Hands-on with the Sharp/Willcom D4

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x5cxch

Japanese news site, Akihabara, got a chance to play around with the Atom-based UMPC from Sharp and Willcom — called the D4 — that we told you about last month.

“We have here a 1.33GHz Centrino Atom Z520 CPU (one of the first UMPCs on the market carrying it!) Windows Vista, 40GB HDD, 1GB RAM, a 5″ 1024×600 TFT touchscreen all in a compact size of 84x188x25.9mm and weighing 470g… Nearly first generation PSP size!”

They seemed to like everything except for Vista (citing that it stutters) but mentioned that the device they tested is still in Alpha, so it’s still got some work left. The reviewer was told that Windows XP running on the D4 was very fast, though.

It’ll be available next month in Japan for almost $1,300, plus a two-year Willcom service contract. Too rich for my blood, but a boy can dream.