The Fujitsu F-04B was a Japanese phone whose touchscreen detached completely from its keyboard.
Released by NTT DOCOMO in Japan in March 2010, it joined a touchscreen display unit to a Bluetooth-linked keyboard with numeric and QWERTY layouts. The display could work as the principal handset when separated.
The separately sold Projector Unit F01 followed in April, adding compact image and video projection. The phone is out of production, and its original FOMA and i-mode services ended in March 2026.
History
Released by NTT DOCOMO in Japan in March 2010, it joined a touchscreen display unit to a Bluetooth-linked keyboard with numeric and QWERTY layouts. The display could work as the principal handset when separated.
History
The separately sold Projector Unit F01 followed in April, adding compact image and video projection. The phone is out of production, and its original FOMA and i-mode services ended in March 2026.
Significance
The F-04B made one handset serve several physical roles: its detached keyboard supported QWERTY entry and remote camera control, while the display could be used on its own. The matching projector extended that modular idea to photographs, documents and video.
It captures a brief point in Japanese mobile design when elaborate feature phones and new Android models were reaching DOCOMO customers within days of one another.
How the Separable Handset Worked
- The assembled FOMA feature phone weighed approximately 169 g and divided into touchscreen display and keyboard units with separate batteries.
- The two units communicated through Bluetooth. The display could operate alone as the principal handset; the keyboard was not a second independent phone.
- Its configurations included closed basic use, a slider arrangement with numeric keys and separated operation with the compact QWERTY keyboard.
Projector Unit F01
- The approximately 88 g accessory used DLP projection, a three-colour LED source and 854×480 resolution, with a maximum listed brightness of about nine lumens in compatible modes.
- It could project images measuring approximately 5 to 66 inches from distances of about 23 to 320 cm.
- When attached to the F-04B, the projector offered approximately 120 minutes of continuous projection at standard brightness or 160 minutes at minimum brightness, according to Fujitsu's specifications.
Release, Manufacturer Claim and Closure
- Black and White F-04B handsets were released in Japan on 26 March 2010; Mat Black and Dark Silver versions followed on 10 September.
- Projector Unit F01 went on sale nationwide in Japan on 30 April 2010 as a separately sold accessory.
- Fujitsu promoted the F-04B as the world’s first separable handset, based on its research current to 10 November 2009.
- The handset is out of production, and its principal repair, enquiry and software-update routes have ended. DOCOMO closed FOMA and i-mode on 31 March 2026.
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Key facts
**Region:** Japan
**Associated With:** Fujitsu Limited - developer and manufacturer; NTT DOCOMO - commissioner, seller and network operator
**Defining Feature:** A touchscreen display that detached from its Bluetooth-linked numeric and QWERTY keyboard, with an optional projector
**Status:** Discontinued - handset out of production; original FOMA and i-mode services ended on 31 March 2026
Region
Japan
Associated With
Fujitsu Limited - developer and manufacturer; NTT DOCOMO - commissioner, seller and network operator
Defining Feature
A touchscreen display that detached from its Bluetooth-linked numeric and QWERTY keyboard, with an optional projector
Status
Discontinued - handset out of production; original FOMA and i-mode services ended on 31 March 2026
Images are included for historical and archival reference.
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