Sharp Ships New PDA Running Linux 2.4

cbowland writes: "Sharp is now shipping the SL-5000D Zaurus PDA with a Linux 2.4 kernel, embedded PalmTop, Personal Java, and QT. Priced at $399 for developers only. Their plan is to get some apps created before marketing it to the public. Check it out" I wonder if the USB port on the docking station would let these work with the Happy Hacker keyboard ...

Comments

slider

[BigBir3d]

Nokia had a cell phone (8890?) on the market with a sliding front face. It didn't last very long before breaking. Nokia no longer makes/sells that phone. It left the market in about a year.

Hopefully this device has a better mechanism than that.

Re:slider

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the 8890 is a rather solid phone. It's a much more solid design than the 8290 (which is the POS phone I have. I mean detachable faceplates aren't bad but not when it's paper thin).

It can take alot more punishment, but I can see how w/ little damage can kill the slider.

Which is not to say that the slider concept isn't gone, what with the 7650 having that huge slider.
Though, if the 8890 was remotely fragile, best to get insurance with the 7650 since it looks like a 1 foot drop will kill it.

Re:slider

[OblongPlatypus]

The 8890 is only one of several Nokia phones with this kind of sliding mechanism. Another is 7110, which is still very much on the market. I'm not saying it's a good solution (it's not, mine broke pretty fast), but apparently it sells anyway. And Nokia haven't given up on sliding mechanisms; witness the recently announced 7650.

These Things are sweet!

[Firetree]

I saw one at Comdex, and it is one sweet little device. The screen is bright and clear, it doesnt weigh much and it's as fast as any handheld out there. Even the java runs fast on it =P

Only problem, I couldnt get much outta the people running the booth, they seemed pretty clueless...oh well.

Guess Ill hafta wait till they come out on the market *sigh*

Oh btw, the sliding keyboard mechanism on it is relatively well implemented, but it doesnt work well when its on the cradle (only a minor complaint) I do so want one of these things =J

-----------
Fire's Out ~~X

Feedback from prospective developer

[Anonymous Coward]

I ordered one of these a month ago. Here are a few links that you might be interested in:

Zdnet Commentary:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,28 26 164,00.html

Developer's Review on LinuxDevices:
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS5326761307.ht ml

Developer's FAQ:
http://tank.dyndns.org/index.php?op=showfaq&id=4

From the developer forums, the general impression is that this is on a tiny budget, but the people that are involved a very dedicated (Hi, Mitchy!). I would post the link to the developer forums but the server would crash. From the forums, the top issues are:

1) Upgrade memory to 64MB (from 32). I am in favor of this, though other developers make the point that Linux should not need as much memory as PocketPC, also this increases the cost. I would add more ROM (up to 32MB), or at least offer a high-end model with more memory.

2) No speaker like PocketPC (just a buzzer). You have to listen to MP3's with headphone jack. I don't think this is important, but others want a IPAQ like speaker. There's also no Sound DSP.

3) Dependence on embedded QT license. There is some concern about paying QT for your applications, but on the Sharp forums Sharp says that they are working with QT for low-cost commercial QT licensing.

4) SD (Secure Digital) support, Bluetooth support.
I think these are both really needed to make this successful.

One other issue is that I would like to the Sharp license the interface from the IPAQ or HandSpring (Springboard), so the Zaurus can leverage the external devices for those devices.

Any opionions from any other developers?

I prefer an iPaq running Familiar

[vscjoe]

You will have to use Qt/Embedded, and you will be using the commercial Lineo distribution. This may be good if you are looking for a slick Linux-based PDA to replace a Palm (although it won't be as small or mature as a Palm), but it isn't as good if you are looking to develop handheld applications for the Linux handheld market, or if you are converting existing Linux software to run on Linux handhelds.

I think an iPaq running Familiar is a better choice for developers and vertical applications (probably the primary market of Linux handhelds).

With the new bootloader, installing Linux on an iPaq should be a breeze, too (no more serial downloads). And you get a full, standard Linux/X11 environment. Compaq even set up some 200MHz ARMs boards as development servers on the web.

Some more pictures

[jacoplane]

There was a preview of this PDA a while back on Infosync. There was also a /. story associated with those pics.

