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(Excuse the obvious trolling) People don't get the GP2X cause it sucks. It has almost no 3D accel to speak of, and it looks like it came out of the late 80's. I had some portable Sega thing that was about as good as this thing is. (End trolling) If you need something little than runs linux, look into a Zaurus PDA.

Save some time:

http://www.myzaurus.com/

Battery lasts as long as the Mac Mini, w/screen and keyboard.

I've already got a Zaurus.

And you can replace it with an iPAQ when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

Next time you are blocked in a snow storm with your your Zaurus in your pocket, just launch emerge --update --deep --newuse world. Let's hope the battery will last enough...

This "quest" for a Linux mapping solution reminded me of my own; I've recently been thinking about (rather procrastinating) over buying a Garmin IQUE 3600. In my reading and comp'ing of pdas with GPS/Mapping software, I looked at the Linux-OS-based Sharp Zaurus which gets a lot of (well earned) attention here.

I was looking for more than the Zaurus was offering, but here's what I found and bookmarked. I'm sure others here using the Zaurus will be able to fill in the blanks and share other gps mapping OSS projects out there, if they exist, which I wasn't able to find, other than three below. Zaurus Users Group might have some info as well. Bill Kendrick is also a good resource about these.

SOFTWARE:
GPSGaugeLite
MFG: Serialio
http://www.serialio.com/products/GPSGaugeLite.htm

SOFTWARE:
qpeGPS
http://qpegps.sourceforge.net/

Screenshots | Tested GPS Units

SOFTWARE:
zGPS
http://www.handango.com/sharp/PlatformProductDetai l.jsp?siteId=423.............
http://tinyurl.com/6lau7

HARDWARE:
Model Name: CF Card -GPS Navigation Receiver
Manufacturer: AmbiCom
http://myzaurus.com/acc_Comm10.asp

HARDWARE:
Serial GPS Receiver
Model Name:GPS-U2-Z9
Manufacturer:Serialio.com
http://myzaurus.com/acc_Serial10.asp

This "quest" for a Linux mapping solution reminded me of my own; I've recently been thinking about (rather procrastinating) over buying a Garmin IQUE 3600. In my reading and comp'ing of pdas with GPS/Mapping software, I looked at the Linux-OS-based Sharp Zaurus which gets a lot of (well earned) attention here.

I was looking for more than the Zaurus was offering, but here's what I found and bookmarked. I'm sure others here using the Zaurus will be able to fill in the blanks and share other gps mapping OSS projects out there, if they exist, which I wasn't able to find, other than three below. Zaurus Users Group might have some info as well. Bill Kendrick is also a good resource about these.

SOFTWARE:
GPSGaugeLite
MFG: Serialio
http://www.serialio.com/products/GPSGaugeLite.htm

SOFTWARE:
qpeGPS
http://qpegps.sourceforge.net/

Screenshots | Tested GPS Units

SOFTWARE:
zGPS
http://www.handango.com/sharp/PlatformProductDetai l.jsp?siteId=423.............
http://tinyurl.com/6lau7

HARDWARE:
Model Name: CF Card -GPS Navigation Receiver
Manufacturer: AmbiCom
http://myzaurus.com/acc_Comm10.asp

HARDWARE:
Serial GPS Receiver
Model Name:GPS-U2-Z9
Manufacturer:Serialio.com
http://myzaurus.com/acc_Serial10.asp

It's not that nobody wanted a Zaurus - there just seem to be too few customers interested in a full-fledged Linux-system if it is confined to this "Palm-like shape": Instead of pulling their technology altogether, Sharp finally ought to start selling the clamshell models outside Japan as well - let them know what you would buy!

I would gladly contribute to such a slashdotting, but if, and ONLY if syncML support is included. It is utterly pointless for me to get a PDA that can't sync with my computers. I should be able to use a standard calendaring and contact piece of software and sync with the unit, preferably via bluetooth, which isn't bundled with the unit (granted, it could be added).

There is no news as to whether Sharp will release this ludicrously desirable toy in the West, but I'm not hopeful personally.

