Sub 99Dollar PPC?

[Fishie]

Typing this from Nagoya Japan.

A machine is sold here for as little as 9990Yen.
Thats well below 99Dollars.
It has a 200Mhz XScale processor, standard res 320by240screen 16bit colour screen, the 5 way navigator and 4 application buttons we are all familiar with, SD expansion slot, 32MB ROM and 64 MB RAM.
Here is the sad part tough, it runs linux embedix instead of PPC.

This machine is build to full PPC spec and is proof that yes a colour PPC could be made for as little as 99Dollars.

[sracer]

The "sad" part is that it runx Linux?! People play a premium for a handheld running Linux!

[Fishie]

The "sad" part is that it runx Linux?! People play a premium for a handheld running Linux!

Urm no not really.
Several versions of linux can be downloaded and installed for free on any PPC.
Embedix is one version that is optimised by Sharp for use on their Zaurus handhelds of wich the one I am talking abouth is one of.

[sracer]

Well, not every PPC is capable of running Linux.

Second, the Sharp Zaurus does indeed cost more than a PPC with the same hardware specifications.

[PetiteFlower]

And if it runs linux out of the box, then it's not a PPC.

[felixdd]

Maybe that's why it's so cheap. No licensing fees.

[Linux_Zen]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I think it will take a while but, by next fall, I think DELL or HP will be the first to get one below the $100 mark. They really ought to soon---leave palmOne unchecked too long and you've got a problem.

EDIT: Maybe not if their next model is this?

http://www.cliesource.com/gallery/data/500/18242zire31_close.jpg

[Fishie]

Well, not every PPC is capable of running Linux.

Second, the Sharp Zaurus does indeed cost more than a PPC with the same hardware specifications.

Urm this IS a Zaurus and is build on full PPC spec running Linux and retailing for well below 99$

[minimage]

Typing this from Nagoya Japan.

A machine is sold here for as little as 9990Yen.
Thats well below 99Dollars.
It has a 200Mhz XScale processor, standard res 320by240screen 16bit colour screen, the 5 way navigator and 4 application buttons we are all familiar with, SD expansion slot, 32MB ROM and 64 MB RAM.
Here is the sad part tough, it runs linux embedix instead of PPC.

This machine is build to full PPC spec and is proof that yes a colour PPC could be made for as little as 99Dollars.

Ok...but it looks like we still cannot get a PPC-comparable machine for 99 dollars. 9990 YEN, yes, if you want to go to Japan, but by the time you figure in the cost of the plane ticket (and the passport, since the only place out of the US I've ever been is Mexico), well, it aint less than my Axim. If I'd known about these things earlier, I'd have asked my friend to find them, as he just came back from Okinawa a couple of weeks ago. Does this store do mail orders? Oh, yeah, and I don't know Japanese, so unless they have English language OS's, I'll just keep waiting.

[Fishie]

Its pretty easy to flash these for English OS so that shouldnt be a problem.

And its actually available at more places then PPCs are in Japan.

[Jon Westfall]

This shouldn't suprise anyone, in Japan electronics can cost a fraction of what they do here, and are released months or years earlier. In the US we enjoy the same pre-release rights, except instead of electronics, we get corporate scandels and crime rates.

Jon.

[arnage2]

We got xbox first, and palmone pdas. (palmone is still called palm in japan, and they dont even have a os5 palm yet) They still have the m515.

[Vulcan]

Gameboy stuff comes out way sooner in Japan than N. America. Look at cell phones as well....they have had the camera cell phones for a long time already.