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Portables Hardware

Sharp Mebius Subnotebook Review 195

Posted by timothy from the smallness dept.
Tong writes "PDA Buyer's Guide has published a hands-on review of the Sharp Mebius CV50. "The smallest notebook we've seen in years. This Japanese Import is available translated into English from Dynamism, and is smaller than a hardback book. It weights just under two pounds, has a 1 GHz Efficeon processor, a wide screen 7.2" display and absolutely stunning looks and style." Read the full review."
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Sharp Mebius Subnotebook Review More

Sharp Mebius Subnotebook Review

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  • Wow (Score:3, Interesting)

    by postgrep ( 803732 ) <djandercore AT gmail DOT com> on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:00PM (#10112662) Homepage Journal
    Finally a laptop that isn't a brick! my back will be saved!

    • Re:Wow (Score:4, Funny)

      by bobbis.u ( 703273 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:02PM (#10112678)
      Screen Size Diag: 7.2 ", Resolution: 1280 x 768
      But not your eyes!
      • The smaller the pixels the better, you just have your vector icons and text all display at the same physical size as normal.

        What Windows XP can't do that? Damn, I suppose I'll have to install a Linux desktop then. Pity.
        • Windows does have font sets for screens with different pixel sizes, the problem are the applications that become illegible or otherwise unusable because of widgets overlapping each other or being too small. Yep folks, that's what happens when you define absolute (pixel) widget dimensions. This applies to the vast majority of applications, from what I remember from my Windows days.

          ~phil

      • Re:Wow (Score:4, Informative)

        by raodin ( 708903 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @09:23PM (#10113895)
        There's this handy setting in Windows called "Display DPI," and an equivalent setting in Xfree. Use the tools provided to you, and and you'll have lovely proper sized text.
    • At least its an lcd. My eyes burn with a 17inch crt :(
      • Really? My laptop screen is pretty nice but my brother's 19" viewsonic p95f crt is beautiful to look at. I would much rather look at that screen all day long then stare into an LCD with only one resolution.
    • if I had a dollar for every windows box that crashed....

      What good would 1 dollar do you every time a windows machine crashed? I've probably had at least a dollar every time my windows machine crashed.

      • Re:Wow (Score:3, Funny)

        by zulux ( 112259 )
        if I had a dollar for every windows box that crashed... .... you'd be as rich as Bill Gates.

  • Languages (Score:4, Funny)

    by mmonkey ( 709004 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:00PM (#10112665)
    This Japanese Import is available translated into English from Dynamism

    I never realised that "Dynamism" was a language...

  • The big Question: (Score:5, Funny)

    by stretch0611 ( 603238 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:03PM (#10112684) Journal
    Will it play Net Hack [nethack.org]?

  • One letter off (Score:5, Funny)

    by tritone ( 189506 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:03PM (#10112686) Homepage
    Darn. If Sharp had only made a Mobius Subnotebook, it even taken up even less space since it would have had only one side.

  • interesting but... (Score:5, Funny)

    by MarsDefenseMinister ( 738128 ) <dallapieta80@gmail.com> on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:03PM (#10112689) Homepage Journal
    I thought that the review of the Sharp Mobius was a little one-sided.

  • Brush up on my Japanese (Score:5, Funny)

    by MikeMacK ( 788889 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:04PM (#10112699)
    Don't worry, the Mebius is available in the US and other countries from Dynamism, who converts it to English and ships it with Windows XP. The thick owner's manual is in Japanese, so you'll need to use your general knowledge of notebooks and the pictorial illustrations for guidance when needed.

    So, they still ship the manual to you in Japanese? Domo ori gato

  • a $1900 sub-laptop, read all about it (Score:5, Insightful)

    by joggle ( 594025 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:05PM (#10112704) Homepage Journal
    Come on, can't anyone make a $400-$500 sub-laptop with a 7" screen? Anybody?
    • Agreed... for 2 grand I'm going to have a nice big screen with a 64 bit AMD chip in the laptop! Actually, those are going for $1,500 these days...

      Does anyone actually need a small laptop enough to pay that much of a premium for it?

