Sharp Actius UM32W (PC-UM32W) PC Notebook

Pros: Ultralight! Ultrasmall! Great screen! USB 2.0
Cons: Odd keyboard layout, limited battery life without optional battery, no CD-RW drive.

The Sharp Actius UM32W is a great ultra light laptop. It's dimensions are 11.3" x 9.13" x 0.77" and weighs just over 3 pounds. Barely bigger than an 8.5x11 sheet of paper and less than an inch thick. The laptop comes with Win/XP Pro, a 12.1" screen, ...

Pros: Light and fast. Just big enough keyboard.
Cons: Shuts down when hot or more then a year old.

The UM32W is a great laptop. But it has a critical problem. At about the 1 year mark it starts to shut down for no known reason. Sharp will replace the motherboard, but can not offer a reason for the problem. Several friends who have the same model have reported the same issue. Some users have posted this same issue. One person reported that it was related to a short with the video card.

Other then this issue, it is fantastic device.

Pros: Display quality, keyboard feel, lightweight, quality construction, excellent design.
Cons: My refurbished unit had left over files from the previous owner

I bought a re-furbished UM32 directly from Sharp. The 12" display is sharp and crisp and you won't feel like you sacrificed going down from a 14" or larger. The keyboard offers excellent travel and feedback perhaps unique to notebooks in that it raises slightly when you open it up. There are two Shift keys..the one on the left is double width while the right side is square. It's takes some getting used to as I am always using the right side one. It comes with an external CD-ROM drive that runs off the USB connection so no power supply is needed. It has built in wireless. The antennas are in the screen lid so no worry about a network card sticking out and getting bumped and damaged. There are two USB ports plus a host of others to handle just about anything. I recommend the Sharp if you want lightweight and capability.

Pros: Great design, slim, multiple input selections, light. Will buy is again!!
Cons: Touchpad mark on screen, no on board VGA output, must do service after a year.

This is really a great unit of NB I ever had, but I don't like this NB at the very first day. You will feel antistatic shock around KB body and specially the plate between KB & screen when you use it in 220V countries. The battery comes with NB dead within 6 months. Also I believe every user should have the same touchpad mark on screen!! I have check with more than 5 users and saw lots of sellers saying the same on e-Bay have the problem. Also lots of users been reported for service after a year, and me too. For my personal use, I prefer to have a VGA outlet for projector or screen. Still a great NB!! I will buy it again if they solve these problems.