Sorry for the anonymous post. I meant to post as zorg, my usual name, but was annoyed by the post I was replying to (and the bitterness toward Sharp I saw in it) and did so too quickly. I also didn\'t review my post for content as long as I usually do, so sorry if I seemed too harsh, although reviewing it now, I don\'t think I was harsh beyond the typical tone of this forum.
As for consumer availability, you can already see the SL-6000 docking station listed at PC Connection, and I assume from my source at Sharp that the SL-6000W will be there by 31 March at $699. That\'s the consumer market, as far as I\'m concerned.
My only reservation now is that someone else said the $699 price was actually for the SL-6000L or N, and that the W won\'t be available at PC Connection at all for a while. It is possible that my source at Sharp meant the SL-6000L or N, but said SL-6000W. Oh, well. If it doesn\'t show up soon, I will probably shell out the $1069 for a Japan-Direct import. It will replace a $1299 notebook, not a $399 or $499 pda. It has the specs of a new and different product, one that could make its own category.
The Web has beaten the physical stores to a pulp. I don\'t visit them very often and, when I do (Fry\'s, Best Buy), I see sales droids who know nothing of value, and only the least common denominator products in inventory, usually nothing I would purchase. The really successful ones (Best Buy) seem to be fleecing rubes with Least Common Denominators. A profitable business, but no more interesting to me than a Vegas Casino.
The physical stores don\'t sell the Hush ATX, the Happy Hacking Keyboard Lite, neither of my cameras, nor a dozen other worthwhile techtoys I get from websites.
I am surprised that anyone on this forum except a PocketPeecee troll would need to play with a Z before purchase. On the other hand, I do prefer to purchase from Web retailers like B&H, who handle returns without question, so I do see the need for a safety valve. It\'s just that I already have one on the Web.
Again, I apologize for the \"anonymous\" posting, although zorg is not the name on my paycheck stub! And I apologize if it seemed too harsh to call you bitter and clueless. Many of your previous posts seem quite clueful (and I appreciate them) but you, and many others on this board, do seem to harbor a bitterness toward Sharp that makes much of what you say *seem* clueless, as if you\'re so used to Sharp blowing it that you won\'t be satisfied unless Sharp blows the 6000. I remain hopeful that Sharp will hit a home run.
