Well, I do recall Sharp ’not getting it’ with regard to binary drivers in the Zaurus days And folks, this is a MID, no voice, just data (might both be an advantage and a disadvantage depending on what you’re looking for). As for storage, 4GB looks tiny compared to the N900s generous 32GB, but in Android land, that’s considered plenty.

well, if it can do video calls, it probably has a mic and a speaker... and with a headset, it can probably be used with Google Voice... so, it may be data only, but it still might be up to the task. Again, just need T-Mobile USA 3G on it.

if this was a slider instead of clamshell i'd be a winner for me

This would be totally awesome with Ubuntu running on it

Wow noce to see Sharp back in the game - after they quit with the Zaurus line and went backl to the edictionarries only for quite some time.

I guess this is where most companies falter - the software side.
Sharp had great hardware in the Zaurus (for its time) , but on the software size quile Qtopia was good - they couldnt carry it forward.

Now with Android all these companies (Motorola included) are getting a new lease of life - since they dont have to worry about the software side.

And this is where I applaud Nokia - in pushing an open source Mobile OS forward - it is a difficult task - the Zaurus being a testatment to that.
And if the new Sharp devices can run Maemo / MeeGo some day - all the more a sweet victory. I loved the Zauruses in its time (still have my Zaurus C750) and Maemo now.

Oh that news about oesf.org being down and out is bad news. They were the last standing champions of the Zaurus.

How t he hell do you make a phone call with this thing lol.Is there an external screen or phone call or you'll have to use it like a laptop holding it like in the picture to answer the phone call?

There seems to be a phone-looking button on the top-left of the keyboard and this article talks about "talk time". Personally I don't care if it supports voice or not, as long as it doesn't sacrifice too much in order to fit into the "phone" mould like the N900.

The keyboard layout also looks much better than anything available on Maemo devices so far, though some choices seem awkward (eg Tab on the Q key and ESC on the right side). Is that a trackball near the top?

I'm already sold on the form factor, the questions remaining are whether it will be open enough to run a real OS and whether we will be able to get it in the western world for a reasonable price.

Hey, there are "proper" netbooks out there with half that. Don't ignore the microSD slot either.

Without getting lost in terminology, I mean it’s not a put-to-your-head-and-talk kind of device. No arguing on the importance on a nice big keyboard, though.

Hell no :-)

The entire point is that it's NOT yet another phone-type slider... it's a rare example of a return to the glory days of clamshells, a form factor that is seldom "done right", but that many who knew the HP LX, Psion and Zaurus devices still regret...

The thing is, it's not a phone :-)