The future is not set.
There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.
John Connor
2029 AD

Follow these instructions: Link

Cheaper ones than the above and the OQO, which are also much more "linuxy" models, are discussed here and most possibly made available by everyone outside Japan mailing their interest to buy one (or more, but with wireless connectivity please ;-)) here now.

As it has already been suggested in this thread (albeit somewhat sarcastically), this is the time to let Sharp know now there are markets in the West virtually without competition for quite a while, and a geek population eager to spend some money on what should be their next incarnation of the Zaurus (i.e. in reasonable amounts on reasonably-equipped devices: Who wouldn't want a clamshell version of this Linux machine if it was more easily procurable, and finally came with 802.11g & Bluetooth...).
A Slashdot effect from a few hundred thousand potential buyers' eMail (form) requests ;-) should just do the trick and get the subject some management attention...

No, but Sharp Zaurus runs linux, as well as being much smaller/cheaper/better supported. Even has a full keyboad.

/waiting for his 5600 in the mail :)

Early last year I purchased tkcMail from theKompany.com. At the time I (and many others) purchased this product, the product page stated that IMAP support was "coming soon". That was over a year ago.

Since purchasing the product, I joined the product's mailing list to listen for updates on when to expect IMAP support for the product. I was certainly not the only one complaining. The president of the company would often come on the list and promise its "soon" arrival, often in rather rude wording.

Every so often a developer from the company would appear on the list, telling us it was due out the next week. I believe the last time we heard that was last August.

I and many others tried to get a refund for the product, since we eagerly bought the product in hopes we'd have a useable IMAP client for the Sharp Zaurus and have yet to see it. But we're always promptly reminded that the company website states that sales are "as is". Since the software is downloaded upon purchase, they claim that since there's no way to not have the software, how can they be expect to allow refunds? Good point there, but I still didn't buy that they could advertise a feature as coming soon like they did to bait people into buying something they couldn't get a refund for.

Last November I had just about had enough of the waiting, the lax promises and the rude replies to fair questions on the IMAP feature arrival. I decided to contact the Better Business Beareau of CA and at least hopefully scare them. The replied to the first round of inquiry, then ignored the second. If I understand the BBB, they at least now have a black mark on their record.

The company web page has since removed the claim for IMAP support as a future feature of the product (a wave of the magic Wayback Machine shows the initial state of the page). A scary sight for those of us waiting for that support, but it's actually likely a result of people pointing their fingers at it when demanding a refund.

Sure, we should have all heeded their "as is" policy before buying the product, but isn't there at least something to a sort-of bait-and-switch sorta deal with this? I mean, is there a legal definition for what a company defines as "soon" when promising a future feature? Can an automobile company make a car then, for example, claim on the advertisement that it will run on water as fuel..."soon"? When do they have to make good on that promise?

The only company in recent memory to beat MS in direct competition? Your memory is betraying you.
Off the top of my head:
Sony in the video game console realm.
Linksys, Netgear et al in the networking realm.
EA, et al in the PC game market.
A Canadian kid in the domain name realm. (j/k)
*Nix in the highest rate of growth on corporate servers market.
Apache in the web page serving market.

Not viable? We Macintosh users are fiercely loyal. Do us right and we tell all our friends to buy your wares. We buy all sorts of gadgets. Do us right, or kind of right, and we will repay you in spades. We will be like %1 of your tech support calls. A simple "hey were not gonna make this software, but isync will be updated soon, making our software obsolete anyway" would have sufficed for us. This throws my PDA purchasing decision in limbo. No way I would get a Pocket PC (I switched for a reason), the Zaurus doesn't quite play nice with Mac yet, and now Palm is pussyfooting around. Software architecture issues, have you been living under a rock? They give you coding tools on the disc!! Hell, you could code it in Perl or Python for crying out loud!

That other Canopy company has a very nice small-system interface an application toolkit available for Linux. In fact, a certain top-selling Japanese PDA is based on it.

Linux + QTopia would certainly be better than, say, BREW. I hope it takes off.

fucking idiot

Problem with most emulators is they aren't as much fun as the real thing (all emulated sound, display, speed, controllers, keyboard). I believe all fall short by not emulating paddles.