      • Does anyone actually need a small laptop enough to pay that much of a premium for it?
        No, and that's why they only sell it in Japan!

        What people will justify buying here if they need a small laptop is something like an Apple 12" iBook or Powerbook, Dell Latitude 200X (or newer model), Sharp Actius MM-20, small Thinkpad, etc. None of these are quite as small as the expensive stuff Dynamism sells, which is why they can be justified selling them here.
    • The problem is, the price comes from SHRINKING the components down to make it work at a smaller size. That is why laptops are more expensive than desktops.
      • I know, but it seems that something with an iPod hard drive, a 7" color LCD, a cheap CPU (just enough to do terminals and x-windows) and an integrated wireless card or ethernet card shouldn't cost $2k. Not that the product in the article meets these specs (it would be overkill of course), I'm just wondering why, AFAIK, such a product doesn't exist yet.
        • I just did some digging again and found a component based solution which does some of this stuff, unfortunately its *even more* expensive:
          http://www.antelopetech.com/en/index. a spx?view=i-o rdering_OnlineOrdering.htm

          thats based around a 3" x 5" x 3/4" "modular computing core" ... this was an IBM invention around the time of the OQO's original debut, if you recall; Antelope licensed it. The trouble is, even as components, the core (CPU, HD) is $1.5k and the handheld shell (battery, screen) is another $1.5k.
      • Hell just put a 486 and dos on it. I have lots of great dos programs I could run on a small PC including some of my favorite games.

  • They could have done without the screen bezel (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Writer ( 746272 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:05PM (#10112710)
    If a computer is going to be this small, they should have made the effort to minimise the screen bezel to maximise screen size while maintaining the same dimensions of the unit. That's a poor design flaw, making the screen that small in relation to the unit. The unit is small enough that legibility or screen space would be difficult enough anyway, and this makes it even worse.
    • Well, in their defence (?), the thing *does* cost $1900 already. Can you imagine what a screen with a three-inch larger diagonal would have bumped the price up to?

      (Yes, I think this is too expensive.)

      p

      • Well, in their defence (?), the thing *does* cost $1900 already.

        I think the reason it cost more was because of it's miniaturisation rather than the screen size. A slightly larger screen with the same horizontal and vertical resolution (not dpi) shouldn't cost much more. In fact, it probably may cost less, because pixel density may cost more. They should have made the monitor lid thicker to put whatever electronics are in the bezel behind the screen.

    • screen won't fit (Score:4, Informative)

      by lingqi ( 577227 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @07:28AM (#10116446) Journal
      I saw this when walking through tokyo the other day.

      the screen *cannot* be any bigger because of the rounded shape of the top cover. the cover portion is not like a slate, but rather the edges start from a blade edge and only reaches full thickness about 2cm in, where the actual LCD is embedded. check out the side-view - that's why the screen is so "small".

      Now, why whould they want to design their system wich such rounded edges, that's another mystery that you can only ask their design department.

  • Tiny Laptop, Tiny Keyboard (Score:5, Informative)

    by the pickle ( 261584 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:07PM (#10112724) Homepage
    Great. A laptop that only a two-year-old can type on. Those of us with normal-sized hands can look forward to cramping, RSI, and other fun medical issues.

    Why not do something semi-revolutionary and incorporate a keyboard like the FrodPad [frogpad.com] into it instead of trying to shoehorn an entire QWERTY layout in there?

    p
    • i clicked on that link for the frogpad and i can't get over their little motto in the corner: "one-handed, wireless productivity." makes you wonder who their target market is... : p
    • You know what the funny thing is? Sharp also makes the Actius MM-20, which also weighs 2lbs, and also has a 1GHz (I think) Efficeon, but has a ~10" and a more normal-sized keyboard. Maybe you should get one of those instead!
    • Great. A laptop that only a two-year-old can type on. Those of us with normal-sized hands can look forward to cramping, RSI, and other fun medical issues. Well, considering you won't be buying this, what's the problem? It's a Japanese product, remember.
    • Not to mention the stupidity of using a touch pad on something this small!

      Touch pads require space to work well.... and the tiny little touchpad they ended up with looks like it's either going to be horribly hard to use (requiring great precision of movement by the user) or horribly annoying (constantly having to reposition your finger for even small mouse movements).

