Sharp has released details of a new addition to their lineup of Linux-based Zaurus PDAs. Features of the new model include an internal 4GB hard drive (a world first in a VGA screen-equipped PDA), a USB port, support for playback of Windows Media files and a Control key on the keyboard! Disappointly however, no internal wireless LAN or Bluetooth functionality has been included in the new model.

Sharp will begin sales of a new model Zaurus, the SL-C3000, with an internal HDD from 10 November. It will have no fixed price but the expected street price is approximately 80,000 yen.

The new Zaurus is the world's first PDA with a colour VGA LCD display to be equipped with an internal hard drive.



As with last year's keyboard-equipped Zaurus SL-C860, the new Zaurus comes with a rotating LCD panel and keyboard. The LCD panel can be used in 2 modes - "Input Style" (opened) or "View Style" (rotated and folded flat). It is planned to sell the new Zaurus model alongside the existing SL-C860.

The "Zaurus Drive" functionality, which allows the Zaurus to be used as an external storage device, has been improved to allow the internal HDD to also be used in this manner. Using this, Word/Excel files, image files, music files and even comparitively large files can directly copied from a PC and viewed and/or edited on the Zaurus.

Editable file types include Excel 95/97/2000/2002, Word 97/98/2000/2002, text and JPEG/BMP/GIF/PNG images.

Multimedia dictionaries including the "Koujien" and "Genius" English-Japanese and Japanese English dictionaries are also installed. Apart from searching for the meaning of selected text, colour photos and sound/music data within the dictionary can also be accessed.

The new Zaurus comes equipped with SD card and Compact Flash slots which are compatible with data cards including PHS and wireless LAN cards. Using these features, it is possible to use a communication environment that best suits the user's style.

Supported music files are MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA). Playback of MPEG-4 files recorded on devices like Mebius PC-TX26GS/PC-TX26G computers, Aquos LCD televisions and Galileo HDD recorders is also supported.

Main specifications include a 640x480 3.7" transflective system LCD (65,536 colours), Intel PXA270 416MHz CPU, 16MB flash memory and 64MB SDRAM. Interfaces include USB, IrDA and a headphone jack. The operating system is Lineo μLinux.

The lithium-ion battery has a maximum life of approximately 7 hours. Available options include the EA-BL11 battery (10,500 yen), CE-BC22 battery charger (5,775 yen) and CE-RH2 headphones and remote control (7,000 yen).

The dimensions of the main unit are 124 mm x 87 mm x 25 mm (WxDxH) and it weighs approximately 298 grams.

At the product launch, an address was given by Mr Hirohide Nakagawa, Group General Manager of Sharp's Information and Communication Systems Group.

"Recently, due to the advancement of mobile phones and PCs, the influence of PDAs has become weaker. With the new Zaurus, we want to develop a new digital life."

It was also made clear that future developments being considered for the Zaurus series include compatibility with the DLNA standard for home networks and 1-segment terrestrial digital TV broadcasts.

There were also questions on how Sharp intends to deal with the sluggish PDA market but Mr Nakagawa responded with enthusiam:

"With the inclusion of a hard drive in this Zaurus, its usefulness has increased. It also supports flexible communication environments and, therefore, is aimed towards people who aren't satisfied with mobile phones. With this product, we want to go forward with a 'mobile revolution'."

Inspired by:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/1015/sharp.htm

News release:
http://www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/041015-a.html