Sharp, Trolltech Put Embedded Linux Applications in the Palm of Your Hand.

Business Editors/Technology Writers

MAHWAH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 2001

The Sharp SL-5000D is a PDA with a difference; it is the first PDA from a major power in consumer electronics to ship with the Linux operating system.

(The Sharp SL-5000D will be on display at Comdex in the Trolltech booth, #L 7846)

"Sharp believes that consumers are just waiting for the kind of power and flexibility this operating environment brings to palmtop computing," said Steve Petix, Sharp's associate vice president, Mobile & IT Solutions Group. "We've worked hard on two things that will ensure the success of the Zaurus: the power and reliability of the hardware platform; and the richness of the application environment."

Starting today, Sharp is accepting pre-orders from the developer community for the SL-5000D developer unit. The SL-5000D uses the Embedix Plus PDA solution, which contains: Lineo's Embedix(TM) Linux; Trolltech's Qt/Embedded(TM) and Qt AWT GUI technologies; Insignia Solution's Jeode PDA Edition(TM); and Opera Software's embedded web browser. Running on top of Embedix Plus is Trolltech's Qt Palmtop, an application environment based on Qt that provides a full range of applications for business productivity, handheld games, personal information management, and synchronization across multiple desktops.

"The SL-5000D shows that when you combine slick hardware with a cool application environment, you end up with a product that pushes the limits of what a PDA can do," said Haavard Nord, Trolltech's CEO. "It is also another demonstration of an important point: Linux is a mainstream operating system. It brings the same kind of value to PDAs that it has already brought to the server market."

      Trolltech was chosen to provide the user interface for four
    reasons:

1.  Community support: There are currently tens of thousands of
    developers familiar with Qt, the development tool used to build Qt
    Palmtop;
2.  Thousands of existing applications: Given the cross-platform
    nature of Trolltech's development tools, many applications can be
    easily ported to Sharp's device;
3.  Speed and efficiency: Qt Palmtop possesses a small memory
    footprint, yet provides desktop-like functionality;
4.  Java Support: Insignia's Jeode and Trolltech's Qt AWT will support
    all Java-PersonalJava based applications. The combination of these
    two pieces of software allows Java applications to have a native
    look and feel, while providing efficient memory usage.

For more information on Sharp's developer program, please visit http://developer.sharpsec.com.

About Trolltech:

Trolltech develops, supports, and markets Qt, Qt/Embedded, and Qt Palmtop. Qt and Qt/Embedded are C++ crossplatform development frameworks (the embedded version includes its own windowing system) that let programmers rapidly build state-of-the-art GUI applications for desktop and embedded environments using a "write once, compile anywhere" strategy. They have been used to develop hundreds of successful commercial applications worldwide. Qt Palmtop is an embedded application environment that uses Qt/Embedded to provide simple, powerful, intuitive, and flexible application solutions for embedded systems. Trolltech is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices in Santa Clara, California, and Brisbane, Australia.

Sharp Electronics Corporation

Sharp Electronics Corporation is the U.S. sales and marketing subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer of the core digital technologies that are playing an integral role in shaping the next generation of mobile computing products for consumer and business needs. Since creating the Wizard(R) electronic organizer in 1989, Sharp has led the market in introducing innovative handheld computing products. Sharp is also the global leader in LCD technology, which is incorporated into leading-edge LCD monitors and projectors. From the small office/home office (SOHO) to large corporate environments, Sharp provides a variety of innovative, computer-related solutions designed to help increase productivity while providing functionality to meet customer demand. Dedicated to improving people's lives through the use of advanced technology and a commitment to innovation, quality, value and design, Sharp Electronics employs approximately 2,900 people nationwide to support its more than 50 product lines.