Slashdot Mirror
Bad Review for the Zaurus
higginsx writes "Sharp's new Linux PDA, the Zaurus SL-5500, gets pretty bad marks from The Wall Street Journal's tech columist Walter Mossberg. He doesn't get much into the OS (other than complaining it wouldn't synch up with his laptop), but concludes that "it failed to do the simple things well. It has a high price, a complicated user interface, and hefty dimensions and weight. Even the cool-looking keyboard turns out to be clumsy to use."" I still really want
to try one out since I don't expect I'll ever sync a Zaurus to Outlook.
Have you ever tried to program for PalmOS? I have and all I can say is yuck. These cool things have embedded Qt (Qt is almost a joy to program with). The syncronization problem could very well be a problem with the PC and not with the PDA. Don't cut this thing short just because some twit from the WallStreet Journal didn't like it.
I've got a mind like a steel trap - it's got an animal's foot stuck in it.
I just got the Zaurus 5000D from JavaOne this year and I have had very few problems. It syncs with Outlook without any problems. I was also able to setup internet connection sharing through the USB connection so that I could use the Zaurus to browse while it was in the cradle.
In addition to that, for the geeks out there, I have installed sshd, boa (webserver), and a samba server. I also saw Perl and Python for the Zaurus, but I am waiting on my SD memory card before I install too much more. There are many programs out there already that make this a PDA I might actually use, and most of them are Open Source.
There are several good development sites out there: ZaurusZone and sharp's own Developer Site. You can download the kernel for it from Sharp's site and recompile it yourself because they have detailed instructures and supply a link to a gcc cross-compiler for the ARM processor.
In the Zaurus development guide they explain that the easiest way to do development for it is to NFS mount a shared drive onto the Zaurus. That is just cool.
I would totally agree that it is not for suits, but for the geek in me it has been one of the coolest things I have played with in a while.
~Giliath
I recently acquired a Zaurus and I think it is a great PDA, with all the bells and whistles. I bought one for a non-technical friend of mine, and he likes it even more than I do. He can't stop talking about it. I was actually surprised at how easy it is to use for basic PIM functions, but there are a couple of little software design issues I would like to see fixed. I loaded the Star Wars episode 2 trailer on my Zaurus last night and it works, although just a little bit choppy. It might work better if the original scale of the video was set to the size of the Zaurus display. I'll play with it some more. MP3 files work with no problems. I popped in my 256Mb Compact Flash card, so now I have lots of space for my file system. Bash is available (and VI is on there too, yeh!, but there is no escape key on the keyboard!) along with a bunch of basic commands. But no Linux knowledge is needed to put this thing to good use. It is a great toy, and a useful PDA!
I signed up to be a developer for the Zaurus several weeks ago. I placed my order and had it in my hands within two days. The first thing I did was update the ROM to the latest image. I also updated the drivers for my PC. I hooked up the cradle to my Windows 2k workstation, that does in fact use Outlook. It worked perfect the first time. And with the developer edition no less. Everything synched perfectly.
I seriously have loved this thing since I got my hands on it. That is saying a lot since I have hated every single PDA I have ever had before this. I think the keyboard is great, but it is definitely not for the fat fingered user. One thing that you can not tell from the pictures is that the keys are a hard plastic, not soft rubber. At first I made the mistake of trying to punch them with the stylus. It slipped off for the most part. So I went with the double thumbs technique that is popular with the text messaging via cell phone crowd. Now I can rip right through the keys, oh and they have a very nice tactile click when pressed. I could seriously go on all day about this product. But here are some cool links to an open source version of the Rom image that removes the Jeode JVM and Opera (which has now been replaced with Konqueror). I just have to assume the guy from the WSJ is a fat fingered dolt.
Sharp Developers Program
The OpenZaurus Program
Program Overview
OpenZuarus Downloads
Believe me, Walt Mossberg is anything but pro Microsoft anything. He's consistently battered Pocket PCs for battery life and size and has praised Palm to the rafters. It's pretty rare for him to say anything positive about Microsoft.
