OESF Portables Forum

General Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: Anonymous on December 19, 2003, 04:23:37 am

Title: Some wishful thinking
Post by: Anonymous on December 19, 2003, 04:23:37 am

Well, I sitting here browsing the site on an Intermec 6651 that I got off ebay last year.  And I suddenly remembered some I read about it: it\'s actually just a rebranded Sharp design.  And then, of course, it struck me that it would be an ideal design for a new Zaurus.  Sharp could recycle the design, update the mainboard, put Linux on instead of that junky Windows CE, and voila, Zaurus linux bliss.  

For those not familiar with this obscure piece of hardware, it\'s a clamshell, somewhat larger than the 700 series, with a very bright 800x480 screen and a keyboard featuring keys that are large enough to touch type on reasonably efficiently.  And there\'s a camera built into the hinge, loads of extra customizable buttons, and PCMCIA, CompactFlach, and USB host ports.  IMHO, it\'s the best Windows CE machine that was produced, but was pretty much swept under the run along with the rest of the HPC platform.  It\'s really very depressing how the entire US market chased the palm form factor and abandoned everyone who wanted something more in an ultraportable machine...

Ah, to dream.  

Title: Some wishful thinking
Post by: Anonymous on December 20, 2003, 07:20:22 pm

Sounds like the Sharp Telios ( http://www.sharp.co.jp/sc/eihon/hcvj1c/text/ (http://www.sharp.co.jp/sc/eihon/hcvj1c/text/)  ) I bought second-hand in Japan last year.I think that form factor was quite popular there.Still is in fact.I remember Casio bringing out a Windows/Linux laptop that was much the same size a couple of years ago.Actually, you could think of the ultra-thin, ultra-portable laptops that are now being produced there as approaching this kind of size from the other end of the scale.

Title: Some wishful thinking
Post by: Anonymous on December 22, 2003, 12:48:46 am

The Intermec is the Sharp Telios, just rebranded.  Some of those new laptops are nice, but the ARM chip and flash memory give you more a lot more runtime from those small batteries.  And the instant-on is nice too.

If I were a hardware hacker type, it would be fun to buy another couple on ebay, gut the insides, and install a Linux compatible mainboard.  

Title: Some wishful thinking
Post by: offroadgeek on December 22, 2003, 01:03:40 am

that is sweet!  I\'ve never seen it before.  now that would be killer with the new x11 rom...