The Sharp Mebius PC- NJ70A isn’t like other netbooks. First, this recently announced laptop has a secondary 4 inch, 854 x 400 pixel touchscreen where most netbooks would have a simple touchpad. And second, it carriers a high price tag (it’ll cost $999 to import one to the US through Dynamism). But it turns out there’s another reason this laptop is unlike most netbooks: Sharp doesn’t really expect it to be used as a mobile computer outside the home.

In a recent interview, a Sharp executive basically admitted that the Mebius PC-NJ70A is going to get crappy battery life. That shouldn’t be horribly surprising, since the battery has to power two separate LCD screens. So you’ll be lucky to get 2 hours of run time from a standard battery, making this mini-laptop more useful when you’re around the house or at a coffee shop with plentiful electrical outlets.

But the secondary display does add some features to this laptop that you won’t find on other netbooks, like support for handwriting recognition. You can also preview pictures, pull up a calculator, or other programs on the secondary display without interfering with the content of the primary screen.

via Portable Monkey

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8 replies on “Sharp Mebius PC-NJ70A – Not intended for use outside the home”

  1. The main screen should be able to “power down” independently of the small screen.
    If not, that “Sharp Executive” needs to start firing hardware engineers.

  2. I don’t see why they don’t have two batteries in there…or somehow set structure of the device so that a BIG battery fits in the case without sticking out or ruining the aesthetics. They only need to hit maybe 4 or 4.5 hours to be at least reasonable. That won’t win awards but with four hours you can at least take it on the road.

    Honestly, I think they screwed the pooch in other areas anyway. They needed a cheaper second screen in the pad area to make a cheaper netbook overall. They could have used a Nintendo DSi screen and only been $25 more then most netbooks. Still a touch screen, still handwriting recognition, still able to throw a calculator up on the pad…but affordable.

    If this thing had been $475 with two screens….it would have killed. They would have sold MILLIONS in only a matter of months. It could have been the next big thing, but at this point this thing will quietly tank. And even worse someone else WILL come out with a lesser second screen and will take this idea and run with it.

  3. Seems like a gimmick to me, not much practical application IMHO. Besides, for a grand I could get a refurb latest-gen Macbook that smokes this thing.
    No thanks.

  4. Why not just add a larger battery? Yes, the weight will go up, but what the heck can you do with (at best) a 2 hour battery?

  5. I can almost see where they’re going with this. I’m just not sure if I like it. It opens the door for other companies to be lazy and just say “No, no, this is meant for only home use!”.

    While at the same time…the laptop form factor works in the home. You just shut it and put it in a corner; for the space deprived(like myself) there’s something to be said for having small power in a small space.

    I’m just not sure here.

Comments are closed.