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Smartphones

FSTJ 2013-4 Cover Image

2013-4 (Vol.49, No.2)


This special issue presents Fujitsu's smartphones. It describes the basic concept of development,features of technologies, examples of a vertical integration system utilizing smartphones, and approach to manufacturing innovation. Fujitsu is committed to creating new customer value with the focus on quickly responding to changes in the business environment.

2013-4 (Vol.49, No.2) Contents

1. Preface (592 KB)
Fujitsu is showing its strengths as a general ICT vendor capable of providing a whole range of offerings from devices through to networks, services and solutions. In addition, in the context of "the realization of a Human Centric Intelligent Society," which is Fujitsu's corporate vision, smartphones play a very important role as a ubiquitous front. This special issue presents Fujitsu's smartphones. It describes the basic concept of development, features of technologies, examples of a vertical integration system utilizing smartphones, and approach to manufacturing innovation. ---[Nobuo Otani , Corporate Senior Vice President]
2. Fujitsu's Approaches to Developing Smartphones (1.23 MB )
Amid a paradigm shift from feature phones to smartphones, Fujitsu acquired the top market share in Japan as a vendor of mobile phones with its quick deployment of 11 smartphones for NTT DOCOMO, INC. and KDDI CORPORATION in 2011. While maintaining this strong domestic market position, Fujitsu is aiming to enter global markets in earnest with Raku-Raku SMART PHONEs in 2012. Fujitsu smartphones are founded on two of the company's strengths. The first is the company's technologies—its phones have the best features in the industry because they adopt the latest and fastest platform, they have leading radio technology, and they use Fujitsu's unique technologies that it has cultivated so far, such as human perception technologies for good visibility of displays, good audibility of phone calls, and comfortable touchscreen controls. The other is the company's excellence in manufacturing within factories that are located in Japan. Furthermore, Fujitsu keeps improving its software development ability to use open-source technology which is necessary for smartphone platforms such as Android OS. This paper introduces Fujitsu's smartphone strategy that utilizes these strengths and also its approach to developing new markets. ---[Katsumi Takada]
3. Human Centric Engine and Its Evolution toward Web Services (1.52 MB )
Through the development of Raku-Raku PHONEs, Fujitsu has been involved in the development of unique technologies to realize a user-friendly interface in terms of "seeing, hearing and talking." It has also been developing original sensing technology for monitoring the user by using sensors integrated in mobile phones. These technologies are restructured to form a Human Centric Engine (HCE) system that is dedicated for smartphones. Further, the HCE-LSI concept has been introduced to achieve low-power consumption and high-performance profiles. HCE not only offers ultimate user-friendliness differentiating the brand from those of other venders but also assumes an important strategic role in supporting the Human-Centric Intelligent Society advocated by Fujitsu as a ubiquitous front-end. In this paper, we will introduce the superiority of our mobile products by describing the objectives of HCE and summarizing the functions to be integrated in the smartphones. We will also describe the development of our service portfolio using HCE. ---[Kaoru Chujo, Yasuji Ota, Kazuyuki Takaki, Shuichi Shiitani]
4. Problems with Using Smart Devices for Business and Efforts to Resolve Them (1.60 MB )
In the current consumer market, new means of communication are rapidly becoming prevalent. They include smart devices such as smartphones and tablets, applications that operate on those smart devices, and high-speed wireless communications such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). To address this trend, corporate users have started considering the possibility of increasing their sales and improving their business efficiency by making active use of smart devices in their business. However, challenges associated with introducing these devices have been revealed as well, such as concerns about security and the streamlined connection of such devices with existing systems. In this paper, we describe services that enable these devices to be used in the optimal way (mobile sales operation support service) in sites where sales take place. We also cover a method for vertical integration when introducing devices, networks, service platforms and services, as an approach to introducing this system into companies. ---[Shinji Takahara, Masatomo Yasaki]
5. Case Examples of Services and Applications Utilizing Smartphones (1.09 MB )
