Sharp NetWalker PC-Z1

The NetWalker PC-Z1 netbook from Sharp is a 800MHz Cortex A8-based unit that is being sold at the price of around $600. Operating system is Ubuntu. It features a touchscreen display measuring 5 inches and it comes with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.

Specifications
Display
Opening up the cover is where the 5-inch display is found. The touchscreen display features a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels which makes it bright and also crisp. The screen can open up to a 180-degree angle.

Design
It comes with the kind of design that is well built, solid and at the same time, strong. On the cover is just a plain design and glossy feel. The PC-Z1 netbook features a keyboard of 14mm pitch and 0.8mm stroke. The keyboard’s layout is in the usual classic way. Sticky keys on the keyboard can be enabled.

Power
The battery on this netbook will lasts for approximately 7 hours and maybe even longer, all depending on how much does the users use it and its programs.

System
Operating system on this netbook is Linux/Ubuntu*7 9.04 (Smartbook Remix for ARM-based systems, Sharp customized version). This Sharp netbook comes with 512MB of RAM, 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 processor and 4GB SSD of which 2GB is accessible to users of the netbook. Wireless connection is made possible on this netbook with the device being able to connect to wireless networks, be it at home or outside.

Netbook Features
There are quick launch buttons that are touch buttons, in other words, and they provide quick access to certain programs such as desktop, internet and mail. Speaker present on this netbook is a mono-type speaker. Users can also put their Sharp netbook to standby or sleep instead of switching it off. Users can also set up a password for their system so that when it won’t start without proper authorization. As soon as you close the lid, the netbook will automatically go on standby or if users want, they can set it to their preferred closing mode.

Other Features
The Sharp NetWalker PC-Z1comes with preinstalled programs such as Archive Manager, Authorizations, Calibrate Touchscreen, Character Map, Configuration Editor, Dictionary, Disk Usage Analyzer, Document Viewer, Firefox, Floppy Formatter, GDebi Package Installer, Hardware Drivers, Image Viewer, Language Support, Log File Viewer, Menu Editor, Movie Player, Movie Player (Gstreamer), Network Manager, Network Tools, OpenOffice Drawing, OpenOffice Formula, OpenOffice Presentation, OpenOffice Spreadsheet, OpenOffice Word Processor, Orca Screen Reader and Magnifier, Passwords and Encryption Keys, Python v2.6, Services, Shared Folders, Software Sources, Sound Recorder, Sunbird, Synaptic Package Manager, System Monitor, System Testing, Terminal, Text Editor, Thunderbird Mail/News, Time and Date, Ubuntu extension for Firefox, Update Manager, Users and Groups. With the purchase of this netbook, Sharp provides a catalogue whereby there short descriptions and ratings for each topic or each part of the netbook.

Price:
…sold at the price of around $600, or an incredible 100 yen (a buck!) if you’re lucky enough to live in Japan

Reviews

“Overall, she seems very happy with the build quality. One interesting point is that she finds the touchscreen difficult to use because it’s just so darn sharp. But there’s a built in “optical mouse” that you can use to control a cursor from the keyboard. As for performance, while it takes just 7.5 seconds to launch Firefox, which isn’t that bad, it taks 37 seconds to load OpenOffice.org. Now, OOo is kind of a resource hog, so that’s not entirely surprising. But it’s certainly annoying on a mobile device, especially if you plan to use the NetWalker as a portable note taking device.” (Liliputing, 2009)