Sharp’s New SP600 PMP Offers Touchscreen and Wholly Insipid ‘Plastic Brick’ Styling

Whilst it seems that many gadget sites are happy simply to post a few specifications and not offer any sort of opinion concerning the gadgets they feature (on the basis that, apparently, quantity and not quality is the key), at TFTS we pride ourselves on writing posts that have at least some semblance of personality and when it comes to Sharp’s new SP600 PMP (Portable Media Player) we are surprised that we are the first to question the device’s wholly lack lustre aesthetics.

From a technical perspective at least, Sharp’s new SP600 PMP offers everything you would expect from a Portable Media Player – a touchscreen (measuring in at 4.3”), MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG and AAC audio file compatibility (we award plus 10 points for any device that supports the seriously underrated and under supported OGG format, so that’s some good news), as well as DIVX, MPEG1/2/4, WMV7/8/9, H.264BP and ASP video file formats. It also runs Windows CD 5.0.

So far, so good…

Sharp’s SP600 PMP also comes with an electronic dictionary, which is nice (and underlines what seems to be a growing trend to include an electronic dictionary with just about every emerging gadget these days).

Capable, certainly, but what Sharp seem to have completely overlooked as far as the SP600 PMP is concerned is its aesthetics, which, let’s be honest here, is quite an oversight. The SP600 PMP may well be capable but if it looks about as inspiring as a plastic brick who could honestly care a less?

As far as cutting it’s own style is concerned, Sharp’s SP600 PMP is a complete disappointment, certainly as far as we are concerned – especially when you compare this against the aesthetic wars currently ranging in the external hard disk market (see LaCie’s Monolithic HDD, Segate’s Maxtor BlackArmor, Toshiba’s New 1.8” drive, et al). Perhaps its just us but if an external hard disk drive can look so much more appealing visually than a handheld PMP then either Sharp’s design sensibilities are wholly disappointing or external hard disk drives have just genuinely become more lust-worthy (we suspect it’s actually a mixture of the two).

Sorry Sharp but, as much as we respect you (and we genuinely do, though not quite as much as we do Panasonic, Sony, Apple, Iriver, Creative, Lacie….), our advice would be to hire a bunch of more inventive designers who, having had a hearty breakfast, could compliment the technology with styling we would be happily be seen dead with.

The Sharp SP600 PMP is presently being released in Korea for around 419,000 Won (approximately $439 / €301 / £224 at the time of writing).

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