| Wide-screen, wireless tablet runs Windows Mobile |
Feb. 22, 2007
 Sharp is set to release a Windows Mobile 5-powered tablet that bears a striking resemblance to Nokia's recently introduced N800. The EM-ONE, initially available in Japan only, features HSDPA, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity, a wide 800x400 screen, and an unusual "dual sliding" QWERTY keyboard.
(Click for larger view of the EM-ONE mini tablet)
The EM-ONE supports HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) "broadband wireless" connectivity at up to 3.6 Mbps, according to Sharp. The unit also has built-in 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 1.2, along with a terrestrial digital broadcast television receiver.
The EM-ONE boasts a 4.1-inch 800 x 480 pixel display
 | | The EM-ONE's keyboard slides two ways |
The innovative two-way sliding keyboard slides down to reveal the QWERTY keyboard, or to the right to make the scroll wheel and pointing device accessible.
Sharp lists the following key features and specifications for the EM-ONE: - Processor -- Marvell PXA270, clocked at 520 MHz
- Memory -- 128 MB SDRAM; 512 MB flash
- Display:
- 4.1-inch 800 x 480 16-bit color color touchscreen
- Nvidia GoForce 5500 graphics processor
- I/O ports:
- miniUSB
- Audio -- built-in mic and stereo speakers; headphone jack
- External VGA connector
- Camera -- 1.3 Mpixel, CMOS
- Expansion -- miniSD slot, EM chip slot
- Wireless:
- HSDPA up to 3.6 Mbps
- 802.11b/g WiFi
- Bluetooth 1.2
- Dimensions -- 5.5 x 2.76 x 0.74 inches (140 x 70 x 18.9 mm)
- Weight -- approx. 8.8 ounces (250 g) including battery
- Power consumption -- 7 Watts (approx.)
- Operating system -- Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Japanese edition
In addition to the usual Windows Mobile Pocket PC software stack, the device also comes with the Opera Mobile browser, the Picsel PDF viewer, electronic dictionary software, and bar-code reader software, among other bundled applications.
Wireless broadband onboard
Option, a manufacturer of wireless interfaces hardware, reports that the EM-ONE incorporates its GTM478 "embedded wireless module," a compact module with a board-to-board connector that's designed for embedding into small mobile devices such as the PDAs and mobile multimedia devices. According to Option, the GTM478 module "incorporates HSDPA, UMTS and EDGE, GPRS, and GSM" functionality, and supports peak HSDPA download speeds of 7.2 Mbps, with backward to lower data rates of 3.6 Mbps and 1.8 Mbps, and upload speeds to 384 Kbps. The module also supports both A-GPS and S-GPS, the company adds.
Not all of the GTM478 wireless module's broad range of functionality seems to be supported by Sharp in the EM-ONE, based on the EM-ONE's published specifications, however. At least, for the present.
 Sharp's EM-ONE versus Nokia's N800 Internet Tablet
The EM-ONE is reminiscent of the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet (photo on right), introduced last month. Both have wide, 4.1-inch 800x480 pixel touchscreens. The N800 measures 5.7 x 3.0 x 0.5 inches and weighs 7.3 ounces, while the EM-ONE has a tad smaller footprint but is 50 percent thicker, at 5.5 x 2.76 x 0.74 inches, and weighs 1.5 ounces more. Other significant hardware differences are in the area of keyboard -- the Nokia N800 uses an on-screen soft-keyboard, instead of a slide-out keyboard -- and wireless, with the EM-ONE offering HSDPA high-speed broadband, in addition to WiFi. Additionally, the EM-ONE boasts a 520 MHz PXA270 processor, versus the N800's rumored 320 MHz TI OMAP 2420.
From the software perspective, the EM-ONE has a clear advantage, thanks to its Windows Mobile Pocket PC stack, which is supported by a broad range of available mobile computing applications for personal and enterprise use. This compares with the Linux-based N800's apparent dependence on community-developed applications, many of which are listed here. Both devices include Opera's ubiquitous mobile browser.
Oddly lacking in the EM-ONE's published specifications is support for VoIP (voice over Internet protocol), a feature included with Nokia's N800. Presumably, Sharp will eventually introduce VoIP support for the EM-ONE -- hopefully sooner, rather than later.
Availability
The EM-ONE is expected to go on sale in Japan on March 31, according to Sharp. The company is "taking reservations" starting March 1. Pricing was not disclosed.
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