Sharp Zaurus Retreats To Japan

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/5438.html">http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/5438.html</a><br /><br />Following in the footsteps of Sony and Casio, Sharp is pulling its PDA line out of the US and focusing on the market in Japan.<br /><br /><i>"Facing stuff competition and low sales, a Sharp representative has informed infoSync World that the company has decided to fully withdraw its Zaurus SL line of Linux-based handhelds from the US market and focus on its home market in Japan. The company will be selling through remaining SL-6000 handhelds already produced and will continue to offer support and service for existing products, but will not be producing or selling additional units or models in the United States. The Zaurus line will continue to be sold in Japan, where different models have been available and have sold much better than in other markets."</i><br /><br />I can't help but think this is partially a result of Sharp using the Linux OS, especially at the premium prices charged.

[whydidnt]

I can't help but think this is partially a result of Sharp using the Linux OS, especially at the premium prices charged.

I agree. Sharp has created some awesome mobile device hardware. If they had gone with the more mainstream PPC software I would have been a definite buyer, regardless of the premium price.

Just like Sony with their Clie line, it seems the Japanese manufacturers excel at hardware design, but never seem to make the leap with the software to take advantage of the cool designs. It just seems they don't understand the US handheld market very well. My guess is they figured this out and decided not to try any more.

[jeisner]

I can't help but think this is partially a result of Sharp using the Linux OS, especially at the premium prices charged.

I actually think the opposite, I for one, wanted to buy this device simply because it was Linux based, but they don't seem to ditribute the unit at all in Australia. I believe even in the US they only distributed selected models and didn't push them all that well, how can it work if you don't give it 100%

As for clie well the PDA market was dominated by Palm and them using Palm was not a bad decision (when they started), the models such as the SJ-22 (hires on a 0S 4 device) were brilliant, but then their more recent models were expensive and uninspired, yes the hardware in many ways was brilliant but using their own CPUs that were as slow as hell, was just a bad idea IMHO...

[ojlittle]

I liked the new device, but the lack of Wi-Fi in any new device automatically puts it on the "No Buy" list. Either way the hardware was cool.

[gorkon280]

OK how many commercials did we see for the Zaurus? Anybody? The reason they failed had less to do with the OS they chose and more to do with the support on the other end, the Windows desktop. To develop for it, you were better off using Linux for obvious reasons. Sharp did nothing to make it easy for those who did not know Linux to develop apps for it. That's number one. Number two is after the 5600, you could not go and just buy one even if you wanted to. Everything was available online though. It's Sharps own fault, not the Linux core it used, that the Zaurus failed here. It was Sharp who implemented their stupid way of handling audio (your MP3 player played only through their headphones, not through the built in speaker). It was Sharp who did not ship thier devices with a sync solution tht worked reliably.

The Zaurus is the one PDA that will be guaranteed to have rom updates. Maybe not from Sharp, but OpenZaurus can always be updated even if your the one that has to do the updating. The open sourceness of the OS makes it a guarantee that as long as there's a willing group, the device has support UNLIKE pocket pc's.

[bjornkeizers]

I didn't even *know* they sold them in the US. And if they had sold them in Europe, I would've bought one for sure. The only Zaurus I've ever seen was the linux one with the sliding keyboard - but it was a german version, and two hundred euros more expensive then anything else!

I just don't get it. Of course it won't sell if you don't market it! *shakes head*

[gorkon280]

I didn't even *know* they sold them in the US. And if they had sold them in Europe, I would've bought one for sure. The only Zaurus I've ever seen was the linux one with the sliding keyboard - but it was a german version, and two hundred euros more expensive then anything else!

I just don't get it. Of course it won't sell if you don't market it! *shakes head*

Yes the 5500 and the 5600 were widely available and Best Buy had them. The 6000's only were available online in the US but you could buy one. IN fact, Amazon still has them in stock I think.

[IronGeek]

Linux was the biggest thing Zaurus had going for it, nothing could compare to it of pen-test tools and network apps:

http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?submenu=zaurus/zaurusheader&page=zaurus/zaurusmain

In my mind what killed it in the US was being overpriced for the hardware and not advertising.

[Crimguy]

Linux was the biggest thins Zaurus had going for it, nothing could compare to it or pen-test tools and network apps:

http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?submenu=zaurus/zaurusheader&page=zaurus/zaurusmain

In my mind what killed it in the US was being overpriced for the hardware and not advertising.

I concur. Overpriced in a big way. Also, the hardware was nice from a design perpective, but they felt cheap and had dim displays. I wanted to get a 6000 to use as a remote controller for my server, but the price was rediculous.

Sharp had an opportunity to really do something nice but never figured it out. Linux has the ability to become whatever they wanted it to be, and if they had thrown a bit more R & D into the product, they would have had a killer pda. All those apps just waiting to be made more pda-like. synching with any desktop. Free applications abound. What a waste.

