Sharp PV-6000 "TriPad" (with Windows CE 2.11 Handheld Professional Edition) is a very unique product among all PDAs/HPCs. Its innovative design of flipping screen catches people's attention in your office, at airports or in conference rooms. I want to write a brief "first impression" of this interesting product.

First, of course the most striking design is the positioning of the screen. The screen is 180 degree rotatable, allowing the machine to be used as "Tablet." The screen adjustability is excellent. You can set the screen at various heights and various angles of your choice. I must say it's one COOL looking HPC. Because the screen can be moved forward it even fits on the airplane tray comfortably. Yet the screen is 9.4" (diagonal) 640x480 LCD with backlight which is twice the size of for example Jornada 6**-7** series. The size of the screen is really luxurious. I think TriPad has the largest screen among all CE based devices. However it only supports 256 colors, and the resolution is so so. This is a bummer since Jornada series can for instance display 65,536 colors (though it is initially set for 256). The "flipping" screen is also a bit awkward to open. From closed position, I use my thumb to open the screen, then I need both hands to carefully adjust the screen position every time when I use this device. It requires a stable surface to do this. This whole process takes a little more time.

This machine has a nice screen but it is one of the heaviest among all WindowsCE devices. It is heavier than IBM z50 (Same generation) I think. At 11.4(w) x 8.9 (H) x 0.96 and 3.2lbs, the TriPad is definitely NOT a little PDA that fits in your pocket. In fact some new notebooks from Sony for example may weigh less than this.

The keyboard (63 keys 16.5mm) is very ergonomic. It is a very interesting design though. The whole keyboard is arranged in a slightly crescent shape; Keyboard is "smiling" so to speak with the space bar at the bottom. Though this does make sense from ergonomic standpoint, it takes a little getting used to. Personally I prefer IBM z50 keyboard better than this one, but still this is a very nice keyboard as well. The response is on the "hard" side which I like, and it is very comfortable. The TriPad does not provide any separate "Launch Keys" unlike Jornada 6-700 series. However, there are several freewares available on Internet to program shortcut key combinations. The screen contrast and brightness can be adjusted easily by pressing certain key combinations which is convenient.

TriPad uses MIPS Risc Processor. The memory is 16MB Ram which is upgradable. To me 16 is not enough, and I wish I had at least 32. But the Ram upgrade kit from Sharp is rather expensive.

The unit has one CF Card Slot and one TypeII PC Card slot. CF Card slot is "hidden" underneath the Main Battery. In order to insert the card you have to open the battery compartment, and take the battery out from the unit. Thus it is really not easy to swap CF card for file transfer etc. Moreover, it's very difficult to open the battery compartment. I was afraid to break the cover when I tried to open it. So in my case I think I will leave the CF card in the unit, and if I need to swap files etc I may use PC Card, IrDA port or Serial connection via ActiveSync. The modem is 33.6k which is kind of slow but good enough for emails and newsgroups. The web surf can be a little tedious though.

When I first got this unit, I wanted to do a clean hard reset first. But it took me a while to figure out how to do this. In order to do the hard reset, I had to open the bottom cover with screw driver, and then press a tiny button inside the cover while pressing the regular "Reset" button. I did not have to take battery out. The battery seems to be excellent. According to Sharp it should last between 12 to 16 hours with the full-charge. You can fly from New York to Tokyo non-stop and use this machine without a recharge. This is a definite advantage over regular notebook. AC Adapter is nice and small (Compared to these "big" ones for IBM z50 or Jornada series), and easy to fit in your bag. However I am not sure if it is operatable in Europe. I think it's only 100-120v/50-60Hz (Not 100-240V).

The serial port connection (connecting to the PC) for this unit is kind of awkward. I have to use 2 things, i.e. a mini docking adapter and a serial cable to connect it to the PC. The docking adapter is somewhat big and awkward to attach to the side of the unit. Also when the docking adapter is attached, I have to re-plug the power cable to the adapter. This is in my opinion a bad design. If I have the power cord connected to the unit, and when I need to attach the docking adapter, I first have to unplug the power cord from the unit, then attach the docking adapter to the unit, and re-plug the power cord back to the adapter. This seems to be a lot of waste. Compared with Jornada 6**-7** which come with these fantastic cradles where the connection to the PC is is just a snap, the TriPad requires quite painstaking procedure.

The back-up utility for the TriPad is bSQUARE bUSEFUL back-up utility. This is a good program, but for some reason it is not installed on the unit. I had to install it from the companion CD. This in my opinion is not wise; if something goes wrong and the unit goes Hard Reset, you have to re-install the back up utility first using the ActiveSync in order to restore all the data. I solved this problem by installing the bUSEDFUL onto my CF Card, so when the unit goes lala and hard-resets, I can restore the data from the CF Card. Provided the back-up utility is the most important program as far as using Windows CE, it's kind of strange to see it NOT installed in the ROM.

This is so far my first impression about this unit. Overall it is not an easy machine for beginners. The Sharp websites are also very difficult to navigate. Their support page is primarily focussing on their new products, and it was very hard to find the support information on the older products like this one.

But all things considered, I am very happy to obtain this. It is quickly becoming my main Mobile system of choice.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 200