The New York Timesreports that Fujitsu uses the iPad name for its device that helps store clerks verify prices and check inventory. Fujitsu's iPad - which it has been using since 2002 - is pictured above.
"It's our understanding that the name is ours," Masahiro Yamane, director of Fujitsu's public relations division, said Thursday. He said Fujitsu was aware of Apple's plans to sell the iPad tablet and that the company was consulting lawyers over next steps.
Fujitsu's iPad, which runs on Microsoft’s CE.NET operating system, has a 3.5-inch color touchscreen, an Intel processor and Wi-fi and Bluetooth connections; it also supports VoIP telephone calls over the Internet, a technology also used by Skype.
"Mobile is a keyword for Fujitsu's iPad, too," Mr. Yamane said. "With the iPad, workers don't have to keep running back to a computer. They have everything right at their fingertips."
The Times says Fujitsu's iPad trademark was listed as abandoned The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in early 2009, but was revived in June, 2009. There are several other registered trademarks (see here) for iPad names including one for pads used in bras and panties. Steve Jobs and Apple will likely have to battle over a name that many people find ridiculous and inappropriate.
