(MEBIUS) PCA100 (Aust.)

They largely succeeded. Although the weight and form factor of each computer are essentially identical, the Mebius is thinner than the Vaio at the front (0.8"), and deeper at the rear (1.1").

However, the design feature that is most obviously different and which strikes you most immediately is the display. Commanding more than 90% of the Japanese LCD market, Sharp so dominates the field of TFT technology that the chances are that the display in your Toshiba or Panasonic notebook was supplied by Sharp. Since the display in a notebook computer is usually the single most expensive component, the unique position enjoyed by Sharp yields two very important competitive advantages: First, Sharp will always be able to reserve its best and latest technology for its own products. Second, crucial design dollars which otherwise would go to buying a display can be deployed to boost other system specifications.

The screen is a massive, superbright 11.3" TFT (regular aspect ratio) . Visible viewing area is some 20% greater than that of the Vaio 505, no mean feat considering that the footprint of each machine is virtually identical. Sharp achieved this in two ways: First, they have pushed the screen right to the very edges of the display body. Second, they have placed the Mebius battery internally rather than along the spine of the display/keyboard interface. While the placement of the battery in the Vaio is a clever idea, the disadvantage is that real estate which could have accommodated extra screen area is used instead to house the battery. As a result of this, when the Vaio is opened up side-by-side with the Mebius, the Mebius looks a much bigger

Featuring specifications that one would normally expect in a regular sized - and much heavier - notebook, the PCA100(Mebius) features 64MB EDO RAM as standard, and  super-fast 3.2 GB HDD,. The latest model features a Pentium 233MMX CPU, and Video RAM is 2MB.

In use, the Mebius mouse is superior in both construction and response. However, there is little to choose between the touch-typable 17mm pitch keyboard of either machine, although the Mebius has a 2.5mm stroke compared to the Vaio's 2mm stroke.

The Mebius PCA100 features design innovations of its own. Killing two birds with one stone, the floppy disk drive unit features parallel, serial and PS/2 ports at its rear, thereby rendering any kind of dedicated mini-dock obsolete. Sharp also took a leaf out of Sony's book by creating space within the floppy drive to house its own cable.

Unlike Sony, however, Sharp incorporated both a monitor port and a (second) PS/2 port directly into the machine, thus allowing the travelling business executive the convenience of giving presentations without carrying a mini-dock. Often overlooked when calculating total travel weight, is the size and weight of the AC adapter. The PCA100 AC adapter breaks new ground in power-supply design and, at 0.4lbs, is the lightest and tiniest AC adapter we have ever seen.

It was obvious to Sharp from the outset that to be taken seriously, the Mebius would have to feel every bit as solid and well-crafted as Sony's Vaio 505. Featuring a silver magnesium alloy body, the PCA100 is as reassuringly solid to the touch as the Vaio, and has a smooth, polished finish to it, in contrast to the 505's rough, matt finish.

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