Abstracts of Magazine FUJITSU 2010-3 (VOL.61, NO.2)

Special Issue : Personal Computer and Cell Phone

• Fujitsu's Approaches to Developing Personal Computers
  —To Globally Expand Fan Base—

Personal computers have become an essential part of people's lives, and have continued to evolve while incorporating the latest technologies. In order to develop personal computers that can be used safely, securely, enjoyably and conveniently anytime and anywhere, Fujitsu is focusing on developing secure, thin, lightweight and eco-friendly computers that are also very suitable for home entertainment use. We intend to increase the number of Fujitsu fans around the world by painting a future vision of personal computers in view of the movement towards a human-centric society, and embody that vision in products so that it can be disseminated around the world. This paper describes various approaches that we are taking, including: the development of unique measures against theft or loss of computers and consumer products that have the user-friendliness of household appliances; ingenious ideas especially for mobile personal computers; and the creation of environmentally friendly products.

• Anti-theft Solution for Mobile Personal Computers: CLEARSURE

There are now needs to consider security in accordance with the increasing mobile use of notebook personal computers. Incidents of customer information leakage owing to stolen or lost notebook personal computers have been increasing, and many such incidents have occurred even after the establishment and enforcement of the Personal Information Protection Law. For this reason, more and more companies will not employ, or have established strict operational rules on, mobile use of computers for fear of information leakage if they are stolen or lost, despite knowing the possible improvements in productivity that mobile use could bring. To address these anxieties, Fujitsu has developed CLEARSURE, a solution that immediately deletes all data on the hard disk via the user's remote operation. This enhances security when carrying computers, and may accelerate mobile use that takes advantage of the mobility of notebook personal computers. This paper outlines CLEARSURE and presents technologies that support security services.

• Realization of Easy and Certain Authentication
  and Single Sign-On with Secure Login Box

An increasing number of applications used in companies require personal identification, and the management of IDs and passwords for that purpose has become an issue. A PC login authentication system using Secure Login Box, the industry's only server exclusive for personal authentication developed by Fujitsu, provides single sign-on convenience via centralized management of IDs and passwords. After identifying the user, Secure Login Box automatically enters the stored ID and password in the application, allowing the user to log in. As a means of personal authentication, in addition to Fujitsu's proprietary palm vein pattern authentication, security hardware installable in Fujitsu's LIFEBOOK series of notebooks, such as fingerprint or FeliCa authentication, can be used. This eliminates the need to remember many passwords. A user authentication history (log) can be centrally managed as well. This paper describes the development background of Secure Login Box, the authentication technology it uses and its functions.

• CRM Enhancement and Business Development
  by Reforming Support Infrastructure for Individual Customers

In November 2007, we reformed the support infrastructure for individual customers by introducing Fujitsu's IP-PBX platform as the voice system, and SAP's customer management application as the business and analysis system to migrate to a fully IP-based infrastructure. This allowed centralized management of data from different systems, helping to improve system users' productivity and the quality of customer service. This paper presents the situation of the personal computer support business for individual customers and an overview of support operations for individual customers given at the Fujitsu Personal Products General Inquiries customer contact; solutions to the problems with the past support infrastructure environment; and how the new infrastructure helped to enhance the personal computer business. This paper also describes the roles to be played by this infrastructure in future business development, including the functions and improved support processes realized by the new infrastructure, and the paid service menu planned for the future.

• Living-Room-Styled FMV-TEO to Show Contents by Connecting to Large-Screen TV

The accelerated dissemination of Internet content owing to factors such as the increasing popularity of personal computers that support digital terrestrial broadcasting, improved standards and the commercial success of content providers making use of advertising, has increased consumer needs for personal computers as entertainment devices. In this report, we present an overview of the FMV-TEO series of products, which we introduced to the market with the aim of expanding the existing PC market to cover living room applications by making these new applications more appealing. It also describes our unique technology that we have used to produce those products.

