Customer Reviews

Sharp Mobilon TriPad PV-6000 Handheld PC

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Overall, this is an excellent product for people who don't need a full price, full weight notebook while travelling, but rather something with which to take basic notes, do scheduling and e-mail and simple web browsing, and also, especially, reading books downloaded from the web. Pluses are the very usable keyboard, the amazing battery life, and the screen, which while not great for graphics, is fine for text. The feature which allows you to fold the screen down over the keyboard, and use it as a tablet, is fantastic. Download a book, and set the browser at the largest font, hold the machine as a tablet, and you can comfortably read for hours, just like reading a book (although the machine, while light, is heaviest on top, which is a little awkward). For twice the cost of the RocketBook, you get just as good a screen, and word processing, scheduling and internet capacity to boot. Of course, this is too large and heavy to function as a real handheld. And there are the frustrating limits of all Windows CE machines, especially a Word program which is not just stripped down, but castrated (no page numbers, search function or footnotes). The process of connecting to desktop PCs is easy, but slower than it needs to be. But overall, this is a great little machine.

I have used this machine for about 6 months now, and it simply perfect for the work I do. I use the office suite to start documents while on the road (I sometimes spruce them up once back at the office with the full version of Word or Excel), and I find other programs handy as well.

I use Microsoft Streets & Maps to make small maps that this machine can use on the road, and I use the free bookreader from Mobibook to read ebooks.

My only recommendation is that you buy Vadem's new model instead (...). Sharp labeled this model, but it was built by Vadem as well. For less money, you can get twice the memory, twice the speed and better graphics.

I have had my Mobilon for a year now and I still love it. As a professional journalist and technical writer, this little PC has made me more productive and efficient. Rather than using a notepad and pen, I bring along my Mobilon and essentially take dictation from interviewees. With applications like Pocket Word, Excel and PowerPoint, it snycs beautifully and easily with my desktop for more technical applications and the 12 hour battery life is fabulous! It also syncs with Outlook so I have all my contacts and my schedule with me. The touch screen technology and built-in handwriting recognition software mean I don't have to find a surface for a mouse and I can take notes or draw figures with the stylus. The monitor resolution is very clear, though hard to read in bright sunshine, so don't take it poolside. Color and grahics are very good, though you are limited when it comes to your choice of fonts--not a critical item for me.

I have small hands, so I think the keyboard is big enough for me, though some people have commented that typing on it is awkward. I disagree.

Of course, you can download or buy lots of great software from Bubblet (TM) to finance and utilites, so the sky's the limit for how you decide to use this impressive little machine.

If you are looking for a laptop that doesn't weigh seven pounds but is powerful enough for Word documents, spreadsheets and more, the Sharp Mobilon is for you.

I use the Tripad (PV6000) in tablet mode for data entry and inventory control. CIC's Jot and the Jot Keyboard are both a big help with direct entry of numbers. It sure beats the laptop. The battery life is great. I did order the memory upgrade, 32 MB and added a CF card. I also added a Calluna 260 MB hard disk to the PC card slot to store backups and all of the eBooks from Peanut Press, Books2Read, and Mobibook.

Let me state first off that I love(d) this machine! It is light-weight, easy to use and interfaces superbly with your desktop or notebook.
That said, I feel that I need to warn you that in 1 year, I have had to return my machine 4 times for the same repair. It freezes, won't shut off, then after a hard reset, won't turn back on. Sharp has replaced the battery, the main chip and the inverter, now is going to charge me [alot] to fix the machine! I was considering buying a new one, until I talked to my Dad who also bought one at my recomendation and found out that his is doing the same thing. Obviously, I didn't get a rare lemon.
Take a chance if you must, but I am steering clear of this wonderful little computer until they fix some major problems!

Throw away that old paper Daytimer (I did!) - the Sharp Mobilon TriPad is the perfect unit for getting your life organized. Using the supplied sync software, I transfered almost 150 entries to the Contacts application. I use the Task and Calendar applications to keep me efficently on, well, task! Although the modem is quite slow, I occasionally use my Mobilon to connect to my ISP when I'm away from home and check personal e-mail. (There are some limitations to the Pocket Internet Explorer - accessing a secure site is almost impossible because the IE version is not high enough.) Final note on Pocket Word - despite its limitations, I find it tremendously valuable as I do a great deal of drafting. I can then transfer these documents to my home or work computer, and finish them off in Word. Ok, one last comment: People are amazed at my TriPad. When I whip it out in public, I always get at least one inquiry.

The best thing about this is the design, but the arms connecting the screen and keyboard look odd when the unit is closed. The screen is fairly dim, and must be used in a dark/moderately lit room. The viewing angle of the screen is horrible; the only position you can see the whole screen without an inversion/blackout effect is at an angle where any overhead lighting glares all over the place. The CPU speed isn't particularly slow, but the graphics ([re]drawing the screen) goes on at an awful crawl - i.e. it's no good for graphical things. Now I must sound entirely bitter and biased against this machine, but I'm not, I carry it in my bag all the time and use it when I can. I even use it as an electronic book, its best use so far.

I bought my Tripad last year and at the time it was my sole computer for PIM, Internet word processing. Unfortunately a good concept in design is let down by so-so software and slow proceesing. 70Mhz was slow even for its time what with the Jornada 820 at 190Mhz. Most applications tend to hang if too many are opened simultaneously and Sharp's machine does not contain most of the goodies that are standard with the vadem clio. Lastly the machine weighs a ton and the only person who could use this machine on the fly would be jesse ventura or hulk hogan. On the other hand it has a tremendous wow factor, ipaq notwithstanding. both a pcmcia and a cf slot and although you cannot install the microdrive it has enough room for memory expansion. a StrongARM processor with 206 Mhz, 64 MB RAM, Windows CE 3.0 and lose a pound of weight and you can be the king of the world. as is it is only a mediocre performer.

I just bought this thing from Amazon and all I can say is WOW!!!!

This is probably the best purchase I have ever made. This thing is everything I ever expected and more!! It's easy to use as well - even my wife can operate it!

I have to say, everyone out there who is thinking of buying this, stop thinking. I bought it and I am extremely happy with it the moment I powered this thing on. YOU ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS PURCHASE! I GUARANTEE IT!!!