Recently, smartphones and tablets have seen explosive growth in the consumer market. In consideration of their high portability, high functionality and higher cost performance as compared with notebook PCs, the volume of shipments of smartphones is expected to exceed 35 million units in FY 2016. An increasing number of enterprises are considering introducing these new mobile devices in the hope of being able to change work styles, revitalize organizations and revolutionize business. Before such enterprises can introduce smartphones and tablets, however, there are many issues to be resolved such as those related to their security and their introduction and operation costs. This paper presents Fujitsu's services and applications that allow enterprises to safely and effectively use smartphones and tablets. ---[Naoya Matsumura, Hiroshi Nezu, Hideyuki Motoyama, Masayuki Takase]
6. Network Services Required for Business Operations Using Smartphones (883 KB)
Studies are in process to make use of smartphones and tablets, which have rapidly become widespread in the consumer market, as business tools for office work, customer contact operations and specialized operations in various work sites. Before smartphones can be used in such operations, however, issues must be resolved such as concerns about security and insufficient IT skills for their introduction and operation. To conduct specific studies on such introduction and operation, it must be understood that, in terms of using operations data, there are several different forms of smartphone application each with their own different issues. Based on that understanding, consideration must be given to factors including the content of operations, cost/deployment period, existing system environment and operational load to select the form of application and solution appropriate for the enterprise. This paper summarizes the forms of application of smartphones. It also presents network services capable of resolving issues that arise in using in-house Web applications such as information leakage and unauthorized connections, and adaptation of existing systems to smartphones, from the perspectives of devices, networks and applications. It also gives examples of their use. ---[Motoyuki Kimura]
7. Context Desktop Technology (1.67 MB )
We are now conducting research and development on a service platform which vertically integrates smart devices and the cloud, so as to provide adequate information and services to humans. Recently, we have developed Context Desktop technology which selects and delivers the minimum services to smart devices depending on the human situation. In this paper, we describe the concept and structure of Context Desktop and its applications. Context Desktop automatically provides optimal applications to smart devices and changes the available application sets on these devices based on real-world data sensed with the devices or ambient sensors. This technology frees users from having to set up applications in advance, and thus enables them to utilize smart devices, when and wherever needed. ---[Tatsuro Matsumoto, Kazuaki Nimura, Akira Shiba, Akira Fujii]
8. High-Speed Thin Client Technology for Mobile Environment: Mobile RVEC (1.05 MB )
Thin client systems on smart devices have been attracting interest from mobile workers because they do not need to contain any important business data, leading to improved security and business efficiency. In order to use a virtual desktop smoothly in various mobile environments with fluctuating bandwidth and packet loss ratio, it is essential for smart devices to have a stable mechanism for transferring images over an unstable network and smooth touchscreen operation. To meet these requirements, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. has developed new technologies called Mobile RVEC. They consist of an adaptive image transfer mechanism that considers variations in network bandwidth on a real-time basis, a data transfer protocol for unstable networks, and a touchscreen-based user interface for mobile thin clients. These technologies promise to open up new applications such as interactive product demonstrations at customer premises on mobile thin clients. ---[Masahiro Matsuda, Kazuki Matsui, Yuichi Sato, Hiroaki Kameyama]
9. Technological Initiatives for Water-resistant and Thin Smartphones (859 KB)
Smartphones are becoming larger as they start to contain higher-capacity batteries that allow for more sophisticated functions and longer operating times, and their screens are becoming larger so that the displayed items are easier to see. At the same time, however, people are essentially carrying them around for use in daily life, and this means smartphones must be easy to hold, compact and water-resistant, and be able to be used free of worry since they are not easily damaged. By satisfying these conflicting requirements and enhancing the design aesthetics as well, smartphones with improved overall marketability must be developed to meet the needs of the market. In order to develop salable smartphones, a product which is becoming diversified, it is important to have technological development in line with individual product concepts. Accordingly, we have been working on giving smartphones a water-resistant structure that suits their thinness and design while avoiding the restrictions that an ordinary water-resistant structure places on a phone design in terms of its size, shape and such like. We have also worked to make each and every component as thin as possible, and give smartphones a more efficient component layout. This paper presents technologies for achieving water-resistant and thin smartphones, which are in the market environment described above, and approaches to having those technologies further evolve. ---[Nariyasu Hayakawa, Shigehiro Fujii, Jiro Takahashi]
