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Sharp's Zaurus PDA already runs Linux, yet is doing enormously poorly in the USA (not sure how successful it is; suspect in Japan it's doing better). If anyone can bring Linux to the palm of your hand, PalmSource can.

Sharp: it's not too late for you. Maybe an interoperability agreement with PalmSource would help?

Actaully, sharp's PDA is Linux powered, the first widely successful Linux PDA made availiable, I believe. I have one, and I use it as an X server so that I can ssh into my FreeBSD box at home and run programs. It has a WiFi card, built in keyboard, and all around is very nice. There is also an alternative Linux distro availiable for it.

Why have a PDA when you can bring the actual applications and data you want with you anywhere.

Doesn't the Sharp Zaurus PDA already run the same apps you run on your GNU/Linux workstation?

[accent="outrageous french"] No thanks, I've already got one, you see. It's very ni-suh.[/accent]

Actually, it is easy to sync Opie with Outlook, see the OpieSyncing wiki for details, but basically you just need Sharp's Intellisync, which works great for me.

And to answer "Why?" -- I can use unison to synch a mobile subset of my files with my handheld. I can run Samba on my ipaq to browse through its real filesystem. PocketPC's filesystem is essentially inaccessible without going through ActiveSync, which is horrible.

Or some such?

Tunneled through ssh?

Sharp Zaurus
tkcPhone
IPSECon Sharp Zaurus

I would imagine that you could get a SIP phone to compile for the Zaurus or some one that uses another VOIP protocl. As someone above suggested, connect it through an Asterisk server. I've got a test one setup myself on an old PIII 500 w/ 256 MB RAM, a nic and a sound card working with software based SIP phones. Then, if you are near someplace with Ethernet, wireless access or have a phoneline handy, you can connect out.

Good luck with other PDA platforms. You might get this to work on a WinCE but I'd be afraid. I've never audited security on one of those. You'd be out of luck on a Palm until the next release of the Palm OS (they promise!) since the promise that that is when they'll let backgrounded apps run.

>> it's basically impossible to sync them with Linux

>Using Sharp-supported software, yes. Using other free solutions, no.

This isn't entirely true. With the SL-5500 you can sync it using QtopiaDesktop as long as you're running one of the old ROMs. If you've upgraded your SL-5500 to version 3.1 you're screwed. If you bought a SL-5600 you're screwed. I assume that you're also screwed with these newer models. You'd do much better syncing Linux with a run of the mill Palm. This thread is informative on the subject.

It doesn't help to pretend the Zaurus works properly with Linux when it's only true under a very limited set of circumstances. It just ends up pissing people off when they discover they've been misled on a high dollar purchase like this. I find it almost insulting that Sharp leaves us in the position where the protocols have to be reverse engineered.

There are differences between the full re-install process on PC and Zaurus, but to answer your question - yes. You will have to build your own image on PC first, check http://docs.zaurus.com/ for more details, then have the zImage and the filesystem in place, after which you "reflash" your Zaurus with the help of a CompactFlash card and a certin key combination. Everything in the image is pre-compiled on PC (gotta make sure you're compiling for ARM target) and then packed into the image.

If you screw up your Zaurus badly, Sharp and OpenZaurus provide ready-to-go images. Sharp's is the official image that you get when you buy your Zaurus. Any data you created yourself would be lost after reflash, unless backed up.

I've not tried it yet (I'll be flashing the new ROM tonight) but there's been good feedback about the PPP module on the Zaurus developers board). The Bluetooth support has been getting better and better too, if you install the Affix packages and the excellent Connector, which makes connecting to something like the T68i a one click operation. It's been excellent to use with GPRS too.

If you want an OS that doesn't live and breathe, go back to BillyBorg.

I've been using a Sharp Zaurus 5500 for a while, and I think that this would be the perfect device for you. You have both a Compact Flash and SD slot available, so you could have one of the new SD 802.11B cards + the CF from the camera mounted at once. You could also carry a card with a standard wired ethernet jack for Cafe's without wireless. Yes, the keyboard is small, but you can type surprisingly quickly once you get used to it, and besides this is a blog not a novel. Also, since it runs Linux you have a ton of apps to choose from for any other needs you might have on the road. Also nice is the fact that you can now find the 5500 for less than $200 if you shop around. I would however recommend getting some sort of case for it. I haven't had any problems with my unit, but I wouldn't want to drop it unprotected... It just sort of feels like it wouldn't hold up well.