• Integration of Thickness- and Weight-Reducing Technology
  for Notebook Personal Computers with Wireless Communications

With the dramatic evolution in the mobile performance of notebook personal computers, the environment has been changing to one in which these computers can be carried around, used and easily connected to networks anytime and anywhere in the same way as in the office or at home. This paper describes the evolution of PCs up to now. Of the entire group of PC products, in particular this paper focuses on notebook PCs, which are likely to see higher demand especially for mobile use and bring innovation to the way of working and living in the future. It describes Fujitsu's ideas for the orientation and evolution of these computers, toward improving their mobile performance, and the thickness- and weight-reducing technologies to support that evolution. We also present Fujitsu's proprietary new solution that allows notebook PCs to be carried around with a sense of security, taking advantage of wireless communications technology.

• Approaches for Development Environment of Personal Computers

In the processes of Fujitsu's personal computer development, we are making various efforts for environmental friendliness such as conserving natural resources, conserving energy, recycling and managing hazardous substances. This paper presents such efforts made at the frontline of development with the focus on three topics: (1) the present situation of bioplastics that can be used to protect the environment by saving resources and reducing CO2 emissions, (2) approaches taken for circuit boards from the viewpoint of improving their recyclability, and (3) efforts for improving the design of outer packaging and cushioning materials to save resources.

• Fujitsu's Manufacturing Innovation for Cell Phones

Fujitsu has led the advancement of Japanese cell phones by developing a series of processes in an integrated manner from elemental technologies such as wireless platforms, middleware and application software, which form the heart of cell phones, to handsets. Currently, the most important key phrase on the cell phone manufacturing front is the "reduction of development period and cost." The Fujitsu Group has built an integrated design environment optimized for cell phone manufacturing and improved the efficiency of the entire manufacturing process, from the planning and development to the manufacturing phases, to work on the aforementioned reduction of development period and cost. This paper gives an overall picture of manufacturing innovation mainly including the elements required for cell phone development and solutions that enable us to provide those elements, while tracing back the changes in Fujitsu's cell phone development processes.

• Platform Technologies Supporting Cell Phone Services

The third-generation cell phone system has widely spread all over the world, driven by E-mail or Internet accesses, since the introduction of the W-CDMA system in 2001. Nowadays, many user applications, such as full-browser search or video distribution, require massive information streams. This paper reviews the history of key technologies for wireless communications, which realize wide penetration of cell phone systems, and then introduces the design and verification of large-scale system LSIs, and several platform technologies, that support cell phone services. Further efforts for reducing terminal sizes or energy consumption, radio communication technologies which provide reasonable performance in a high-speed mobility environment (e.g., on the Shinkansen) or future prospects for further broadband enhancement are described. Moreover, platform technologies for multimedia processing that support still and moving images in increasingly higher definition, and high-performance graphics processing that supports advanced GUIs as well as approaches to high-performance multi-core processing are introduced.

• Approaches to Development of Cell Phone Software

As cell phone handsets have come to have more enhanced functions and performances, so the level of difficulty of developing software for them has increased. This poses challenges including the difficulty of ensuring quality, increased development costs and addressing the speed of evolution. In this paper, we present approaches to the development of cell phone software mainly the techniques that Fujitsu actually uses to address these challenges. Furthermore, we discuss how Fujitsu and other cell phone handset manufacturers should make the most of open platforms and put to great use cell phone software platforms in the course of changes in the development environment, which are certain to take place in the future.

• Developing Technology for Thin Waterproof Cell Phone Handsets

There has been a strong market demand for the development of waterproof products for a long time. Traditional waterproof cell phones gave the strong impression that they were products for outdoor use, and to meet market demand there was a need to develop stylish waterproof handsets more suitable for daily use. To have stylish waterproof handsets, the most important thing was to reduce their size and thickness, and we have worked on technological innovation to achieve this. We have also striven to improve the quality, cost and delivery (QCD) aspects of these phones, while improving their product appeal, so that we can be successful in the market with its wide variety of products. This paper presents the technology we have worked on for the commercialization, improvement of the manufacturability and evolution of waterproof products in the course of developing thin waterproof cell phones.

