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Sharp PC-MM10 Notebook Computer (Sharp-PCMM10)
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More…| PC WorldBench 4: Performance word scores reflect comparisons of PCs in the same category (power or value) running the same operating system. See Guide to the Top-Rated Products for more details. | Poor: 50 (Windows XP Home) |
| Base configuration | Limited |
| CPU | 1-GHz Crusoe TM5800 |
| Screen size | 10.4 inches |
| System memory | 256MB of DDR266 SDRAM |
| Hard drive | 15GB |
| Graphics | 8MB Lynx3DM+ |
| Pointing device | Touchpad |
| Expandability | No multipurpose bays, one PC Card slot |
| Extra features | Fair |
| Bundled removable-media drives | External 8X DVD-ROM and 24X/10X/24X CD-RW combination drive |
| Communications | PC Card V.92 modem, network interface, and 802.11b Wi-Fi |
| Extra ports | Headphone jack |
| Business suite | None |
| Other features | N/A |
| Overall design | Fair |
| Battery life (hours:minutes) | Fair: 2:42 |
| Weight (typical/minimum, in pounds): Typical weight includes the computer, AC adapter, optical drive, and floppy drive (if offered). | Very light: 4.2/2.1 |
| Vendor's reliability/service | Insufficient data |
| Support policy | One-year parts and labor warranty; free unlimited 24-hour daily toll-free support |
Bottom Line
If you are willing to work within its limitations, the MM10 merits attention. It weighs so little, you may forget you're carrying it, and it should be fine for basic work and wireless communications. The offbeat icing on the cake is its included docking cradle, which lets you easily sync files and keep duplicates on both the MM10 and your desktop.
Sharp Actius MM10
PC-MM10 Notebook Computer (Sharp-PCMM10) Review, by Carla Thornton June 30, 2003
WHAT'S HOT: The Actius MM10 is one extremely thin and lightweight notebook. It measures less than an inch thick with the screen closed and weighs just 2.1 pounds without its peripherals. An optional external USB 8X DVD-ROM and 24X/10X/24X CD-RW combo drive is available, as are an external floppy drive, an external CD-ROM drive, and a high-capacity battery pack. 802.11b Wi-Fi wireless and 10/100 ethernet networking are built in.
But the MM10's hottest feature is its docking cradle that effectively turns the notebook into an external USB hard drive. You dock the notebook by standing it vertically, left edge down, in the cradle's sleeve; an included USB cable connects the cradle to your PC. When you flip a switch on the cradle's front to "on," the notebook's 15GB hard drive pops up as a drive letter in an Explorer window on the host. You can then swap files and folders between the notebook's hard drive and the host PC's hard drive as quickly and easily as moving around files and folders on the same machine. The notebook also charges while it's docked.
WHAT'S NOT: The little Actius MM10 suffers from the usual woes of ultraportables, and then some. For one thing, it's far from "blazingly fast" (as described on Sharp's Web site). Transmeta Crusoe processors, designed for thin ultraportables, may run cool, but they tend to perform poorly, and the MM10's 1-GHz TM5800 chip was no different. In our tests, the MM10 posted a dawdling PC WorldBench 4 score of just 50--less than half the speed of the average Intel-powered notebook we've tested recently. The MM10 should still be fine for running a few mainstream applications at once, but it's not the best candidate for CPU-intensive work. It is not even powerful enough to make full use of the external combo drive: A DVD movie we played looked awful, with interrupted audio and choppy video on the small dim screen. Don't count on upgrading memory or storage--both RAM and the small 15GB hard drive are fixed.
It's a good thing the MM10's backspace key is so large and easy to hit--you'll be using it a lot. The keyboard is small and shallow, and some important keys are half size. We could not reliably touch-type the question-mark/slash key, for instance, without hitting the right Shift key instead.
Finally, those who are less than eagle-eyed will have to crank up the size of the icons on the MM10's 10.4-inch screen to make them readable. The screen's native resolution is 1024-by-768 pixels, which makes icons and labels microscopic at their default size. An 800-by-600 setting is also available, but it shrinks the desktop to the center of the screen and surrounds it with a black border. You can stretch the picture back out to fill the screen, but that makes the display look fuzzy.
WHAT ELSE: The MM10's screen does perform one neat trick: when you lay it flat and type Ctrl-Shift-F4, it flips the image, making it right side up to someone sitting behind the notebook. This could come in handy during an informal presentation, especially once you get the hang of moving the cursor in the direction you want it to go (in the opposite direction that you move your hand).
