Sharp
Sharp is a name that techies from across the globe have come to know and trust. Who has not heard of the famous Sharp calculator that used to be the pride and joy of this prestigious company? If you own one that is a bit older, the odds are very good that it is a model of the Sharp Corporation. Yet in 1993 the Sharp PDA hailed the fact that the company was not content to simply rest on its laurels, but instead was ready and able to usher in the next decade of new technological advances. The name for this gadget was “Zaurus,” which is strangely reminiscent of the word “saurus” which is of course tied in to the dinosaurs. Instead of speaking of antiquated technology, however, the Zaurus speaks of rugged longevity that is certainly part and parcel of the Sharp Corporation’s standard philosophy when it comes to designing new products.

By today’s standards – such as the Sharp cellular PDA – the first model that rolled off the assembly line in 1993 now does look positively antiquated, yet at the time it was a piece of breakthrough technology. It came standard with a black and white screen and offered handwriting recognition, which was the sign of a well designed PDA. As the year went on, the next Zaurus came out and with it the ability to have a built-in modem which did not add significant weight to the unit at all. Sharp PDA aluminum cases with their sleek design added a level of class to the machine that had eager buyers ready to part with their hard earned cash. Additional features of the second generation Zaurus also included facsimile abilities.

Yet it was the year 1995 that brought Sharp to the long awaited mobile phone interface which now made this unit an unstoppable market sweetheart. Of course, the Sharp PDA would be nothing if not for its ability to connect to Linux machines, and the SL series was strictly a Linux based line of PDAs. At this point in time it is hard to guess where Sharp will go next. Considering that the company is always on the cutting edge of new technology, it would not be at all surprising to see them usher in a new form of equipment that will take the entire market of PDAs to a new level. While rumors abound all over the Internet, thus far nothing concrete has been announced.