Most of my Commodore 64 stuff I do uses special utility cartridges, and a floppy disk drive or two. Without a true keyboard it limits it more.

That's why I wish there were more emulators for the Sharp Zaurus. The built-in keyboard makes a huge difference, and would be perfect for playing the old Ultima games!

"A linux based PDA about the size of a paperback with handwriting recognition ..."

See http://www.myzaurus.com, the future is already here.

The reviewer does like the Yopy, but for an expected retail price of $499, you could get a Zaurus SL-5600 that has essentially all the same functionality, with a better processor (400MHz XScale as opposed to the older 206MHz). Granted, the 5600 only has 96MB RAM, but since they both have expansion slots, that's not really an issue.

Also, the Zaurus already has a large developer community, and has drivers for things like wireless cards, and has plenty of software.

I certainly don't want to see Yopy fail (competition is generally good, and having more Linux PDAs is good), but IMHO they should be offering a little more if they want to be competitive.

IBM/Hitachi makes a 1 gig. micro-drive for handhelds that'll plug in to a Type II CF card, and there's even one for sale on the Zaurus site.

check out the Zaurus to see one of the best Pdas on the market. Granted it is linux based, and slashdot tends to have a lot of linux users :P

"Is that a penguin in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

(Now, imagine a Beowulf clus--no, let's just not go there. Please.)

But, perhaps that's because I'm already using the Zaurus as a mobile platform for medical technology. And, I'm married.

Just goes to show that interpretation (and application) is dependent on the interpreter's context. . . (:

"why would you pay extra for widgets that look different and act different?"

Mmm... let's see... Cross platform abillities (Think Opera) maybe? Good and solid API? easy to use? Or wait, how about PDA's? Trolltech looks to me far from doomed....

While I have no need to keep addresses or phone numbers (my girlfriend knows all the important addresses and my phone knows all the numbers I need) I use my Zaurus for a multitude of things including reading Slashdot and Livejournal while sitting on the toilet (what?, stop looking at me like that!) and in fact right now I have NFS mounted my Laptop hard drive and am using the Zaurus to play MP3s through the stereo.

I don't think of my Zaurus as a PDA... its more like a full spec Linux box with a VERY small footprint.

--
www.x11.net

• Debian Effort
  
• iPacking it
  
• Handhelds.org sports all these Platforms
  

Why? So you can compile programs and walk around with them and have access to all the free software goodness you might need. Oh yeah, it also makes sure that you own your handheld rather than donate it to the cause.

But if you are impatient, you could drop by Office Depot and buy an Zaurus today. I got one and like the form factor. I have not used it enough to really comment on it, but the interface is slick and works well enough. I liked my handspring visor's graphiti system, but I'm told that I'll get proficient with my thumbs on that keyboard. Having compact flash and SD interfaces rocks. Work out your program, what have you, on your laptop then drop it into compact flash and it's in your pocket.

One things for sure, I'de wait for a Linux port (if indeed there is none yet) before purchasing one of these. The WinCE and Pocket PC handwriting sucks eggs and the Windowz interface did NOT scale well at all. Hard to use big, impossible to use small, you gotta toss it out.

The new SL-5600 will come with a 1700mAh battery. Unfortunately it looks like it's a lot bigger than the SL-5500's 950mAh battery. :(

Yes.
And I'm not buying a dedicated player until it plays ogg files. I bought a Zaurus 5500 just for this purpose. I'd like to also buy a more purpose-built device for this, though, and I refuse to buy one that does not play Ogg Vorbis I files.

Which is why you buy the afforementioned Zaurus. And oh yeah, did I mention they're almost as cheap as the Kaii's retail these days?

In fact, a friend bought his Zaurus for 265USD+tax a week ago due to some price-matching trickery, rebates, and another special at Office Depot or Office Max (I forget which).