10. Approach to Commercialization of Raku-Raku SMART PHONE (1.12 MB )
The Fujitsu Raku-Raku PHONE, which we developed jointly with NTT DOCOMO, INC. (hereinafter, DOCOMO) is a long-selling line of products with 16 models commercialized from 2001 up to the present, and over 20 million units have been sold. As the mobile phone market is rapidly shifting toward smartphones, senior citizens are also increasingly becoming interested in them. In view of this market environment, Fujitsu has worked in cooperation with DOCOMO to commercialize Raku-Raku SMART PHONE as a new model of the Raku-Raku PHONE line and started to offer the product in August 2012. Based on thorough research and analysis, we have identified the values of and challenges faced by senior citizens, who are the main target customers. We have re-examined all of the hardware and software to develop a smartphone that can be used without the users being made aware of their age or physical ability. This paper presents our approach to commercialization with the focus on the development of a touchscreen-type user interface, to which we have paid the most attention in the development of the Raku-Raku SMART PHONE. ---[Kenetsu Furuki, Yoshiaki Kikuchi]
11. Development of Windows Phone Devices at Fujitsu (915 KB)
Fujitsu achieved a world's first in applying the Windows Phone 7.5 as a mobile device platform and marketing a smartphone running this OS. In a smartphone market dominated by iPhone and Android devices, Fujitsu, in addition to developing Android products, began from early on to investigate the development of Windows Phone devices that take advantage of the innovative features of this OS. It is now developing its own smartphones of this type on the basis of a common understanding with Microsoft on policies governing product development and the application of original technologies. In this development, Fujitsu is implementing original specifications on top of Windows Phone while achieving impressive performance, power-saving features, and operations stability (quality). It is satisfying Microsoft requirements and evaluation criteria for smartphone peripheral devices and interfaces and ensuring software stability and the robustness of security measures. This paper describes Fujitsu's approach to developing and expanding a third smartphone platform as an addition to Android and iOS. ---[Satoshi Nishimura, Akinobu Ueda]
12. Development of and Future Prospects for Tablet Devices (891 KB)
Fujitsu commercialized a water-resistant, highly functional tablet PC—featuring Long Term Evolution (LTE) and one-seg broadcasting compatibility—for the Japanese market in 2011. With its 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800-pixel screen, high-resolution display, dual-core processor, water resistance (hitherto unusual for a tablet), human-centric functions, and one-seg compatibility, this tablet provides usability unique to Fujitsu. Moreover, by developing a gesture function for improving the tablet's usability in a wet-hands situation and by designing the speaker so that its sound is directed directly at the user for improving acoustic performance as a large-screen entertainment tablet, we have created a device with appealing features that differ from those of smartphones. This report discusses the market trends concerning tablet devices, describes the elemental technologies used to achieve the water resistance and improved entertainment features, and looks at how equipping Fujitsu's devices with a human-centric engine has made it possible to acquire information that has been analyzed on the basis of data collected from numerous sensors and to receive information continuously. ---[Hiroyuki Yoshizawa, Makoto Ishida, Toshinori Yoshitsuru]
13. Device Connectivity Technologies Using Short-distance Wireless Communications (1.18 MB )
Seamless device connectivity in a multi-network environment is an essential technology for achieving a Human-Centric Intelligent Society as proposed by Fujitsu. In particular, device connectivity enabled by short-distance wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and near field communication (NFC) can provide users with ideal services regardless of place or circumstances in the fields of entertainment, health, and communications. For example, there is audio-visual device connectivity for playing content stored on a smartphone on a TV and for outputting content stored on a recorder to a TV by smartphone control. There is also in-vehicle device connectivity for controlling hands-free calling and audio playback from an in-vehicle device, and there is healthcare device connectivity for gathering up data obtained from measurement devices, storing that data on network servers, and using the data for medical care, physical fitness, etc. This paper provides an overview of short-distance wireless communication technologies and describes Fujitsu's approach to connecting smartphones to audio-visual devices, in-vehicle devices, and healthcare devices as an application of those technologies. ---[Toshiya Tamura, Isao Masuda]
