Quote:
|
Originally Posted by StuBear
Bluetooth is almost unkown here in Japan, and wifi is only slightly better.
There are almost no wifi hotspots available in Osaka (the 2nd biggest city) and it is mostly limited to home networks (although warwalking can score you a heap of access points even those are drying up as most wifi routers come wep or wpa enabled by default).
As the C3200 (like all the other clamshell modules) is only designed for release in Japan - you will noyl be able to get it outside Japan through greymarket exports - there is no drive to add wifi yet (there probably never will be for bluetooth) although it is dissapointing to see that they haven't upped the RAM on the latest model.
All in all a poor "upgrade" by Sharp
Stu
|
As a networking service provider and road warrior myself, in Japan, I can attest that:
There are tons of hotspots in Osaka, Tokyo and the smaller cities in Japan.
There are several networking options in addition to WiFi. Wilcom, Docomo, AU, are among the national coverage providors with more in the major urban centres (Osaka, Tokyo).
The only time I have been without net access was when I was in the mountains. But even my cell phone didn't work, then.
Anyway, Sharp's approach is a modular one. Rather than lock you to a built-in network interface, you choose your provider, select a compatible network card and get connected.
As long as you are comfortable with written Japanese, this is pretty straight forward. The SL-Cxx00 series is a bit of a problem outside of Japan if for no other reason that it is only marketed in Japan and the available network card drivers reflect that unfortunate reality.
As a recent purchaser of the SL-C3200, my issues are more related to getting to know it under the hood (i.e., the linux implementation) so that I can cobble together my own NOC access tools. This is strictly a learning curve issue. The device itself is perfectly capable of doing everything I need in terms of networking.
As for bluetooth, I have it in my cellphones, I have it in my laptop, I have a bluetooth earphone/mic and it works with these devices. I've tried it in several situations but I don't use it. Just don't see the need. Not sure if the current Zaurus's support it or not. I will say that it is hardly unknown. I know people who use it and everyone seems to know of its existance (even the grandmothers), even if they don't know what it does.