Sharp develops widescreen PDA

Sharp plans to launch a widescreen PDA, running Windows Mobile 5.0, in March. The company is developing its EM-One PDA in conjunction with Japanese carrier EMobile.

The device will feature a TV tuner, WiFi, Bluetooth and 1.3-megapixel camera. It has a 4.1″ screen with WVGA (800 pixels by 480 pixels) resolution and a QWERTY keyboard which slides under the screen when not in use.

The device measures 140 millimeters by 70 millimeters and is 18.9 millimeters thick. It weighs 250 grams including the battery pack.

Pre-installed software includes Internet Explorer Mobile, Opera Mobile, versions of World, Excel and Powerpoint, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, a PDF viewer, image and video player software, a bar code reader and dictionary software.

EM-One will cost between $331 and $800, depending on service plan, and at the moment it is only available in Japan.

EMobile plans to launch its service this year in Japan. It has built a WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) network for data services that will offer HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access) from launch. EMobile is owned by Japanese broadband provider EAccess Co.