14. Smartphone Design at Fujitsu (1.21 MB )
The expansion of the communications infrastructure and advances in Web services, applications, and user devices are accelerating the switchover from conventional mobile, i.e., feature, phones to smartphones in Japan. However, while Japanese makers have been dominant in the development of feature phones for the Japanese market, overseas makers have been the dominant force in smartphones, and this situation is bringing about a gradual change in Japanese attitudes toward preferences and quality. This market environment calls for smartphone designs that customers find attractive, and to this end, Fujitsu needs to develop designs that embody customer values on the basis of an understanding of usage scenarios and customer preferences. At the same time, Fujitsu needs to clarify the design requirements so that the products produced reflect Fujitsu's originality and thereby make them distinguishable as a Fujitsu smartphone. This paper outlines the evolution of mobile phones, describes Fujitsu's three steps to smartphone design, the design requirements associated with each of these steps, and Fujitsu's response to those requirements. It also presents specific design examples. ---[Mitsuhiko Kawami]
15. Smartphone User Interface (860 KB)
Touch-based operations are becoming increasingly commonplace as smartphone use continues to expand. Compared to indirect keypad operations on conventional feature phones, direct operations on a touchscreen make for smooth use of mobile phones without having to learn numerous operation rules and procedures. This article presents Fujitsu's approach to achieving a more intuitive user interface that enhances the direct-operation learning effect and enables even users who are not especially adept at mobile-phone operations to use a smartphone without having to refer to a manual. It also introduces a character input system using Fujitsu's handwriting recognition technology as an example of exploiting touchscreen features. ---[Masashi Tanimura, Takeshi Ueno]
16. Hardware Platform Supporting Smartphones (1.36 MB )
In recent years, propelled by Apple Inc. and Google Inc., the popularity of smartphones has skyrocketed. By the end of March 2012, the proportion of smartphones in relation to all mobile phones sold in Japan exceeded 70%. Their user interface, unlike that of feature phones, is a touchscreen, which is getting bigger with higher resolution. Moreover, as network speeds continue to increase (particularly for Internet access), data traffic volumes are increasing exponentially. This has led to a challenging problem—giving smartphones the processing power required to handle large volumes of data (power equivalent to that of PCs just a few years ago) while keeping power consumption at a level appropriate for a mobile device. This paper describes the evolution of the application processor used on the high-performance hardware platform supporting Fujitsu's smartphones and Fujitsu's approach to solving the technical problems related to the performance and power saving required of smartphones. ---[Toru Ogawa, Kenichi Ito, Koji Matsushima]
17. Android Software Platform Development at Fujitsu (1.05 MB )
Smartphones using the Android platform first appeared on the market in October 2008. They have since overtaken Apple's iPhone—the first entry in the smartphone market—in number of units shipped and have helped to bring about major changes in the way that mobile phones are used. Android was developed and is distributed as open source software that a device maker integrates into its own hardware after adding original software technologies. The Android platform evolves in short cycles on the basis of software and hardware developments as the network infrastructure continues to expand in the form of WiMAX and LTE and as usage scenarios and services become increasingly diverse. Fujitsu has been developing Android smartphones with compelling functions and enhanced convenience since December 2010, when it released the REGZA Phone T-01C featuring a water-resistant enclosure, one-seg support, and FeliCa contactless IC card and infrared-communication functions. This paper describes Fujitsu's approach to smartphone development, focusing on memory management and current-consumption management as important elements in the system design of the Android software platform, diverse manner modes for enhancing user convenience, high-picture-quality technology achieved by using the Mobile REGZA Engine, and audio-visual device-linking technology based on DLNA standards. ---[Makoto Honda, Makoto Kobayashi, Masahiko Nagumo, Yasuhiro Kawakatsu]
18. LTE-compliant Multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) Baseband LSI (880 KB)
