Sharp NetWalker – PC-Z1 – cheap 5-inch MID and runs full Ubuntu 9.04 OS!
A tiny 5-inch little MID device called the NetWalker PC-Z1 have been introduced by Sharp. This MID device has a 5-inch 1024×600 touch screen display and is backed by a FreeScale i.MX515 CPU (800 MHz) with 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi (b/g only) and small QWERTY keyboard. It runs Ubuntu 9.04 as the OS.
It also has SDHC port, 1 USB and 1 mini-USB port. Sharp must have done several tweaks under the hood and that is why it sports a 3 second wake up time and 10 hours of battery life! However, we despise the fact that it comes with an internal battery. Weighing 409gm and measuring just 161 x 109 x 20 mm, this is way smaller than the VAIO P, which is ‘touted’ as a Pocket PC
The PC-Z1 features a quick launch function (approx. 3 seconds) similar to mobile phones, enabling users to conveniently check e-mail while on the road. Also, a long battery running time (approx. 10 hours) allows users to fully enjoy net services, such as videos or blogs. The high-resolution, 5-inch touch-screen LCD enables intuitive touch operation while the full keyboard provides for comfortable text input. Additionally, in business settings, users can create documents, spreadsheets, presentation materials, etc., and edit them stress free.
As it is using FreeScale MX515 processor, it cannot be there in the US as it is banned there.
It is expected to hit market on 25 September 2009 for 44,800 yen ($480) in Japan and will be available in White, Red or Black.
Commentary: We are so excited to know that it runs full Ubuntu OS and not a proprietary Linux distro. Another great thing about it is that Sharp went for high resolution and not WVGA (800×480). This MID is made for professionals who always wanted full Firefox experience in their hands all the time. We dug into their press release and found that it will be able to run Flash (version 8) based files without any hiccups. However, sites using Java won’t work at all.
[Sharp Netwalker official webpage] [pics via pcwatch]
NOTE: most of the other tech sites are saying that it has 3 second boot up time. This is not correct. It has 3 seconds wake up time from standby and not from a cold boot.
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