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Sharp to show Linux PDAs

Sharp Corp will show prototypes of its electronic organizers running on the free Linux operating system in the US next month in a challenge to Palm Inc and Microsoft Corp on their home turf.

The prototypes will be displayed at the JavaOne Conference in San Francisco starting June 4, said Hiroshi Uno, general manager for Sharp's personal digital assistants, or PDAs, in his speech at a Tokyo trade show yesterday. Sun Microsystems Inc is organizing the showcase of products and services using its Java computer language, which runs on all computer operating systems.

Japan's largest PDA maker plans to introduce the Linux-based handheld to the US and European markets later this year amid growing competition at home, where devices running on its own Zaurus operating system rival Palm's products and Microsoft's Pocket PCs. Osaka-based Sharp is counting on Java-based application software to attract global consumers to its palm-top devices.

"We will call on global companies and engineers to work together with us" to expand Java programs for PDAs, Uno said.

Sharp is on course to introduce a Linux-based multimedia model in the US and a wireless communication device in Europe in October, he said.

Some software developers outside Japan have agreed to work with Sharp since it announced in March it will introduce Linux-based PDAs to the global market.
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