Re:"developers only"...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Developers only" means it's not a finished polished product yet.

I'm in the UK and have had mine for several weeks (though i'm only a hobbyist developer)

Things are not quite there yet on the application and driver support, things like the IrDA stack being incomplete, but in general it works. Support for wireless lan cards is good, support for usb syncing with a linux desktop isnt at the moment

A lot of effort is needed to be put in developing the apps more to integrate better with each other and provide the typical PDA functionality.

Also the developers version only has 32M ram, while the consumer version is romoured to have 64M.

Basicly they will sell one to anyone, you don't have to be from a software company or have a known track record, but it won't be much good to anyone that isn't happy pissing about a bit to make it do what they want.

Checkout http://more.sbc.co.jp/slj/index.asp for the sharp built developers community. Sharp employees are present on the board, and are willing to help out. Full doccumentation is creeping out slowly, and they plan to release source and full build instructions for the kernel they are using.

It's an excelant little toy, and something i'd reccomend to anyone that is used to compiling apps on linux :)

Linux + Java - gotta be a winning combination!

[philipx]

Besides the fact that the US web site http://www.sharp-usa.com when viewed with K-Meleon displayed a page indicating to upgrade to Internet Explorer 4 or Netscape 4, I was quite unable to find a lot of info.
A few web searches took me through the UK web site (they have a pdf spec sheet) to the developer's web site (why didn't I think of it in the first place ?!).

Both the Linux spec and Java are interesting. It runs PersonalJava 1.2 with the Truffle AWT L&F. On the Linux part, it implements Embedix - the 2.4 kernel. I find very interesting it supports BusyBox + some additional commands.

"It provides minimal replacements for most of the utilities you usually find in fileutils, shellutils, findutils, textutils, grep, gzip, tar, etc. In addition, by using the network or a Compact Flash card, useful Linux tools can be used."

Also, I find very comforting that on the interface part we got Qt/Embedded which is quite cool.

To sum it up... I'm a developer looking for a PDA. $400 is pricey, but the Zaurus is not a gadget it's a real tool. I hope I'll find the funds to get one for Xmas :)

philipx

images

[toasta]

Check out the hi res images at: http://www.sharp.co.uk/pda/images.htm This baby has just made it to the very top of my christmas list....:)

Quality of the Linux support ?

[burgdavid]

I have myself play a bit with such embedded devices "for developpers" from other compagnies than Sharp and was rather disapointed by a partial only support of linux kernel.

By example, the support of PCMCIA board was usually not working correctly (just crashing the whole box when you start with something plugged in) or not supporting much devices (like been limited to IDE-raw only devices).

I will be very interested on experience of people who buy this device, about the quality of the kernel modules support, more especially of connection modules (USB, PCMCIA, and so on). And not only booting the kernel and the module, but *really* doing something usefull with it (booting is good, stand stable a some minutes is better)...

If USB or PCMCIA are correctly supported, it will be cool to develop (me ?) a Linux burning engine that fits the embedded engine ! :)

Some other things to note...

[bc90021]

1. There are some really good pictures of the device at Sharp's UK site. (For dial-up users, be forewarned that they are a bit large.)
2. Currently, the device only synchs with Windows, but SSH/SCP has already been ported, so you can at least FTP with a Linux machine (and securely, to boot!)
3. Someone has already ported the Seminole Web Server. Konqueror is being ported as well. A minimal Python port is supposedly in the works!
4. This device contains both a CF slot and a memory card slot, so you can use your Targus CF Modem (maybe even your MicroDrive?) and an MMC at the same time. ;)
5. Pocket Quake is already running on it!

The device is a little expensive (US$400), and you can't sign up to get one without becoming a developer (here), but if you're into Linux, Qt, and/or Java, it could very well be worth it

And if you're not hardcore enough to get the Developer version, the consumer version should be available early next year, and it makes a great PDA regardless.

Mine will be here Wednesday... I can't wait!

Re:Its to Big and Bulky

[oob]

It's bigger than a Palm and roughly the same size as an Ipaq when the keyboard is stowed.

It fits comfortably into my hand and I carry it around in my pocket.