DISQUS

That is a great idea! As long as it is small enough to fit in a typical large inside jacket pocket that would be the best mobile computer available!

There were signs after the first year they made it. They should have made it into a touch type keyboard clamshell shape. Nobody wants a thumb based full PC.

The 118 mm width is 4.64" with a height of 1.1" and a length of 7.87" so my question is, Will it fit into an inside sport coat pocket? My initial guess is that it may not but might only miss by a 1/4 to 1/2"? Has anyone tried to carry it in a suite or sport coat inside jacket pocket? If it can not fit into that space then to me it is not something you can carry everywhere. The length is a bit long but ok as that provide a better keyboard for touch typinging. To me the ideal size would be 3.75" to 4" x 7.3 to 7.5" and 1.1" or less in height.

not perfect but the best umpc available. I've read the initial reviews at Pocketables.net and it runs Vista just fine, solidly built, perfect form factor, and the only draw back of any significance is the stock battery is weak but they have an extended battery which should make this the perfect computer on the go! We need to see more designs like this as thumb input and slates are NOT what the mainstream will want nor buy.

I can see other companies improving on the design as past designs of Psion and HP Jornada had much better keyboards yet they occupied very close to the same real estate, they were just a slight amount wider 3.6" instead of the D4's 3.3".

Conics.net and a few other importers are now offering the Sharp/Willcom D4 for sale outside of Japan! Pocketables.net seems like the first site to get their hands on one and is slowly posting partial reviews about every couple of days! Thus far the only issue is the battery, it definately requires the extended battery which is supposed to provide 4-5 hours of life. Vista has been reported to run without any issues, not blazing fast but good enough.

The US companies need to get their act together and stop building such useless UMPC's! Whom in their right mind thought mainstream users would want to try to use a full blown Windows OS and programs with their thumbs? Come on US computer makers get a clue, Japan is now leading in mobile designs and now we need to copy the Japanese!

UMPC's as IDC state only sold 350K in all of 2007. They have great potential but thus far all have problems in two categories which prevent them from being popular.

Yes people want to have a full desktop OS computer small enough to carry everywhere. But that means small enough to fit in a jacket pocket so somthing about 7 to 7.4" long by 3.5" to 4" wide and 1" in height. If they are larger than a coat pocket then you need a manpurse to carry one. Mainstream will not do that so they would just rather buy a subnotebook or laptop.

The other flaw is that how does the world use full windows? they input with a touch type keyboard not with thumbs or a pen. UMPC's need a touch type keyboard.

Can a UMPC combine both? Yes, just look at the old Psion 5mx or HP Jornada 720 they had nice form factors. That type of clamshell that would fit in a jacket pocket sold over 2.3 million per year! Now imagine what would happen if you made a modern version with full windows? That would sell.

This one of the best UMPC's I have seen and finally one that is worth purchasing. To me all the rest have such poor user input by not providing a normal keyboard along with most not being small enough for a large coat pocket that price is an issue for those other UMPC's. For this UMPC I see it worth a lot more than anything else, I'd pay $1000 to $1500; although I hope to see more similar devices to drive the price lower.

I agree the US seems to be getting farther from being leading edge in design. The only good mobile devices seem to come from Japan or Korea.

You are wrong remember the great Psion 5mx with expanding keyboard? The device was a mere 6.9" yet was one of the best keyboards that easily could type at near desktop speeds. I personally typed about 75% of desktop speed touch typing the Psion 5mx.

What UMPC's need is a modern Psion form factor.

I think this will definately take off! I've been waiting for a portable computer with a true keyboard that will fit in my jacket. This the first of available computer of that type.

Everyone I know hates thumb devices and do not want to carry a bulky foldable keyboard either. This is a perfect blend for mobile business users.

The problem is not price. The real problem is these devices are not what most people what thus price and other things get raised. Most people want a touch type keyboard and they want a computer small enough to fit in a pocket yet not too small to affect touch typing. Thus what the industry has been never able to deliver is good pocket computer running standard OS.

The technology is there to build it now. Just have some engineers copy something like the old Psion 5mx which had an expanding keyboard easy to type very fast yet the unit was a mere 3.5"x7.5" and less than an inch thick. It has a thin ergonomic feel; only issue proprietary OS.