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Sharp's PC-Z1 NetWalker takes the inevitable unboxing journey

Darren Murph — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:24:00 EST

Sharp's PC-Z1 NetWalker conjured up all sorts of love and hate-filled emotions when we toyed with it earlier this month, but for fans of unorthodox handhelds, minor details like a wonky optical pad and frail keys aren't apt to put a damper on the excitement found in this moment. The cool kids over at Pocketables were able to procure a unit over the weekend from Japan (right on cue, might we add), and predictably, they've broken out the camera in order to let you relive the unboxing experience and see it side-by-side with a UMID mbook M1. The read link folks, that's where it's at.

Filed under: Handhelds

Sharp's PC-Z1 NetWalker takes the inevitable unboxing journey originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp's 5-inch PC-Z1 NetWalker honors Zaurus legacy with touchscreen Ubuntu

Thomas Ricker — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:51:00 EST

Fanboys have been running Ubuntu on Sharp's deceased Zaurus lineup of PDAs for years. Now Sharp makes it official with the launch of this 5-inch, 1024 x600 TFT LCD touchscreen NetWalker smartbook, aka the PC-Z1. It's not a Zaurus per se, but the compact 161.4 x 108.7 x 19.7 ~ 24.8mm / 409g device certainly resurrects its ghost. Underpinning the device is an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 CPU built around the ARM Cortex-A8 architecture, 512MB of memory, 4GB of on-board flash storage (with microSDHC expansion for another 16GB), 802.11b/g WiFi, 2x USB, and QWERTY keyboard going 68 percent of full-size. Sorry, no 3G data. The PC-Z1 features a 3-second quick launch, non-removable 10-hour battery, and is purposely positioned by Sharp as a taint -- it ain't quite a smartphone and 't ain't quite a laptop. Good luck with that Sharp. The device is expected to hit Japan on September 25th for ¥44,800. That's about $479 whenever it might come Stateside.

It's worth noting that the current US ban on the import of BGA-packaged products like Freescale's i.MX processors should not affect the import of the PC-Z1 as Akihabara News contends. As we understand it, that ban affects the import of the chips, not the systems using them and assembled elsewhere. Otherwise, Amazon wouldn't be selling its Kindle, dig?

[Via Akihabara News and Engadget Japanese]

Read [warning: Japanese PDF]

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Sharp's 5-inch PC-Z1 NetWalker honors Zaurus legacy with touchscreen Ubuntu originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp halts Zaurus PDA production, smartphones to blame

Darren Murph — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:44:00 EST

It sure made it longer than Dell and Fujitsu-Siemens, but really, this was inevitable. Today, yet another icon in handheld computing has died, as Sharp has already scheduled the burial of its famed Zaurus lineup. Said devices were all the rage in the white hot 90s, with everyone from Zack Morris to Dawson Leery sporting one while strutting around Hollywood. We're led to believe that the ubiquity of more functional cellphones are to blame for the waning demand in PDAs, and we even pinged Captain Obvious to make sure that assertion was on point. Sayonara, dear Zaurus -- we will never forget.

[Via CodeZine]

Filed under: Handhelds

Sharp halts Zaurus PDA production, smartphones to blame originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubuntu gets ported to Sharp Zaurus PDAs

Donald Melanson — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:48:00 EST

The Sharp Zaurus name might not be quite the force it once was, but it certainly still has its die-hard fan base, as evidenced by the recent efforts of some enterprising individuals to get Android up and running on the slightly out-dated hardware. Now it looks like you can chalk up another OS port to its list of accomplishments, with an early release of Ubuntu now available for the handheld. As you might expect, the 0.1 release is a pretty stripped down affair, with the entire download weighing in at a mere 80MB. Omegamoon, the individual responsible for the port (as well as the aforementioned Android hack), is also quick to point out that it's not exactly a practical option just yet, adding that, "there's a lot left to tweak of course, but a full-blown Ubuntu is on it's way." If you're the adventuresome type, however, you can find everything you need to get things rolling by hitting up the link below.

Filed under: Handhelds

Ubuntu gets ported to Sharp Zaurus PDAs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 May 2008 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android hacked to run on real hardware

Nilay Patel — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:22:00 EST

Google told us that we wouldn't see any Android devices until the end of the year, but a funny thing happens when you put up the entire SDK and an emulator for a platform -- all them crazy hackers start hacking. Apparently Android was natively booted on a Freescale-based dev board called the Armadillo 500 back in November, but the floodgates were really opened when a Hungarian group called Eu.Edge discovered that basically any device with an ARMv5TE chip could run Google's baby. Armed (heh!) with that information, tinkerers around the world have gotten a variety of Sharp devices running Android: the SL-C760, C3000M, SL-C3000 series, and the SL-6000 have all been confirmed running the OS. Hopefully that means we'll be seeing a lot more unofficial Android devices soon -- check a couple videos after the break.

Read - Overview of Android hacks
Read - Instructions on booting the Sharp Zaurus SL-C760
Read - Instructions on booting the Sharp SL-C3000 series

Continue reading Android hacked to run on real hardware

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Android hacked to run on real hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp Zaurus CMP2000R electronic dictionary

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 08:46:00 EST

Yeah, we also looked at that image and thought, 1) that handheld is hotastic, and 2) is that the freakish Hello Kitty fembot on the loose? For sure, that's the latest Linux-powered, Sharp Zaurus electronic dictionary in her/its hands which are so popular in countries like Korea and Japan. The CMP2000R features a 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD, 1.3 megapixel camera, and SD/MMC slot allowing the device to function as an ebook reader and MP3 player when not helping you translate or learn another language. Unfortunately, the Sharp is only available in Korea for 341,000 won (about $360), and the fembot, well, she's yours for 5 days at a time you sick bastages.

[Via Akihabara News]

Filed under: Handhelds

Sharp Zaurus CMP2000R electronic dictionary originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Oct 2006 08:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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