WillcomD4
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Willcom D4 Ver.L comes with extra longevous battery
Not quite sure what happened of late, but extra long lasting batteries are all the rage now. With netbook manufacturers offering up extended cells left and right, it's only fair that Sharp toss out a Willcom D4 with a super longevous battery, too. The Willcom D4 Ver.L (L stands for Long, loony) reportedly arrives with a lovely CE-BL58 extended battery as a standard accessory, and while the resource-demanding Office application isn't included, that helps keep the price at ¥97,700 ($901). A fair trade for the hardcore traveler, we suppose.[Via Pocketables]
Willcom D4 MID dissected for your viewing pleasure
By now, you've surely realized that the Sharp-branded Willcom D4 is far from being the perfect handheld, but that's not to say you shouldn't be lusting over a few internal shots. Thankfully, one fearless owner decided to tear the MID down for our viewing pleasure (and to install a larger 1.8-inch HDD, but that's beside the point), and everything you've hoped and dreamed of seeing is just one click away. Okay, so it's not that dramatic, but it's still worth a peek.
Willcom's D4 gets reviewed
Jenn from Pocketables has gotten her hands on the diminutive Willcom D4 and given it an ultra-thorough review -- and we've got the details. While she praises the general speed of the device, screen resolution and brightness, and comfort of holding the D4, her reactions to the touchpad and keyboard are less than enthusiastic. Adding insult to apparent injury, it seems that the battery life leaves quite a bit to be desired (unless you're employing the extended battery pack), the video playback is choppy with most codecs, and the non-standard headphone jack is deeply, deeply annoying. The conclusion? Willcom's miniature needs "Help to achieve its potential," which is probably not what most potential buyers of the $1500 device want to hear. Of course, you should explore the whole review -- and its handsome photos -- so hit the read link for more.
Sharp-branded Willcom D4 MID gets examined, shown off on video
Willcom's Atom-based D4 MID has been out and about for a little while now, but the folks at Direct From Japan have now thankfully gotten their hands on a Sharp-branded version of the device and offered up some of their initial impressions by way of UMPC Portal, along with a video. On the upside, they say that size and weight of the device is "perfect for a big pocket," and that the screen quality and pixel density is "amazing." They also seem to have been particularly impressed by the dock, which'll let you charge a second battery, and by the device's rather unique touchpad on the side of the screen. They were less impressed by the hefty $1,200+ price tag (or more when you factor in the optional dock), however, and by the small keyboard, though we doubt many were expecting anything otherwise there. Those outside of Japan also won't be able to do much with the included W-SIM card but, if you're still curious about the device, you can check out the video after the break.[Thanks, TareX]
Video: Willcom's D4 Vista MID previewed
Akihabara News had the chance to take the Atom-based Willcom D4 / Sharp WS016SH for a spin in Tokyo. Although they only got hands-on with a near-final, engineering prototype, the kids at Aki came away impressed. Sure, the yet-to-be-optimized hardware still struggled a bit with Vista. Nevertheless, Aki remains enthusiastic about the OneSeg device toting a sliding / tilting 5-inch, LED-backlit 1,024 x 600 touchscreen display with WiFi and Japanese W-SIM. With this, Lenovo's ideapad U8, and other Intel Atom-based MIDs on the immediate horizon, these bigger than a cellphone smaller than a laptop handhelds look to be fulfilling the ultra-portable 2006 Origami promise... finally, in the second half of 2008. Lengthy video available after the break.