• Technology for High-Performance Cell Phones

The performance of cell phones is improving every year and they are becoming smaller and thinner. First of all, this paper describes changes and trends in the key components of Fujitsu's cell phones, such as the emergence of strongly demanded advanced cameras and high-resolution displays in cell phones, as typical high-performance features. Next, it introduces the development of high-performance cell phones that support functions such as short-distance wireless telecommunication, including high-speed data transmission, wireless LAN, FeliCa, Bluetooth, and FM transmitters; an Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting - Terrestrial (ISDB-T) receiver; and GPS functions, achieved by making good use of wireless technology as a pioneer in the wireless broadband era and featuring both portability and convenience. Finally, it introduces the latest sensor application technology for human-centric services such as an application to check a golf swing.

• Development Concept and Functions of Raku-Raku PHONE

The Raku-Raku PHONE series of cell phones, jointly developed by Fujitsu and NTT DOCOMO, includes 14 models commercialized between 2001 and now. It is a long-selling series with a cumulative sales volume of over 15 million units (as of March 2009). Raku-Raku PHONE targets senior users, and they incorporates the concept of universal design in cell phones at an early stage and offers new value via Fujitsu's originality and ingenuity based on users' opinions. This paper presents the way the Raku-Raku PHONE series has changed, starting with Fujitsu's first model in 2001; efforts to reflect users' opinions; the technologies that support the Raku-Raku PHONE that evolved from the development concept; and measures for maintaining and improving customer satisfaction. It also describes the health functions and services developed not only to make the phones easier to use, but also to improve the quality of life of senior users.

• Development of Cell Phones for Corporate Use

With the need to adhere to corporate security policies and increasing information leakage incidents that have become a public concern in the background, there has been a rapid increase in the need for cell phones for corporate use to incorporate security measures and system linkage functions. Fujitsu has delivered the FOMA F1100 to NTT DOCOMO. It is a cell phone (smartphone) with Windows Mobile OS installed that is intended for corporations, and was released in March 2008. Unlike conventional cell phones, Fujitsu has developed the FOMA F1100 as an open handset that can run native applications and has been marketing it as a mobile product that offers various corporate solutions. This paper presents the requirements that corporate cell phones must meet, efforts for developing functions, solutions desired by corporations and examples of introducing them to companies, and takes a general view of the future mobile solution business.

• Advanced Use of IT and Techniques to Accumulate Design Know-how
  in Development of Cell Phone Handsets

In recent years, software services for cell phones have diversified and become more sophisticated. The handsets themselves need to have more advanced packaging and structural designs, such as having a waterproof structure, in addition to being smaller (thinner) and lighter. Under such circumstances, the conventional evaluation and verification processes conducted on actual models after their manufacture do not allow for the timely provision of products that meet the market needs. Consequently, there is a need for the verification of design and manufacturability by virtual prototyping in the upstream phase of development. This paper presents examples of applying various simulations such as those relating to the development process, structural strength, antenna performance, static electricity and heat, as short-term development measures that can be used while maintaining handset product quality, and describes techniques for accumulating design know-how using IT.

• Human-Centric Design Approach for Ubiquitous Products

Ubiquitous products are terminals that provide services and benefits in various living and work situations and exist at points of contact between ICT and consumers. For the design development of these ubiquitous products, it is important to consider the relationships between products and ICT services and between users and products, and have a clear vision of the convenience and customer value from the users' perspective. For that purpose, the authors consider it important to implement human-centric design (HCD) with the following approaches: exploring ubiquitous products based on the services provided by ICT and their applications, studying the matching of consumers' diversified senses of value and lifestyles with ubiquitous products and thoroughly investigating user interfaces between humans and ubiquitous products. This paper outlines HCD processes for effective design development with these three approaches and shows examples of design development to which the ideas are applied.