In collaboration with NTT DOCOMO, INC., NEC Corporation, and Panasonic Mobile Communications, Fujitsu has developed a baseband LSI that provides multi-radio access technology (RAT) communication compatible with the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and High-Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) technical standards. The demand for mobile communications to handle high-speed traffic is growing rapidly as a consequence of the spread of smartphones, and the speeding up of data transmission is continuing in many regions around the world. The transmission scheme adopted to handle this increase in transmission speed varies from country to country. Moreover, the scheme is often used concurrently with a conventional scheme. This means that the communication platform used in mobile devices and the baseband LSI that forms its core must support multiple communication schemes. In this report, the features and main technologies of a multi-RAT baseband LSI developed for handling multiple communication schemes are described, and future development directions for these technologies are discussed. ---[Takashi Sasaki, Yasuhiro Terao]
19. Security Technology for Smartphones (988 KB)
Service functions are implemented on smartphones by storing on them personal information, network-operator information, corporate information, and so on. Most smartphones use an open source operating system (OS), and anyone can obtain the OS source code; consequently, smartphone users are exposed to the threat of receiving fraudulent information from people with malicious intent. Aimed at countering this threat, safe smartphones—on which information is protected by applying multiple technologies such as Secure Boot, Linux Security Module, and TrustZoneTM—are marketed. Secure Boot is a technology for detecting whether a boot program of a smartphone has been rewritten and protects network-operator information by making it impossible to start up programs modified by a third party. Linux Security Module prevents leaks of personal information by controlling access to information by any program installed after factory shipment and by stopping unauthorized access to that information. TrustZone ensures banking services are safe by separating program operating environments with hardware and by preventing unauthorized access to information by programs running on open source OSs. In this report, these technologies, namely, Secure Boot, Linux Security Module, and TrustZone, are described in detail. ---[Yasuhiko Abe, Hitoshi Ikeda, Masafumi Emura]
20. Automation Techniques Supporting Smartphone Monozukuri (1.14 MB )
"Shortening the development period" and "reducing costs" have become key issues in today's mobile-phone market dominated by smartphones. Resolving these issues requires "vertical product launch" technology to support short-term manufacturing and automation techniques to cope with model changes. Fujitsu Peripherals Limited (FPE) has a history of developing ubiquitous products such as mobile phones and tablet computers and has accumulated a variety of mechatronics technologies such as large-scale system printing and facility automation to support monozukuri (Japanese-style manufacturing and production). By using automation techniques that apply these technologies and promoting generality in automation processes, FPE has been expanding monozukuri as part of the "Made in Japan" heritage. These techniques feature a platform consisting of different types of robots (parallel link robots, multi-joint robots, and direct-acting robots) and original customization of robot-hand sections and peripheral sections, such as for linked testing, to achieve automated systems matching the functional program element requirements. This paper discusses current issues in the development and manufacturing of smartphones and introduces automation techniques supporting "Made in Japan" monozukuri centered about solutions using FPE technologies. ---[Manabu Ogino, Hiroshi Yamada, Mitsuhiro Gotou, Seiji Suketomo]
21. Manufacturing Innovation for Smartphones (899 KB)
Mobile phone manufacturers are now changing their main products from feature phones to smartphones. In addition, due to the stagnation of the global economy, the manufacturing industry in Japan is faced with six main issues: a strong yen, high corporation tax, a delay in trade liberalization, tight labor regulations, global warming, and a power shortage problem stemming from the accident at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. While being exposed to cut-throat cost competition from overseas vendors, Fujitsu Mobile-phone Products Limited (FMPL), as a key factory of mobile phones, is not only providing even higher-quality products to customers but also working on production innovation so that FMPL can continue to manufacture in Japan. This paper presents the four pillars of our activities: smartphone test innovation, automation and robotization, strengthening of prototyping and evaluation, and standardization of manufacturing and repair. ---[Yutaka Higashiguchi]

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