Fujitsu Stylistic Windows 7 slate: Microsoft's latest, greatest iPad competitor?

Windows 7 slates and tablets haven’t exactly knocked customers off their feet. But there’s a new Windows 7 slate coming to town (starting in April this year) that Microsoft is hoping may give the company at least a temporary answer to Apple’s iPad and the various Android slates coming to market this year.

Fujitsu shared more details on February 24 about the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550, which got an early debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011. The coming slate, based on the Intel “Oak Trail” Atom processor, runs Windows 7 Professional. It supports pen-based input, along with touch, and offers an optional smartcard reader for extra security, according to Fujitsu’s press release about the business/enterprise-focused product.

Fujitsu is promising up to 10 hours of battery life (using a large-capacity battery), and the press release says the device weighs 1.5 pounds (690 grams) when a regular-capacity battery is inserted.

There’s no U.S. pricing (or availability information) for the Stylistic Q550 yet. The touch-only version goes on sale in Japan in April for JPY 90,000 ($1,100) and the touch/pen version will hit in May for JPY 100,000 ($1,222).

Here’s Fujitsu’s latest promotional video showing off the coming device: