PDA Buyer's Guide Reviews The Sharp Zaurus SL-6000

Tong Zhang writes "PDA Buyer's Guide has published an in-depth review of the Sharp Zaurus SL-6000. If you like livin' large, this super-sized Linux PDA may be just the ticket. Sharp targets the enterprise rather than consumers with this Zaurus model, which looks like an SL-5600 on steriods. It has an amazing VGA display, a 400 MHz processor, thumb keyboard, WiFi and more. Read the full review." This adds just a bit more information to the previously mentioned review at BargainPDA.

Correct Link

[Anonymous Coward]

Rather than the empty link (href="") in the story, this is the correct link to the previous story on the Zaurus SL-6000 [slashdot.org].

Also, the BargainPDA article, directly, is here [bargainpda.com].

A killer feature

[Ianoo]

A really amazing feature of this PDA is that it can act as USB host (since the Linux kernel includes excellent support for USB). This means, presumably, that we can plug pretty much any Linux-supported USB device into it. A USB hard disk, CD-ROM drive, networking adapter, printer? That sounds nice!

Another completely different question - as mentioned in the article, the PDA uses a combination of Flash and SDRAM to mirror the secondary/primary disk/memory model that you see with most normal computers running Linux. This is different to Windows CE, which uses the same memory for both running programs and storing them and their data, although I believe this memory is dynamically divided between memory and storage and programs are still copied across the divide when they're actually run; different again is PalmOS, which as far as I'm aware simply runs a program "in place" since programs are both stored and run in the Flash RAM on a device.

Is there anything that can make Linux work like this? I can imagine a hack involving boot-time RAM disks and loop mounting, but it doesn't sound like an terribly optimal solution.

Re:This thing is the future of mobile computing no

[avidday]

3-4 hours battery life, tops, according to the review

Another PDA for ya..

[tarunthegreat2]

and this one's much cheaper, and yes, it runs Linux. Simputer [amidasimputer.com]

RTFA

[fpga_guy]

The Z6000, like all Zaurii before it, has a sliding cover thumb keyboard built in...

Pricing ?

[polyp2000]

The one thing I dont understand is the high cost of certain Linux based PDA's. Given the cost saving on the operating system licensing surely that should be passed onto the consumer. The hardware itself isnt radically different from PocketPC based devices which in general cost less. Sooner or later I'll be in the market for a PDA but i dont think I should have to pay extra for the privelege of not having to use a Microsoft based one.

The real question is out of the newer specification PDA's which ones can be re-flashed with Linux and work as well as the sharp offering ? I suppose a palm based device might be an alternative but i want my bash shell and dev tools to boot .

I've got SL-C860

[Anonymous Coward]

I've ordered an 860 from shirtpocket(.co.uk). This is clamshell model sold only in Japan, but Shirtpocket guys have made really good job on translating it to Engslih. However, I've moved to Cacko ROM. It is an amazing PDA, best of everything I had or still have (such as Garmin iQue, an superb Palm OS PDA + GPS). Simply put, this *is* a laptop you can put in your pocket (although a bigger one). It's got 640x480 screen, SD and CF slots (I have a WiFi card there), and it connects via USB to act both as USB host and P2P network interface. There's a LOT of software there and several flavors of ROM images. You can even make your own Linux distro for it. There's that PDAXROM for geeks: you get the login prompt, log in, then type startx to get GUI, the real GUI with moving, resizeable windows, just like you on your PC. I have perl and python there, there are several IDE environments, Java and GCC. It can be overclocked, in which case you can use mplayer to view full-screen movies in 25fps. The keyboard is small, but you can get used to thumb typing in a short time. Yes, you can make swap files to get extra memory as well. While the PDA functions aren't quite impressive, you can put Korganizer there and get pretty decent results. If the mail app isn't worth it, install Mozilla Thunderbird and have a go. Yup, you can put GIMP there, Apache as well. PHP just goes with that. And what would it be without MySQL? You can install it too...

This really is a Geek dream come true. :) It isn't for the faint of the heart, for it does need some knowledge to hack it, and flashing ROM in a wrong way can render it unusable, and you get no support outside of Japan. This is a hacking toy, the best I've seen so far.

Oh, and the geekiest of the geeky things: I've shown it to Ken Coar while he was wisiting Croatia, and guess what - he was jealous! :-)

Re:Looks cool but..

[Ianoo]

Is this a case of English vs American English slang?

