Sharp Expert Pad PI-7000

The Sharp Expert Pad PI-7000 was a touchscreen mobile device that was released by Sharp Corporation, based on the Newton platform from Apple Computer.

Release
The Expert Pad PI-7000 was released on August 3, 1993 at Macworld Expo Boston for 899 and began shipping to retailers in September with expected street prices of $699. Sharp had projected sales of millions of units, but only about 10,000 were sold in the first year.

Features
Like the original MessagePad, the Expert Pad PI-7000 featured a 20 MHz ARM 610 processor with 640 KB of static RAM. 448 to 482 KB of RAM was used by Newton OS, depending on the version, leaving 158 to 192 KB available for user data. Storage space could be expanded through the PCMCIA Type II slot. The monochrome LCD screen displayed 336 x 240 pixels. A 9600 baud fax modem was optional.

System updates
Software patches updated the OS from version 1.0 to 1.0.5. A new ROM upgrade with Newton OS 1.1 became available on October 30, 1993. The final patch was version 1.1.1. The Expert Pad PI-7100 contained virtually the same hardware as the PI-7000, but the newer model's ROM could be updated from version 1.2 to 1.3 like the MessagePad 100, neither of which was supported by their respective predecessors.