Sharp does provide support for Linux syncing, it's just that you have to do some Kernel patching/or/rebuilding

Details here

Details here

It's not really a PDA, it's a pocketable Linux computer.

First, the PDA side of things. People criticise it for having weak PDA features which, compared to Palms, and that's somewhat true; my previous Psion PDAs had a few extra features around the edges that I miss, but by and large the PIM features are fine for my moderately advanced use.

But there's so much more! SCUMMVM in the palm of your hand with mp3-encoded talkie versions of Fate of Atlantis or Day of the Tentacle is pretty nifty.Add a Wifi card, install Wellenwreiter or Kismet, and go low-profile warwalking. I have a Pocketop IR folding keyboard for long documentation on the go; the screen rotation software Just Works, unlike a lot of PocketPCs.

Unlike Palm owners, I can handle DOC and XLS files native on the device; this is particularly key because the Zaurus is a computer in its own right and not a PDA. The Hancom office apps shipped with it are usable enough for quick on-the-go editing and creation. I could do with one of these now for instant printing of invoices when I'm out at a client's site.

The big compelling piece of software is OpenZaurus, a completely open source and regularly updated distro to replace the Sharp ROM. It's a bit like trading Debian stable for unstable; kinda hacky at times, kinda buggy at others, but it's so exciting to get a massive batch of upgrades every few weeks full of improvements. It's never been buggy enough to lose my PDA data, and in any event with multisync, unison and rsync my data is backed up six ways to Sunday.

Other people like apps like opie-reader for ebooks, portable Ogg players (there are a few), portable DivX playback, email (this is noticeable ropy under OpenZaurus, but getting better), and many more... For more ideas, see this thread on zaurus.com.

Downsides? I find the QWERTY keyboard wearing after a few minutes, hence I have the Pocketop, and I've managed to scratch the screen under the handwriting recognition area so I can't really use it any more (I think that was my fault, to be fair). The battery life sucks too, but then it does on all these colour mobile devices. Apparently, the SL5600 is better.

So basically, if you want a PDA, get a Palm. If you want a pocketable Linux computer in a PDA form factor with respectable PIM features and a mountain of open source apps, get a Zaurus.

SL5500 users can now benefits from the same application set as SL5600.
check here

I got yer PNGs right here.

Oh, er, mainstream. Well... it's the GForge SOAP client.... and GForge is used in some pretty big sites. So that kind of counts.

Anyhow.

Yours,

tom

I don't know if there was that much documentation out early on, but I didn't have too much trouble getting my Java programs running on the Zaurus. Read the Zaurus Java Programming Guide that Sharp provides, and the Adorphuye Zaurus Java FAQ. The version of J2ME that comes with the Zaurus isn't the same type of J2ME that runs on PalmPilots and cell phones. It's more like standard Java (J2SE), specifically, kinda like a cross between the 1.1 and 1.3 JDKs. The hardest thing to remember is that you have to make sure and compile your Java programs as -target 1.1 Also, it's a lot easier if you install the terminal app so you can run programs from the command line.

Maybe it will make your Z more useful to you?

Good post. In case you do not know there is a new ROM out for the 5500, bringing on par with the 5600. It was posted two days ago V3.1 Get it here but make sure you you do a backup. I am still having sync problems and my SD card is still "missing"

It's pretty easy and very safe. The worst thing is, you lose your add-on applications and data, so backup is indicated.

This page has PDF downloads of this upgrade instructions. There are basically two ways to do it. If you are syncing to a Windows PC, you can download an update application that will do the whole thing for you. If you are using Linux or Mac, you can place the upgrade image on a CF card and do the Zaurunian C-D-Reset finger pinch. (Read the docs if that doesn;t make sense.) What makes it safe is the fact that the boot ROM has a flash programmer in it. So even if you completely toast an upgrade, you can just start over because the programmer is still there. (You do have to have the image you want loaded on a flash card to take advantage of this safty.)

Home Shopping Network (of all places!) had a special a few weeks ago where the 5500 was $200. Luckily Sharp sent a note around beforehand and I snapped one up. Subscribe to Sharp's mailing list for upcoming specials.

There's an HP48 emulator under development specficially for the Zaurus.

