Sharp shows first Efficeon-based notebook

Japan’s Sharp Corp. has become the first personal computer maker to announce a machine based on Transmeta Corp.’s new Efficeon processor, the companies said Tuesday.

The Sharp Mebius Muramasa PC-MM2-5NE will go on sale in Japan on Jan. 2 and is expected to be priced around ¥180,000 ($1,675), Miyuki Nakayama, a spokeswoman for Sharp in Tokyo said.

The machine is based on the Efficeon TM8600, which runs at a 1GHz clock speed, and also includes a 10.4-inch XGA resolution LCD (liquid crystal display), 256MB of memory and a 20GB hard-disk drive. ATI Technologies Inc.’s Mobility Radeon graphics accelerator and IEEE802.11b/g wireless LAN are also built in.

Battery life is between 3.5 hours and 11 hours, depending on the choice of battery pack, according to figures from Sharp.

Like other machines in the Muramasa range, which is called Actius MM overseas, the new Efficeon notebook is both light and thin. The notebook weighs 910 grams and the thickness ranges from 15.7 millimeters to 19.6 millimeters. Length and width are 251 millimeters and 206 millimeters respectively.

Sharp does not have any plans to sell the machine overseas, said Nakayama.

That the first announcement of an Efficeon-based PC is from Asia should come as no surprise. Asian PC makers are Transmeta’s best customers and orders from three companies in the region accounted for 64 percent of the company’s net revenue in the first nine months of its current fiscal year, according to its latest filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Prominent customers for its Crusoe processor have included Fujitsu Ltd., Sony Corp., NEC Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Casio Computer Co. Ltd. in addition to Sharp Corp.

Transmeta also manufactures the Efficeon processor in Asia. The first-generation models are being produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) on a 0.13 micron (130 nanometer) production line. Transmeta has lined up Japan’s Fujitsu Ltd. to produce the second-generation Efficeon on its 90 nanometer line. That chip is expected sometime in 2004.