Fujitsu announces chips in laptops

The announcement by the Japanese company comes only two weeks after Sony Corp. announced that new models of the VAIO computer PictureBook – scheduled to reach U.S. stores in October – would be powered by Transmeta's much-hyped Crusoe microprocessor.

The Crusoe was unveiled in January after five years of highly secretive research and development at Transmeta, an upstart player based in Santa Clara, Calif.

The chip promises to double the life of batteries, and Sony and Fujitsu laptops are poised to be among the first in what appears to be a growing parade of mobile computer products taking advantage of the revolutionary microprocessor.

Hitachi Ltd. plans to start selling Crusoe-powered notebook computers in November, while Gateway Inc. and America Online Inc. have said they plan to use Transmeta processors for their jointly developed "Internet appliance" products that will go on sale later this year.

Fujitsu said two new laptops in its ultralight product line in Japan, known as the FM Biblo, will be powered by Crusoe chips:

– The FM Biblo Loox T, a computer notebook with a built-in DVD player that weighs 3.3 pounds and measures 10.3 inches by 7.2 inches by 1.2 inches. Mobile usage lasts 3.6 hours with a three-cell battery and 7.3 hours with a six-cell battery.

–The FM Biblo Loox S, a laptop that weighs 2.2 pounds and measures 9.5 inches by 5.9 inches by 1.2 inches. Mobile usage lasts four hours with a three-cell battery and eight hours with a six-cell battery.

Similar models of Fujitsu's computer notebook line in the United States, known as LifeBook, will have Crusoe-powered chips later this year, a company spokesman said.