      Most manufs. seem to end up using an eraser-head interface on their smallest models for exactly this reason, but I guess sharp was too damn
  • ...is because it will probably run linux with very few problems. The notebook itself is actually pretty ordinary compared to the ones offered by Sony. The only catches are the price and pretty poor linux compatibility. I used to have an "old" Sony U101 which was only 2.4lbs and had a waaay mor epowerful processor. It could also run for 13 hrs on a single battery. Oh yeah, getting linux to run on it was real pain in the ass, though!

  • So whats this cost? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Kenja ( 541830 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:11PM (#10112756)
    Not the notebook, but running an add like this on Slashdot?
    • No kidding. "Absolutely stunning looks and style"? According to who? this thing looks like a plaything. Losing the 3 foot bezel would be a good start...
    • 1) Is PDA Buyer's Guide related to Dynamism or Sharp? If not, I don't see what there is to complain about.

      2) Anyway, who cares? Either stories are interesting or they're not -- if they are, I don't care whether they're submitted by the product's maker, the review's author, that Roland Piquepaille guy or just some random reader. Worrying about the source makes as little sense to me as getting upset because someone picked up some karma by posting the text of an unreachable link.

  • Not a good bang for the buck (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ciurana ( 2603 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:14PM (#10112780) Homepage Journal
    I have purchased several items from Dynamism. While I've been happy for the most part, I believe that this machine is overpriced in relation to what you get out of it. With a $1,900 USD tag, you might as well get a 12" PowerBook that will do a similar or better job, have a better screen, and include built-in wireless, Bluetooth, Ethernet, modem, etc. with about the same footprint. You'd get OS X. You can run Office:Mac if you must, at about the same price as MS-Office or cheaper. You'll have access to better quality software (i.e. OmniGraffle vs. Visio) if you must pay for it, or tons of OSS stuff that just compiles and runs, or installs with a button click.

    Besides, chicks dig the PowerBooks. They look cool, not geeky.

    Cheers,

    E
    • I forgot: For $1,900 your PowerBook will also have around 768 MB RAM, maybe even 1 GB, vs. the 256 MB offered by the Moebius.

      Cheers!

      E
    • Uh. Better screen, with less screen real-estate.

      If you dont want one of these, get a Fujitsu P7000 series [fujitsupc.com]. I've got a P2046 and the form factor rocks *and* the screen beats out a powerbook's anemic 1024x768 any day.

      Plus, you get compact flash/sd slots that the powerbook doesn't have.

      • dieman wrote:

        If you dont want one of these, get a Fujitsu P7000 series. I've got a P2046 and the form factor rocks *and* the screen beats out a powerbook's anemic 1024x768 any day.

        The Fujitsu P7000 series doesn't have enough memory at the same price, runs Windows XP (yuck) and it's fugly to look at. Chicks won't dig it...

        Plus, you get compact flash/sd slots that the powerbook doesn't have.

        The PowerBook doesn't need those slots. That's what Firewire is for.

        Cheers,

        E

        • in the pc world, we can actually *upgrade memory* you see. and we don't tend to base our purchasing on chicks digging it.
        • "Plus, you get compact flash/sd slots that the powerbook doesn't have."

          The PowerBook doesn't need those slots. That's what Firewire is for.

          What if you want to offload your digital images from a CF card into iPhoto and you didn't want to lug the camera around for the task? Yeah, I guess you could connect a CF reader via Firewire...
      • I've also got a P2046, and while I like it in many ways, I'm not sure I'd buy another Fujitsu.

        - The key labels have worn off half the keys. I'm a touch-typist so it doesn't bug me too much, but sometimes I'm typing one handed, and then it's a PITA.

        - the spring loaded clip that holds in the removable drive/battery fell out long ago. Friction has been enough, but I make sure I carry the laptop right-way up.

        - The drive-bay battery was obscenely expensive ($400, if I remember correctly), and it's get
    • I was traveling via coach class on an airplane, happily typing away on my Sony Picturebook, when the couple next to me insisted on showing me the error of my computing ways.