I'm going to go look for a cheap 5500 to play with :lol:

[Felix Torres]

I can't help but think this is partially a result of Sharp using the Linux OS, especially at the premium prices charged.

You think correctly.

A friend of mine bought one for his network admin duties; he ended up installing a packet sniffer app and using it solely as a (very cheap) network sniffer tool because, having grown used to the PPC PDA apps (especially the third-party apps) the Linux apps were so crude as to be useless to *him*.

The Zaurus is a good pocket computer if you *want* Linux in your pocket.
If you don't care about the OS and just want high-quality mobile productivity apps with depth, go elsewhere; Palm, PPC, or even Symbian.

[daveshih]

I myself am quite interested at the Zaurus line, and having been looking at various sites such as www.zaurususergroup.com. This headline wasn't that unexpected over at Zaurus user land.
http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/5438.html
I can't help but think this is partially a result of Sharp using the Linux OS, especially at the premium prices charged.
I'd say that if it were either just the Linux OS, or just the premium prices, Zaurus would have been fine, but the combination of them two, ultimately cost Sharp a great opportunity here at the US.
1. Look at how the Zaurus 6000L is selling at Amazon, it's like hot cakes (last night it was at #56 of its sales chart), because Amazon reduced the prices to $399 (which, after seeing the hot-selling trend, they promptly raised to $450 by throwing in a 128MB SD card, after the initial selling spree :evil: ).
Folks, that's a VGA pda with WIFI and built-in thumb board for $399 :!:.
2. If it were a Pocket PC (with Windows Mobile 2003 SE) and selling at $500 to $600, it'd still sell like the iPaq 4700 or Dell x50v.
However, with the two factors combined, it lost both crowds who'd love to have a VGA pda to play with.

I liked the new device, but the lack of Wi-Fi in any new device automatically puts it on the "No Buy" list. Either way the hardware was cool.

I'm assuming that you're talking about the c-3000, but don't forget we're talking about the US market, which c-3000 won't be available. In US, 6000(L/N/W) is the only pda, not even the c750/760/860 series. And 6000L has built-in WIFI.

I find myself still not getting over the fact that VGA pda with WIFI and built-in keyboard for $399. Hopefully Amazon will come to its senses and bring back that pricing before they're all gone.

Dave

[Deslock]

I can't help but think this is partially a result of Sharp using the Linux OS, especially at the premium prices charged.
They stopped selling here in the USA for the same reason as Toshiba and Sony. They can't compete with Palm, HP, and Dell.

Most PDA buyers (remember, we handheld-computer enthusiasts are a small subset) consider price and hardware gee-whiz factor before OS (and many don't consider OS at all). None of Sharp's units have hardware that would impress most users. None. Sure, the slide-out keyboard is cool, but it doesn't make up for the ugly design, size, and weight (and in the case of the older models, the mediocre screens). And the Zaurus devices were more expensive than most other handhelds. Frankly, I'm surprised they lasted in the US market this long.

Personally, I'd like to run Linux on my handheld. But I have no interest in carrying around a 10 ounce device that's an inch longer than my hx4700 (and is thicker and wider... and has a smaller battery).

[danmanmayer]

the Sharp zaruas is a really cool device and I know a few people with them. Yes i agree part of the problem was using an OS that many would be afraid to try on their device and that it would be harder to work with and use regular software (outlook) with and such, but in many ways these are far better devices than the pocket pcs. Offering many things no pocket pc OEM has done, and actually running faster on the same processor. Try running video on one of these and on a equal processor pocket pc these will beat the pocket pc hands down, with the same video file... They have had a higher rez screen for awhile althought pocket pc is catching up there.

I have loved Sharps innovation with these PDAs and always hoped they would release a pocket pc version... there next zaruas has a 4GB hard drive built in.... how is that for cool.

[Lucky Bob]

You see, the problem with Americans (unlike the Japanese) is that they don't have ESP. You can't just stick a product on a website and hope that people will stumble upon the page. That's just a poor way to sell a device. The only times I've ever really seen Sharp's devices are when Brighthand announces them. After that, I never hear from them again.

[Jason Dunn]

Same old story: one device does not a platform make. Being successful with a one-off device either takes stunning hardware design and amazing market timing (iPod) or it takes a real platform with developers, accessories, community, etc. Sharp just didn't understand this.

[twalk]

Another thing to keep in mind: OEMs pay only around $15 per OS license for PDAs (both PPC & Palm). Adding to that, Sharp had to pay for custom work on their linux distribution to get it to run on the Zaurus. Where's the savings? Linux's price advantage on PCs starts at around $70 for an OEM version of XP, and amounts to hundreds of dollars compared to the server versions.