Well I love a good speculation session
I can not fault anyones wants thus far, all would be nice. None of them really jump out at me, the C-1000 was nigh perfect for me (although having it fully ruggedized in it's exact dimensions and/or add integrated wifi would be nice).
But as far as what I think sharp actually WILL do, I'd have to think like sharp for a minute.
I actually encountered a zaurus in the wild (other than mine) for the first time. A dude on the train was web surfing as we buzzed down the tokaido line. That's right, the tokaido line. Cause this here is Japan...native country for the Z family. So basically I think it's the desires of the Japanese consummer base that Sharp will really be looking to sate.
It's no secret that more and more mobile phones are edging into PDA territory. And some even speculate that the mobile phone will eventually render the stand alone PDA obsolete (personally, I think if you take out the phone guts, you have room to make the device that much more powerfull on the media front, and that will always apeal to someone). The Z is aparently king of the hill in the Japanese PDA market, so it's got that going for it, but it wouldn't surprise me if Sharp slowly or quickly tried to morph the Z into a phone of some type. Maybe a wifi phone, or perhaps thay'll just integrate a microphone and offer an add on card so you have the option (Visor style) of turning it into a cell phone (keitai) of some type.
Just one idle speculation...But if they really wanted to make the next Z attractive enough for the tinkering/enthusiast crowd to buy ANOTHER model, offering a version with intergrated wifi (or maybe even blue tooth) would be the smartest move. But then they aren't actually marketing the Zaurus line outside of Japan, so it's really the wishes of the domestic proletariate that matters...
Then again, dare I bring up the originator of all things 'i' (yes the iPod) , and say that flash memory is a possibility. The C-3000 really seemed to spark things off for a while with it's massive storage. I don't know for sure, but I think it might have had a hand in nudging Palm into producing the Lifedrive (for all the good it's done them). It would fit sharps pattern of releasing only a few incremental changes with each new release to change the HDD to a 4gb slab of battery friendly flash (as speculated by others). And with flash memory prices slowly dropping, it might even be economically feasible...if they can find some flash that will last as long as a hdd can be expected to. The 'Nano' sure got peoples attention...
Also, looking again at the increased emphasis on PMP's, adding a DSP or other video subsystem...or maybe even that enhanced screen everyone seems to want...could help the Z tap further into another market that is currently on the rise...
All in all I definitely think the Z line has been steadily improving, no missteps or backtracking yet, so if sharp continues with new models I'll look forward to them, even if they are merely incrementaly improving...
But yeah, just re-perused the other musings in here, and I agree...we've had 64mb of RAM and ~400mhz for quite a while now. Yes, the Z was slightly ahead of it's time in getting THOSE specs when it did, but I think both those specs could stand to be bumped (significantly...like more than 4%...)