The MM10 has a USB 2.0 port on either side of the case, one PC Card slot, an ethernet port, and a headphone jack. But everything else is adapted to accommodate its thin design. It has neither a standard DB-15 video connector, nor a built-in modem. Instead, a short VGA dongle plugs into a proprietary connection on the back of the notebook, and the MM10 uses a PC Card-based modem (included as standard equipment). Sharp also does not provide an optional docking station to add missing features such as a FireWire port, stereo sound, or more USB ports. The minimalist design does keep weight down: The notebook and its peripherals--the combo drive, modem card, and two power adapters (one for the notebook and one for the optical drive)--weigh altogether just over 4 pounds. (The cradle weighs 1.7 pounds, but you'll typically leave that at your desk.)
Though the MM10's mouse buttons are small and stiff, they get the job done, and the touchpad's cursor is nicely responsive. The thin lithium ion battery performed fairly well in our tests, lasting 2.7 hours, almost as long as the 2.9 hours the vendor advertises. For day-long, on-the-go computing, which this 2-pound notebook is meant for, you'll have to buy Sharp's high-capacity battery, which lasts 9 hours (according to the vendor) but adds $199 to the price and half a pound to the weight. Productivity applications also cost extra. The MM10's small manual is nothing fancy, but it covers all the notebook's features.
UPSHOT: If you are willing to work within its limitations, the MM10 merits attention. It weighs so little, you may forget you're carrying it, and it should be fine for basic work and wireless communications. The offbeat icing on the cake is its included docking cradle, which lets you easily sync files and keep duplicates on both the MM10 and your desktop.
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Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by: RickThom
Strengths: Cool styling, size, screen
Weaknesses: Processor speed, size of memory
Overall: I bought this mid August 2004 for £600 (approx $1000) and got a scanner and premium software pack included, the software because it was a display model. All this from PC World UK. Its probably the only instance you'll find that we've actually had something available cheaper here than from the US. At £600 this is an unbelievable bargain as people are quite fascinated as to how a computer could be so small. I do have to point out to them the limitations of this product but folks think that as long as it sends emails and you can word process, then that's fine. If you're someone who types "properly", with 8 fingers, then your find it awkward due to the size of the keys. I'm a two fingred typist so its no problem. The battery doesnt last too long and the processor has a passing aquaintance with Brer Tortoise, but you cant deny how cool this thing looks. Silver is great and the screen is good. I can spend another £1000 and get something with a slightly higher weight but for higher spec, and thats the point. If you want to have mobility, its perfect. I live in London and because its tiny it fits into my everyday bag; you dont need a laptop bag and therefore a target for thieves. It weighs nothing and with the long life battery (which I havent got) at 0.5lb extra it shouldnt be a problem. At 9 hours life that's great performance.The little touchpad, I find ok though I've never used one before. Its way better than the mouse on my PC, though thats needing a bit of an overhaul. Dont expect great performance from this thing. I'm gonna be using it to record my guitar with a Digitech RPX 400 effects unit. A very mobile studio!
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Reviewed by: mcmillanlst
Strengths: Extreamly small, easier to carry than a notebook, sharp display, quick battery charges, great touchpad, easy to use, turns heads, great price, good number of connections
Weaknesses: puny speaker, shorter battery life than most, free dvd drive requires AC power
Overall: The Sharp Actius MM10 was the smallest fully functioning notebook I could find for sale in the United States. Several sites had imports from Japan but at higher prices. The 2.1 lbs. is nothing when you go to pick it up and are expecting something so much heavier. The size, attractive case, and light weight make this the ultimate in mobile electronics.Right out of the box the battery was very quick to fully charge. I discovered that DVD playback was EXCELLENT with the supplied external "combo" drive. The negative feedback in the review is due to the color settings being set to 24bit instead of the recommended 16 bit. Graphics are sharp and clear on this excellent LCD, with no problems reading small text or icons.The performance will keep some away from this notebook. I see no need for blazing performance when used in conjunction with a desktop. The MM10 would never do as a desktop replacement, but then again it is about the size of a desktop keyboard. Anyone looking for a notebook for travel purposes, as I was, will find the MM10 more than keeps up when subjected to internet usage, word processing, and e-mail at the same time. During the writing of this review I have the latest Windows updates downloading through the convenient LAN connection, two instances of Microsoft Word open, and Windows Media Player playing a MP3 through headphones. This is all running smoothly and silently. I opened the box ready to return, but have no intentions of doing so.
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