Read this thread:
http://www.zaurus.com/dev/board/index.php?act=ST&f =1&t=364&hl=calculator&s=4c6299ed04882e2042fe717bd 714b527

It may have been discussed in other places on that board as well.

I for one wasn't, but to quote an example where I believe this hasnt applied - removal of copy protection for the purposes of compatibility (playing dvds on linux).

If the above example is wrong in some way, then would that provision allow the development of an open source driver for SD cards for the sharp zaurus SL-5500 for use in openzaurus, assuming of course that it was reverse engineered and not obtained by other means? Because this would be specifically for the purposes of compatibility, and something in which I hold great interest.

Like you I bought the HSN special and I'm similarly hesitent to deviate from the Red Hat kernels. I went to this page and got the source RPM made by someone at Red Hat. Best of all, it doesn't try to patch your kernel source!

Spreading the knowledge: Problems? e-mail me.

I bought one of these from HSN when I saw the post on slashdot. I am a total sucker for deal posts. I also have an Audrey and two iPaq IA-1s for the same reason.

I spent alot of time looking at the existing website while waiting for my Zaurus to arrive. The best one by far, if you are using Linux on the desktop, is docs.zaurus.com.

I had been having trouble getting the USB networking to work. I ended up configuring a DHCP server on USB0 and modifying the /etc/hotplug/net.agent script.

It discovers your default route (I have a laptop that I use WiFi or ethernet on depending on where I am). It also starts and kills a dhcp server. Its killing the server because the stop command wasn't working when unregistering the interface.

This is a total hack, but it works well. /etc/hotplug/net.agent /etc/dhcpd.conf

(--- Email/Message me if you want them, lameness filter wouldn't let them through... too few characters per line ---)

I installed openssh from sourceforge and a lot of apps from the feed at docs.zaurus.com. I bought a Netgear MA701 802.11b CF card. They are on sales (reads rebate) at techdepot.com until the 31st. I also picked up a 128 Mb SD card from amazon (also on sale).

So far its been a lot of fun. Its required more hacking to get it to work with a Linux box then your average user would like but thats the fun part.

Cheers,

Chase

The site did not state one single benefit of openZaurus over the original install.

They tried to give some reasons, although it's true that their website design isn't perfect. It could easily be much more informative.

However, the official Zaurus support site is even more audience-hostile. (It's a litany of website-usability errors)

Don't forget this great documentation site (for developers _and_ users): Sharp Zaurus Developer Information

Some more useful links:
Zaurus DevNet forums
The Zaurus Notebook (tips and tricks)
Zaurus Loves Linux

Now what I really want, is a portable device to connect the usb cable from the phone described in this article to the Zaurus dataport.

Some more useful links:
Zaurus DevNet forums
The Zaurus Notebook (tips and tricks)
Zaurus Loves Linux

Now what I really want, is a portable device to connect the usb cable from the phone described in this article to the Zaurus dataport.

I picked up my Zaurus at Linuxworld in San Francisco last fall during Sharp's "half off" sale, and have been using it on a daily basis since then. I also own (and continue to use) a Palm IIIxe.

Battery life for me has been about 2 to 2.5 hours with full backlight on (it's got 5 different settings, including off. The darker you go, the longer it lasts). The screen is very reflective, so if you're outside (or sitting in a window seat on a plane) you can turn the backlight off and get as much as 4-5 hours out of it.

It seems to charge back up completely pretty quickly once you plug it in, though. And I normally leave it sitting in the cradle (a la Palm V) charging when I'm not holding it in my office, etc.

But the short battery life definitely sucks if you're truly mobile with it (I fly quite a bit for business). How I wish it took regular (rechargeable) AAA batteries like my Palm...

It uses embedded Linux as the underlying OS (uname shows "2.4.6-rmk1-np2-embedix").

There are a couple of free terminal apps you can install (including multi-tab Konsole) to get a shell while in GUI mode. Or I suppose you could kill the GUI and run at the command line... but who wants that in a PDA?

There are a couple of howtos for cross-compiling for, and native compiling on, the Z at docs.zaurus.com. I don't any of that myself (yet), though, so I can only say I've glanced at the docs and they seem fairly straightforward.