A "biro" is what most people call ballpoint pens here in the UK (the same most people say "hoover" instead of "vacuum cleaner").

Tipex is an obnoxious white semi-liquid substance than comes in a small pot or a pen or a tape form than you can "paint" over the top of text you've written with most kinds of pens to erase it.

Re:Looks cool but..

[Ianoo]

Oh, and it seems it's spelt "Tipp-Ex", not tipex. Here's the official site [bicworld.com].

comparison survey of all SHARP Linux PDAs

[wehe]

Here is a comparison chart of the SHARP Zaurus Linux PDA series [tuxmobil.org]. The survey contains also the internal code names for the PDAs, which are taken from dog races (Collie, Boxer, Poodle, ..).

Re:This thing is the future of mobile computing no

[EvilTwinSkippy]

Work's buying me a new iBook. 6 hour battery life. More than 6 hours and I'd need a break anyway.

My current Vaio has about 2 hours of battery. It's running Gentoo with the 2.6 kernel, and I've managed to get it to flip the speedstep processor down. It really only makes the computer run slower. The backlight on the display is what chews battery like gum.

For my purposes, I need a full keyboard. I actually find the back of a municpal transit bus the ideal place to code. I get on the bus at the first stop, and always take the seat right behind the rear door. That sheet metal barrier they set up gives me a few extra inches of room to flip the screen up.

And yes, the laptop does operate well off my lap. And I usually type comfortably with someone in the next seat, unless they are a creasote or something.

Re:This thing is the future of mobile computing no

[cvd6262]

WTF am I suppose to do with a laptop that can only run for 1.75 hours before needing to be plugged in again?

I would agree with you. Escpecially since I own a Zaurus SL-5500, and an IBM X20 whose battery no longer holds any charge whatsoever.

However, I also just bought a Pontiac Vibe (twin to the Toyota Matrix), and it has a passenger seat that converts into a desk and a 115-volt AC outlet in the dash (I think the Honda Element has like features). Suddenly, that laptop with its DVD player is a lot more useful, especially on long hauls with my 2-year-old.

Features: Yes, Sexy: NO!

[zapp]

I'm probably going to be modded troll for this, or just ignored, but it's gotta be said.

Compare this: set of pictures [newegg.com] of a HP iPAQ 4155/4150

with this [pdabuyersguide.com] (the article) set of pictures.

The 4155 can be obtained from newegg for $400, and the Zaurus has a list price of $700 (almost 2x the price), and the only extra thing the zaurus offers feature-wise is a VGA screen. Also, the 4155 is the 2nd-smallest PocketPC right now (with the 19xx series being 1st), small enough to keep it in my pocket all day without it being annoying.

Yes, i own a 4155.

Re:A killer feature

[AmericanInKiev]

No - the Hard Disk in the end is what makes the thing valuable.

People who do real work need access to large stores of data - without the cost of parsing what to bring and not.

I'm going somewhere - I bring a. My Laptop or B. My PDA-HD with a verbatim copy of "My Docs" folder.

Do I need everything? No.

But Do I have the time to go through everything and sort out what is it I don't need?

What's wanted here is a small screen - which = long life.

Small size - for weight and pocketability

minimal utility - for killing transit time

And Serious storage.

People who have storage know what to do with it. They store pictures, music or both - They Store Source Code.

People who have a PDA - universally say they don't know what to do with it. (Not a flame - if you think so skip this post). Almost everyone has or had one and doesn't use it.

The solution however is the stop and start HD of the iPod. If you can make the HD unnecessary - but available when needed - you can get serious battery life. - combine with a useable screen for personal movies, pictures, notes etc, keyboard with qwery, and option of wifi - you have a useful device.

My prediction - cellphone with 1" 20MB HD shown by the end of the year - available by christmas of next year. (download ringtones and movies)

AIK

Re:Developer Resources?

[LilMikey]

The ZUG [zaurususergroup.com] has great forums and a number of developer resources and there are rumors flying around that Sharp's developer pages will be available again 'real soon now.'

Re:Developer Resources?

[wytcld]

See www.pdaXrom.org [pdaxrom.org], this article on cross-compiling [linuxdevices.com], Gentoo for Zaurus [opensistemas.com], the Zaurus Software Index [killefiz.de], the Zaurus Message Board [externe.net], Zaurus.spy.org [spy.org], and last but definitely least the Zaurus User Group [zaurususergroup.com] (which among much else has active discussion of where to buy the clamshells from).