Tuxtops

Last week, it was widely reported that Sharp is pulling out of the U.S. handheld market. However, the company has since told a Japanese web site that there's no truth to this. Sharp told IT Media News that the earlier report was incorrect. It hasn't decided to stop selling the SL-6000L in the U.S. and will decide on case-by-case basis whether to offer future Zaurus models in this country. Regardless, it doesn't look good.

The Register reports that iRiver has launched its embedded Linux-based portable multimedia player in the UK market. The PMP-120 and PMP-140 models offer 20GB and 40GB hard drives, respectively, and 3.5-inch LCD screens supporting video playback in a number of formats.

Companies that are running customized applications may find a migration to Linux too costly or complex, notes Pete Morgan, a VisualBasic/Access developer. In this article published by DesktopLinux.com, Morgan offers a few solutions to help overcome the challenge.

PalmOne today introduced the Treo 650 smartphone, a new version of its device that combines a full-featured mobile phone with email, a Palm OS organizer, messaging and Web access.

Yet another slider handset finds its way to Samsung's portfolio: the SGH-D500 offers a whopping 80 MB of memory, 1.3 MP camera, 18-bit colour screen and MP3 player.

Cell phone maker Nokia on Sunday unveiled Preminet, a "one-stop shop" for wireless operators to sell ring tones, games, picture messaging and other cell phone paraphernalia, a move that opens a new battle front with nemesis Qualcomm.

Sharp Japan released a new Zaurus October 15th. There were some on display at WPC2004 Tokyo. Pictures of the Sharp SL-C3000 tested in English; specs of the SL-C3000. Links at Slashdot.

Developers targeting the ARM platform may be interested in an ARM-based desktop PC style system that can run Debian Linux. The Iyonix PC is based on an Intel XScale 80321 processor. A variety of models and configurations are available.

Although Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition brought some important improvements to the Pocket PC platform, Microsoft has not yet made the myriad of other changes to the operating system people have been hoping for. However, it is beginning to seem that the next version of this operating system, code-named Magneto, will bring some significant improvements.

One & Co conjures Media Center concepts for a future where Home Theater PCs make for fashionable additions to the living room - as opposed to current less-than-stylish models.