In 2011, Fujitsu unleashed a curious experiment onto the cell world: the LOOX F-07C. This wasn’t simply one other smartphone attempting to muscle its approach right into a market dominated by Android and iOS. It was a daring, nearly defiant try and fuse a full-fledged desktop working system—Home windows 7 House Premium, no much less—with the compact type of a Symbian-based cellphone.
Its slider design, at 125 x 61 x 19.8 mm and a chunky 218 grams, feels extra like a mini-brick than the glossy telephones we all know at the moment. The 4-inch (1024 x 600) TFT LCD display was first rate for its time however nothing actually particular. Slide it open, and also you get a bodily QWERTY keyboard.
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What makes the F-07C an oddity is its dual-OS capabilities. On one hand, you’ve obtained Symbian, the trusty cell OS that ran Nokia’s empire, dealing with calls, texts, and fundamental looking with no fuss. Flick an app, and the cellphone reboots into Home windows 7 House Premium—yep, the complete desktop deal, full with a Begin menu and the flexibility to run .exe information. It’s all powered by a 1.2 GHz Intel Atom Z600 processor and 1 GB of RAM, stuffed right into a pocket-sized system.
In Symbian mode, it’s zippy sufficient for the fundamentals. Calls come via crisp, texts fly out, and the 5-megapixel digital camera with autofocus and LED flash snaps okay pics for fast photographs. Symbian’s menus really feel like a time capsule, clunky and restricted by its fading app ecosystem. Swap to Home windows 7, and it’s a complete new sport. The OS boots in about 20 seconds, turning the F-07C right into a tiny PC. You possibly can launch Microsoft Phrase, surf with Web Explorer, and even load light-weight Home windows packages from a microSD card. But it surely’s no velocity demon—the Atom chip chugs below Home windows 7’s weight, multitasking appears like wading via mud, and the 32 GB eMMC storage fills up quick with something greater than easy apps.
The battery is the place the F-07C’s large desires hit a wall. Its 1530 mAh battery, small even for 2011, wilts below Home windows 7’s calls for. In Symbian mode, you would possibly scrape by a day with gentle use—some calls, texts, and looking. However fireplace up Home windows, and also you’re counting hours earlier than it’s gasping for a charger. Fujitsu tossed in a dock for desktop-style use, with USB and HDMI-out ports to hook up screens or peripherals.
Connectivity screams early 2010s, as you get 3G in addition to Wi-Fi for information, Bluetooth 2.1 for headsets or keyboards, and even infrared for area of interest units like distant management capabilities in Japan. The microSD slot enables you to increase storage by as much as 32GB, a should for anybody loading Home windows apps. There’s even a TV tuner for Japan’s 1seg cell broadcasts.
Utilizing the F-07C is a mixture of retro appeal and many persistence. Symbian mode’s stable for fundamental cellphone stuff, and the bodily keyboard’s tactile clicks beat the period’s touchscreens. However Home windows 7 mode is a wild journey—each superior and awkward. Navigating a desktop OS on a 4-inch display, even with the included stylus, is an expertise you wouldn’t want upon your worst enemy. The QWERTY helps, however the tiny show and sluggish efficiency make duties like spreadsheet edits or heavy net looking into, a real ache.
Fujitsu pitched the F-07C via Japan’s NTT Docomo, aiming at enterprise of us who needed a cellphone that might moonlight as a mini PC. At ¥70,000 (about $900 USD again then), it wasn’t low cost, and its hybrid gimmick didn’t precisely gentle up the market. The battery struggles, sluggish efficiency, and steep studying curve stored it a distinct segment curiosity.