Put all the files on an old laptop with an 802.11 access point. Connect it to my stereo through an Edirol UA-1A or Stereo-link USB audio converter, which should give much better sound quality than a typical PC sound card. The Griffin Technology IMIC is another possibility. Run a web server on the laptop that allows selecting and playing songs from a remote web browser. Then use my Sharp Zaurus Linux-based PDA with an 802.11 CF wireless card to control the system using its built-in web browser to pick out songs and play them. If I get really fancy, I can scan all the CD liner pamphlets and put them on the laptop too. Then the browser can display them and I can read the lyrics while the music is playing.

This is all done with simple stuff that I have kicking around the house already (crappy old 300 mhz laptop etc.), so except for the wireless cards which I don't have yet, will cost less than buying stereo stuff and give far more functionality and flexibility, plus of course use entirely free source code. It will be sooooo cool. I just couldn't see doing it any other way.

Nice summary by O'Reilly
Sharp USA site
Zaurus user's site
Sharp Developer site
ZDNet UK review
cNet review
Linuxdevices.com review
ZDnet review
TechTV review
ThinkGeek review
PC Magazine review
IT Reviews review
Cnet shopper latest prices
Buy @ Amazon

A sharp zaurus comes with linux which can play OGG. And an extra 256MB mem is less than $100...

I have run apache/php on my Zaurus and it works great for serving web pages across 802.11b! I don't know if anyone would try this setup as a production web server; however, it's cool that it works.

Guru
ERA Champion Real Estate

I think some people might disagree with the being no linux alternatives.

Other great ideas would be a Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 with an 802.11b card and the kismet wireless sniffing software. Great for wardriving, or just walking around the dorms, sniffing for open networks.

The other thing you should consider is, are these the values you want to instill in a new college student? Sure hacking, and messing around can be fun, but in today's society, there is a fine line between having fun and breaking the law!

Gururise

The 5200 was just an 800 whose memory map got stuck in a blender, the OS yanked, and the controller turned into an easily broken analog piece of crap. :) There were also not very many games.

I'd like to see an 800/XL/XE portable. :)

Atari800 on my Zaurus will suffice for now. ;)

(Ooh, or maybe a 7800!)

Ben is cool. I hung out with him a lot at least year's Classic Gaming Expo. The portable 2600s were cool, and I love the way you can 'link' them for two-player games like Combat.

Now if only Infogrames or JAKKS would hire this guy, we'd have a REAL retro system to stick in our pockets.

(Of course, I've got Stella on my Zaurus, but it's not quite the same.)

Check out opie.handhelds.org/ For a great distro for handhelds. supports ipaq, zaurus, and I think others. This project, could do wonders, for unifying linux PDAs on a single platform.

With countless stories every day on how Microsoft is evil, and Microsoft practices must be stopped ( more articles than I could stomach usually ), I'm surprised on how eagerly slashdot jumps on their products. Guess what, you're funding them!!

By buying their products, you're speaking with the voice that counts, your money.

The zaurus is a great tool. I love mine. Everyone was raving yesterday about how the clie had a software writing area that's hideable, guess what, the zaurus has that. And it has a built in keyboard, and a screen keyboard, and a unicode keyboard...

And don't talk about software either. Because, there are tons of ARM linux software. In places like zaurus.sourceforge.com http://zaurusoft.com http://opie.handhelds.com http://myzaurus.com http://ipkgfind.handhelds.org http://www.debian.org/ports/arm

so go ahead. complain that microsoft is bullying the educational institutes, that their licenses prevent OEMs from distributing alternative OSes, that they want to prevent us from being able to buy computers without paying them everytime...

Then go buy their friggin' products.

If you can get your medical apps in Linux or Java, you could get a Sharp Zaurus SL-5500. I ordered one over a month ago and I LOVE IT! You can read about some of the things I've done with it in my journal.

Just download the apps from Sharp's My Zaurus site (where they have the terminal and file manager). Even better, download the enhanced OPIE version from their feed (be careful with installing too much OPIE stuff though - might break things).

What if we do not have Netscape 4.7x installed or any version of Netscape? On my current computer the only browser I have is Mozilla. For everything so far, it has worked fine. Of course I do find it interesting that other sharp websites work fine with Mozilla.

In fact here is the Zaurus Website.