      They both tried to show me their brand new Apple PowerBooks and explain how much better they were.

      I say "tried" because both opened their machines at once. Even one was larger than the poor little airline tray. It was impossible to type on and the poor guy almost had his smashed when the person in the seat in front of him leaned it a

  • Concidentally the Sharp Mebius PC-RD3D... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Writer ( 746272 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:20PM (#10112811)
    ... was renamd the " Sharp Actius RD3D [66.132.145.25] " for the US market. The Mebius PC-RD3D was the first autostereo display notebook ever made, released around a month or two later, under a different name for the US market. Maybe if this new Mebius CV50 comes to the US, it will be renamed the Actius CV50 ?
    • Also, back when I bought my Actius 150, the Japanese lineup was called "Möbius" -- had the one-sided loop as the wallpaper and everything. Can we assume that "Mebius" is a translation error?

      • Also, back when I bought my Actius 150, the Japanese lineup was called "Möbius" -- had the one-sided loop as the wallpaper and everything. Can we assume that "Mebius" is a translation error?

        Googling for "sharp mebius" got about 35,200 results, while "sharp mobius" got only 15 results, and "sharp möbius" didn't get any. Maybe it was a trademark dispute and they changed the name to get by it. The actual name they would be using for the Japanese market would be in Japanese, anyway. Perhaps the Ja

  • Libretto Anyone? (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    What about the Toshiba Libretto. Ala 1996, same size as a VHS tape, Pentium 133 processor, about 2 lbs. I have the Libretto 100CT, and since it runs Win95 it can do almost everything a big system can do. A little slow, but I use it for class lectures with a wireless card, I can take notes notes and surf all class long. Only problem is that the keybord is really tiny and hard to type on. But a real attention getter.
    • I got a Libretto 75CT here, lovely machine. Together with the extender for vga/serial it makes a very nice console terminal for servers. And yes, mine runs Debian (wireless too ;)

    • I too have a libretto. ( A 60 - real early stuff). I use it to play GO on the train ride into work. And sometimes for a console. It has 802.11 connectivity and it's quite convenient to take around with me - in fact, it goes wherever I do.

      Sadly, the Libretto is exactly the reason why this won't work. Sure it will take off in other markets, but in places like the US (and Australia where I am for that matter) it's never been popular... Instead I see people with HUGE laptops which take up as much space as a

  • Bah that's crap (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The Fujitsu P1000 is just as small, lighter and 500$ cheaper.

    http://webshop.fujitsupc.com/fpc/Ecommerce/build se riesbean.do?series=P1
    • While good for its time, the P1000 is way too long in the tooth. The 800MHz Crusoe is much slower than a 1GHz Efficeon.
      We have a bunch of those P1000 type machines...
    • It's slightly longer, but thinner (only 1.1cm in the thinnest end!) and it has an internal DVD-+RW burner (no integrated Wi-Fi, but a PCMCIA card is included). Certainly it's expensive, but IMHO very, very sexy. El Reg has a review here [theregister.co.uk].
  • I think the problem with these smaller computers is that the designers think people want a keyboard that feels like a desktop computer but really, if the keyboard is smaller it's too easy to push the other keys. I had a HP 200lx for a while in the mid 90s. The thing was pocket size and had a great chiclet keyboard that is similar to the calculators. Because the keys were so hard to push down it was easy to type accurately on it even though my fingers were bunched together on it. I took notes at about 60

  • Sorry, Fujitsu P-1000 series was out much earlier (Score:3, Interesting)

    by frank_adrian314159 ( 469671 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @06:52PM (#10113007) Homepage
    OK. Someone tell me how this is better than the P-1000 series from Fujitsu?

    Although it weighs 0.1 pounds less and has a (slightly) faster processor, it also is 1 inch wider (though its screen - non-touch pad, BTW - is an inch narrower), it's battery life is shorter, and it doesn't have a built-in modem and cabled ethernet socket. All-in-all, I don't see a lot of difference and what is different seems to be worse. Oh yeah, the P-1000 is also less expensive at $1200 and doesn't need a third party to retrofit for English use.

    So again, why is this news?

