Fujitsu flaunts quad-core ICS, bucketload of dunkable phones

Like cosplay and Hello Kitty, Fujitsu phones are big in Japan. If you're wondering why you've never seen one of their phones that's because they aren't currently on sale in the UK.

All that is set to change though, as the Japanese giant is planning to shake a tail feather and export its smart phone smarts to Europe -- imminently, if an FT report is on the money.

So what can you expect from Fujitsu's phones when they land on our shores?

Plenty of power, for starters -- I snapped this Fujitsu prototype being demoed at Mobile World Congress which boasts a quad-core-plus-one chip (and runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich). Most of Fujitsu's Arrows line of smart phones also pack dual-core chips.

Lashings of Android Gingerbread is another Fujitsu theme, but it's not pure Droid -- there are more than a few of Fujitsu's own software sprinkles on top.

On the design front, the Japanese giant has a penchant for sleek, slender slabs that can be very thin indeed -- one phone it describes as ultra-thin is a skeletal 6.7mm. Screen sizes often hover around the 4.3 inch mark, although it does have some more compact 'fashionista' phones in its line-up too.

The company also has some more curious junk in its trunk -- one device, made in collaboration with GlobeTrotter, has a leather-look back stamped with brass-coloured rivets to resemble an old fashioned suitcase. I suspect you can file that one under 'only in Japan'.

But by far Fujitsu's biggest preoccupation is dunking phones in fish tanks -- to prove they are indeed truly, madly, not-too-deeply waterproof.

And when it's not making phones swim with the fishes, it's dropping iron balls on their screens to show how tough they are, despite their size-zero waists. So move over Motorola, there's a new tough guy coming to town.

Click through the gallery to see more of the devices Fujitsu is flaunting, and follow all the phone insanity at Mobile World Congress at mwc.cnet.co.uk. If you thought you were already spoiled for smart phone choice, prepare to do a whole lot more hm-ing and ha-ing...