Sharp USA and UK about to distribute Clamshell Z???

[Foxdie]

I wish to state that these are unconfirmed but they are suspicious.

While looking for a serial lead on expansys I noticed that they had the SL-C700 available for pre-order (http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=SL-C700) and this filled me with curiousity and doubt.

During my lunchbreak today I phoned up Expansys to check the status of my serial lead and to inquire about the C700 being sold. Here is the dialogue:

(Me: Foxdie, EL: Expansys lady)

Me: I notice that you\'ve got a newer clamshell model zaurus down as preorder on your site. Are you importing them or getting them from Sharp UK?
EL: As far as I can tell we\'re not importing them. We have a system where we put brackets around the product name and/or state in the product description if it\'s an import. This product has no such label
Me: So who will deal with the warranties?
EL: Expansys ourselves usually deal with product warranties.
Me: What about service and support?
EL: That would come from Sharp
Me: Sharp UK?
EL: Yes
Me: Thanks

At this point I phoned up Sharp Electronics UK to confirm this:
(Me: Foxdie, SUKL: Sharp UK Lady, SUKPM: Sharp UK Product Manager)

Me: Hello there, I hear that Sharp UK are soon to be distributing the clamshell zaurus models in the UK. Is this true?
SUKL: I don\'t think so. Sharp UK are not really supporting the Zaurus line anymore. I could be wrong however. I could put you through to a product manager if you wish.
Me: Yes please
SUKPM: Hello?
Me: Ahh yes, hello. I am trying to find out some information on the Zaurus line, in particular the clamshell model. Expansys has this product marked down as preorder and they have told me that it\'s not an import and that Sharp UK deal with the service. Is this true?
SUKPM: As far as I know this is not true. Sharp UK have stated that they are dropping the Zaurus line in the UK and will continue to offer service and support only for the SL-5 series.
Me: What about imported Zauruses?
SUKPM: Those have to go back to Sharp Japan for service.
Me: Okay thanks, goodbye

To me this all seems iffy. Why would Expansys import C700\'s and fail to specify it\'s an import? This would mean that Expansys is openly liable for all warranty return costs to Japan and back again (which is about £140 return trip in fedex delivery costs alone).

I am not one to start rumours but my thoughts are that perhaps Sharp UK are attemping a silent rollout of the clamshell model in the UK to gauge how popular the product will be.

From what I\'m told on #Zaurus on irc.freenode.net which is one of the main Zaurus IRC channels, Raduga tells me that Expansys USA also has the SL-C700 down as pre-order.

I\'ll let you make up your own minds. Please feel free to comment and debate.

[padishah_emperor]

This page has been up for over a year, this is the actual page where I saw my first Z.  I bought a Sony Clie NX70V from them about that time, what a waste of time that was.  I was told back then the C700 may come out, they were taking pre-orders but they never did import them.  This page has been in my bookmarks for at least 11-12 months now.

[ZeeUser]

From the product description:
\"...Character input methods: Keyboard, Handwritten character recognition, 50-kana input, QWERTY keyboard, numeric input, symbol input, kanji code input; Character set used: Total characters: 7,120 (JIS level 1: 2,965; JIS level 2: 3,390; non-kanji characters: 765); Built-in dictionary: Approx. 110,000 entries (Including personal and place names)  
 Handwritten character recognition: 4,084 characters (JIS level 1: 2,965; JIS level 2: 722; non-kanji characters: 397);...\"
\"...Data transfer: MI Zaurus Data Transfer...\"
\"...Sharp Space Town application guide...\"

The above are from the Japanese version and would not be relevant/useable to English users. IMHO, these are imports   :cry: . However, it is nice to see another company supporting the Cxxx series, especially one that has been so supportive of the Zaurus line in the past (despite however misinformed of this listing their reps are)

[tumnus]

Yup, that C700 Expansys page has been up there for ages, as padishah says, and in the Psion section too.

Curiously they are now selling a C760/860 case: http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=112928

[koan]

You can\'t buy the SL-C700 in Japan. I was there back in March. The shops told me that Sharp is not producing them any more. Only the SL-C860 and SL-C750 are in production.

koan

[riki_nakamura]

I beleive koan is true because when I searched on the Japanese store site www.biccamera.com they did not have the SL-C700 only the two C860 and C750. As everyone knows they also didn\'t  have C760 sincethe C860 is the replacement. The reason probably is that the C750 has the smaller memory which the SL-C700 had adn C750 has close interior just the 255 400mhz processor and a few more. Sharp Japan probably thinks that if there are 2 products that have things in common people will usually buy the cheaper one that might have a tiny difference than the more expensive one and Sharp will not make money on makin ghte other one. That is also the part which covers the C760 from C860. They currently have only two clamshell designs in Japan. There might be some factory leftovers that get shipped a few times...

[DrWowe]

Can this \"news\" item be removed from the front page?  I think it\'s pretty much been discredited.