  • I want something a little bit larger than the Zaurus clamshells, a little more capable, and has zero Microsoft infection involved. Sell this same palmtop at a reasonable price running Linux, and you'll get me to buy it.
  • Has anyone found a laptop this small actually useful . . . or is it mainly for WoW factor? Personally, I find smaller laptops that aren't even this small have keyboards that are too small to seriously use and sometimes with screens too difficult to read.

    Perhaps this is useful as a laptop for a casual user that uses it in a very limited way, or for someone with serious space constraints (e.g. someone touring on a motorcycle, or backpacking), but does anyone really expect laptops this small to actually bec

  • Could Have Larger Screen! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Omega1045 ( 584264 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @07:12PM (#10113118)
    It always bugs me when I see a design like this. There is a good 3 cm to 4 cm all the way around the LCD on this thing. The flip top looks like a big picture frame. This is space that could have been used for a larger screen. With the 10.2" X 6.2" dimensions, you could fit a 11.5" screen onto that little thing with some space to spare. They only fit a 7.2" into the space. I cannot think that this would add a lot of weight, and power consumption would not be much more considering it is an LCD monitor.

    Perhaps they could have spent a little less time trying to make it look just like an iBook and a little more time making the notebook that much more useful.

  • If you want a small but full function subnotebook (Score:5, Informative)

    by stevarooski ( 121971 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @08:24PM (#10113538) Homepage
    . . . Ignore this guy and check out Fujitsu's Lifebook P Series. [fujitsu.com]. Very small form factor, but included CD burner/DVD player. Also, I would bet its a lot zippier than this Sharp.

    I first owned one of the P Series right after they came out and were equipped with transmetas. The performance was a shade up on terrible, and the battery life merely ok. Since then, they've shifted to Intel chips. My brother bought one recently, and the machine is easily capable of running multiple adobe applications, and he is able to get design work done anywhere with his pressure-sensitive drawing pad attached.

    This new machine is smaller, yes, but are the sacrifices in functionality worth shedding the extra pound?
    • I can vouch for the Fujitsu P5020D. It's similar to the Sony TR2/TR3 - a 1GHz Centrino (roughly equivalent to a 1.3-1.5GHz Pentium IV). It has an internal CD-RW, and you can swap that out for a second battery. On two batteries, it runs for 8+ hrs with real use (constant wireless, lots of HD access, full brightness).

      The keyboard is good, the wireless sensitivity is excellent, and I can run Openoffice, Mozilla 1.7 (web and email), ssh, and even Battlefield 1942 without problems.

      Highly recommended. It's so

  • Save money (Score:2, Funny)

    by I7D ( 682601 )
    I saved a ton of money and bought a M-M-M-Mebius off of Ebay!
  • None of the sub-notebooks introduced since Sony released the C1 series [sony.com] has given us a reason to upgrade. My C1XS [cowboyneal.org] (PII 400Mhz, 128Mb RAM, 30gig HD) is 5 years old and is still thinner and smaller (9.81"x5.99"x1.14", 2.21lb) than its later lookalikes.

    Only one model is even up for consideration, in my mind (no, not even the Sony U50/70 [dynamism.com] - you -gotta- have a real keyboard attached). The Flybook [dialogue.com.tw] is gonna have _everything_, including GPRS, and it's a tablet, too. Exactly what I've been waiting for. Would th

    • I agree -- the C1 form factor was superb, allowing effective typing and reading on a computer that could still be kept in a (large) jacket pocket, and the general layout and construction of the series was great.

      Except for the HD. Those seem to break easily. And the customer support, which is typical Sony...

      So, er, do you know where I can get a HD for a C1?

  • For the money, I think the Sharp Actius MM20 [sharpsystems.com] is a better machine. Same 1GHZ Efficeon processor, but 512mb of RAM, built in ethernet, wifi, pc card slot, and 2 usb ports, and the screen is 10.1" instead of the tiny 7". It still only weighs 2 lbs, and costs quite a bit less. By itself it's $1500; there's an optional external USB DVD/CDRW drive for $99, and for an addtional $200 you get a long run battery which gives up to 9 hours of runtime.

    Best of all, everything works in Linux -- Emperor Linux sells thi

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