OpenZaurus is a ROM image replacement that gives you more access to the installed RAM, etc. I haven't run it myself, but I've seen lots of positive comments. One note: some/many commercial Zaurus app providers like theKompany only support official Sharp ROMs. If you load their stuff on OZ and it doesn't work, oh well. But the OZ developers seem to be interested in knowing about problems like that to make OZ better.

BTW, theKompany apps rock (IMO) compared to the built-in ones. Yes, they cost a couple of $$ each, but you get free upgrades for life.

For all it's shortcomings, I haven't found much I can't do with the Z that I do use the Palm IIIxe for. And the "wow" factor of listening to my OGG files while surfing wirelessly or writing something with the keyboard is right up there... I can't count the number of people next to me on flights who have said "what _is_ that thing?" :) The battery life could definitely be a problem though -- can't wait to try a 5600!

Theres also The zaurus DevNet forums geared mostly towards developers, but still very useful.

Don't forget the Howtos at docs.zaurus.com. I try to get as much up there documentation wise to help everyone.

This device could really be a breakthrough device with the cool form factor, great display, and mainstream Linux support. I urge anyone who is interested to write to Sharp and/or post on the above forum. Don't let Sharp fsck this opportunity up...

It looks to me from the pictures as it the machines is running Trolltech's QTopia palmtop environment, just like the Sharp Zaurus. This is good from at least two points of view. Firstly it means it's easy to port the existing software for the Zaurus, and relatively easy to port KDE and other Qt based apps; and secondly because it means that people producing software for Linux palmtop devices get a wider market with a consistent UI look-and-feel.

I have a Zaurus too.

First and foremost, the Zaurus uses a non-standard connector.
As opposed to your palm which had a standard DB9 and USB connector taking up a huge amount of space at the bottom? I'd much rather have the zaurus be the size it is and pay for a cable then make it huge by adding standard sized connectors. I do wish the connector on the bottom wasn't as super-rare and it is, but is necessary to use small connectors if you want a small device. I wouldn't mind a USB host controller, but I don't think I would have wanted to pay more for it. I bet it would have cost significantly more too. Adding a USB host isn't simply a matter of adding a bigger battery. They also would have had to beef up the step-up circuitry the brings the battery voltage up a a higher voltage. To be a standard USB host the device must be able to source 5V 500mA (minimum). That's 2.5 watts. Flip over your Zaurus and read the wattage: 2.5W (Battery). They would have needed to double the power supply!


Or, I can get an IRDA keyboard. Which practically doesn't exist.
Read here for info about getting a folding IRDA keyboard for a good price. (It's not quite ready yet, but it should be within a couple weeks.)

Finally, the Zaurus' handwriting recognition stinks.

It's handwriting recognition is just not that great until either:
(a) You learn the default way to make all the characters.
or
(b) You teach it your handwriting.

You took the time to learn graffiti, so it's not fair to make a comparison if you're not willing to learn the Zaurus' input method. I personally almost always use the keyboard. I find single character handwriting recognition very inefficient becuase you always have to move backwards after each chacter entered.

Then, the Zaurus' use of an obscure ethernet-over-USB protocol gave me quite a headache.
This is a legitimite gripe, but it has supposedly been fixed on the sl-5600 model.

You did leave out one other problem though: the battery size. It's just too small. They gave the sl-5600 a much bigger battery but I don't think it will work with my 5500 :(

TCPA/DRM makes all this irrelevant though. Given the choice between the possibility of undefeatable (basically) DRM and none, the choice seems pretty simple to me. Too bad they shot themselves in the foot like that, since having an FPGA to play with sounds cool.

Yeah, poor old Indrema. I remember when MS announce the XBox not long after the Indrema was announced. Poor John Gildred. :^)

For anyone who cares much about what the Indrema was (going to be), visit my old site: Indrema Informer

-bill!
(on to more important things, like Tux Paint and the Zaurus)

Check out this page for a discussion that may interest you

I have an sl-5500 and while it's not for everybody, I definately like it.

How about a Sharp Zaurus

(second time's a charm)

That's true, linux cannot be the only selling factor for a device and expect it to do well.

Then again, it can be an added bonus if the other features are done well, the Sharp Zaurus being a great example. I don't own one just because it runs linux (there are a number of other linux-driven pda's), but the fact that it has a CF slot, MMC/SD slot, and a built in keyboard, all for around $350, ~and~ it's running linux all combine to make one great product.