatively small keys within the cramped space. Hey, at least you can still do the good old Ctrl+Alt+Delete combo --good thing they kept the backspace button further away from the delete button.
There isn't much going on around the screen except for the few buttons and LEDs. You may think that there are three buttons at the bottom, but in fact, the dent below the Windows logo is merely a microphone sandwiched between two hidden blue LEDs; whereas on the left you have a Clear button, and on the right there's a phone button that also acts as a power button.
On the right hand side of the phone there are three keys, one of them being the single-stage (as in no half way point for focusing) camera button, while the remaining two further up appear to be volume keys. The top one is actually a "multi-tasking" button -- in Symbian it's for quickly toggling between tasks, and a long press triggers a user-customizable function like torch or fake incoming call; whereas in Windows it toggles a finger-friendly launcher. The lower key is merely for locking the screen, though a long press sets the phone to silent mode. Alas, there are no volume keys to be found on the phone.
Along with the phone itself there's also an optional charging dock by the name of F01, which adds four USB ports plus an HDMI-out port -- this is why the dock interfaces with the phone via the proprietary port instead of micro-USB. Most interestingly, however, is that said dock also has a built-in fan that blows gently on the phone's back, which is a necessity in Windows mode.
Symbian mode
Actually, calling it Symbian would be misleading here; like many other Japanese phones, the F-07C runs a heavily customized Symbian (presumably to make it harder for unlocking, at least), so we might as well just say it has its own proprietary OS. It's also worth mentioning that when booting up, the phone always enter Symbian mode first, and then you can switch to Windows 7 by hitting the Windows key on the right literally at any time -- you know, for the occasional urgent cravings for Windows.
Going back to the Symbian phone side of things, here you only get the basic features like phone calls, SMS, multimedia and other simple tools. More advanced functions such as browsing are, much like other Japanese non-Android phones, nowhere to be found (even WiFi is missing!). Still, there are some bits and bobs that are worth pointing out here, like the aforementioned torch and fake incoming call tools, along with handwriting input for Chinese and Japanese users. Also, with the QWERTY keyboard open, you can hit the number keys directly to prepare a call; or you can hit any number up to 60, and then scroll the trackball upwards to start a countdown by minutes.
Earlier we pointed out the lack of a volume rocker on the F-07C, so how do we go about adjusting the volume? Well, it's actually pretty easy: just go to menu, then "Settings & NW services," then "Alerts & Sounds," then "Adjust Volume," and then finally "Alert/Call volume." See? Super easy. If you want to change the volume in the middle of a call, just hit the volume button on the screen -- obviously this would be more or less a trial and error unless you're using a hands-free. Given that this is the most basic setting for a phone, such complicated procedure is pretty unacceptable.
Multimedia in Symbian
Compared to most other Japanese phones, the F-07C's multimedia features definitely don't stand out. While said phone's 4-inch LCD manages to cram in a resolution of 1,024 x 600 (make that a high 297ppi density; iPhone 4 has 326ppi), it only has a five megapixel camera on the back, and video recording only goes up to a disappointing 640 x 480. We guess this is something to do with manufacturing costs. That said, the camera itself can capture pretty good images, though if you choose to save images to microSD, it may take up to five seconds to do so even on a Class 6 card.
Here's another image-related caveat: while browsing the captured shots, you can't make use of the phone's multitouch feature for pinch-to-zoom; and if you tilt the screen slightly, you can already see the backlight on the edge, which can be distracting. Things aren't any better with music playback: you can probably tolerate the fact that you must drag your music into a specific folder, but you must also get used to the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack -- there's a micro-USB to 3.5mm jack adapter in the box for this, which means you can't charge up your phone while privately enjoying some tunes, nor can you plug the adapter in while the phone's docked as the dock blocks the USB port. How thoughtful.
Windows 7 mode
Finally, the star of the show. As with most Windows machines these days, the F-07C required a one-off preparation to get its Windows 7 system ready upon the first boot up out of the box. We had leave the phone untouched for about an hour for that, only to realize that it's all in Japanese; thankfully, we managed to find a hack to throw in an English language pack. Afterwards, each bootup takes about two minutes; if you switch to Symbian mode, the Windows side would enter hibernation mode; and going from Symbian back to Windows 7 takes about 30 seconds.
By default, F-07C's Windows mode starts up with a custom-made finger-friendly launcher for opening Office applications (you get a two-year license for Office 2010) and controlling wireless features. As mentioned earlier, the launcher can also be toggled using the top button on the right of the phone, and you can switch off the auto start-up option in settings. The Windows lives on a 32GB eMMC inside the phone, but you can also access your microSD using an application, though for some strange reason, there's a three-minute time limit for this.
In addition to the keyboard and trackball, you can of course use the multitouch screen to interact with Windows 7 here, but of course, given the pixel density, it's not easy to hit the tiny buttons and links -- or even pick the right cards in Solitaire -- using your fat fingers. It's best to stick to the trackball for more precise control.
Performance (Windows 7)
We've already warned you guys: in Windows 7 mode, the F-07C is powered by a CPU underclocked to 600MHz (supported by 1GB of RAM), so naturally we have a sluggish system. Still, our handset got pretty hot while downloading some files, so just imagine what would happen to our hands if the CPU was running at its native 1.2GHz clock speed. We tried to run a couple of benchmark programs, but 3DMark06 stopped half way through the test with a Direct3D error message, and PCMark Vantage took almost an hour to return a disappointing score of around 700 (for the sake of comparison, the Intel Pine Trail netbooks were hitting scores above 1,200).
We didn't get around to trying some games on the F-07C, but put it this way: we couldn't even get Flash videos on YouTube and Viddler to play smoothly at 480p, though they were OK at 360p. Still, Facebook games won't be any better.
Battery life in Windows 7 mode
According to the spec sheet, the F-07C can manage about two hours in Windows 7 mode, though we'd say it's closer to just over an hour, and obviously you get even less when using 3G data connection. So really, the Windows mode is only suitable for urgent document tweaks or for some bedtime browsing; just don't expect this device to let you play Doom while on the move. Even the power management tool struggled to monitor battery level, as it kept jumping between 30 percent and 100 percent when it's low on juice. Luckily, when the battery level is critically low, the phone forces itself back to Symbian mode, thus letting it last much longer as a simple phone.
Connectivity in Windows 7 mode
The F-07C's Windows mode can make use of the 3G connection using the DoCoMo Connection Manager, though good luck to that if you're not fluent in Japanese -- the Windows language pack can only fix so much. Also, turning on 3G automatically kills the WiFi, and you'd have to manually start WiFi again once you close the 3G connection; likewise with 3G if your connection drops, as it's not smart enough to attempt reconnection on its own. As for making phone calls in Windows mode, well, we didn't have much luck with that, but we've been able to pick up incoming calls.
Wrap-up
From our week-long experience with the F-07C, it's safe to say that this device is just full of flaws, ranging from the lack of volume rocker, 3.5mm headphone jack and multitouch in Symbian mode, not to mention the stupidly short battery life and shocking performance in Windows 7 mode. But hey, Fujitsu did say that this is more of a proof-of-concept device, and given this unique form factor plus technical limitations, Fujitsu's done a pretty good job on this fun device. Phone collectors would most certainly want to get hold of an F-07C, anyway.