What he *does* say in the review, though, is that the Zaurus compares unfavorably with PocketPC devices in terms of battery life, hardware, size, available software and PDA functionality. He's spent time with many Palms, many PocketPCs and now, the Zaurus. Ever think that maybe he knows what he's talking about?
I got a SL-5000 in November and it's an amazing little box. I can't speak to the Outlook thing since I don't use it, but the device *does* know about Imap mail servers, which is very important to me.
They keyboard took some getting used to, but honestly I can't think of a better solution for the size this has to be. Thumbing is fine and fast.
And it has a real browser that understands real HTML and CSS. The (adjustable) scaling is amazing - I can read two columns of NY Times w/ no trouble.
Being a Linux box makes a huge difference. Screw PDA-sync - this thing does *rsync*!
Plus it was amazingly easy to install the ftpfs kernel module and have instant ftp-in-file-browser. Try that on your PocketPC!
Press Fn+Shift+Key to get Ctrl-Key. Fn-[XCV] are Ctrl-[XCV]
Use Fn + Left shift for control keys
Use Fn + Right shift for alt keys
RTFM for the rest :)
After purchasing a Palm V three years ago which has since been gathering dust in a drawer, I convinced myself that I'd never use a PDA. Yet, I couldn't resist the geek-factor of the Zaurus, and picked one up last week at JavaOne.
I'm loving it. The color is vibrant and web sites render exactly as they would on my PC (just need to scroll a bit to see the whole thing). The keyboard was a little clumsy at first, but I'm getting used to it and find it MUCH faster and more reliable than Palm's graffiti. (I have hope that eventually I'll be able to touch-type on it.)
The built-in apps are great for my needs. My only complaint is that the mail client doesn't have an option to authenticate to an outgoing SMTP server (haven't checked yet to see whether there's an update or another client available). Even the games are pretty entertaining when I'm stuck somewhere with time to kill.
The beautiful part, however, is that you don't NEED the cradle to sync. Just slide in the wireless card and ftp your files to it. (This is great for development, letting me deploy to it through a build script instead of a custom app). Plus, it runs PersonalJava -- a much more featureful version than the KVM on my Palm V. Basically, I just write against Java 1.1.8, ftp the class files over, and run them normally.
The battery life can be as short as an hour if you're banging on it with full brightness, but it's easy to plug it in without a cradle, and extra batteries are only $25, so there are ways around that if you're unwilling to dim the screen.
Of course, now I'm dreaming of widespread, open 802.11 networks so I can be fully connected everywhere....
I'm not saying that he doesn't know what he's talking about, but I usually don't see the most knowledgeable computer/electronics info in the newspaper.
FWIW, Walt Mossberg is probably the most influential tech journalist writing in the mainstream media. He has a very big soapbox that he uses to great affect. He's an advocate for ease of use, rails against products that don't work as advertised (frequently Microsoft's), and isn't afraid to slam a product or offend PR people.
Let's face it, the tech press may be read by CIOs, but the Journal is read by CEOs. And in the world of The Buck Stops Here, being able to point to a Mossberg column and say "look, Walt likes it" goes a long way to selling the bigwigs on a product.
During my time as a Program Manager at Microsoft, when Walt spoke, people listened. Several e-mails from BillG that were the direct result of Walt's WSJ columns made it down the chain of command and led to changes in products.
From the User Guide PDF:
"For details on synchronization with a PC, etc., see the on-line operation manuals (on the CD-ROM) for the PC link software."
Also Intellisync Manual PDF
He missed the boat with this one. I purchased one at JavaOne last week. I love it.
It runs Personal Java so tons of software is available for it. As for the Calculator NeoCal (a free d/l) it has tons of functions including Financial functions. You'd think that a guy writes for the WSJ would be interested in those functions.
Under Windows2000 I've had no problems Syncing with Outlook. Granted the button doesn't seem to work, so you have to do it from the software. I've got the Developers version (5000d) so perhaps it works for the Consumer version (5500).
The keyboard is highly usable, and lots of fun to use with BASH.
NeoCal is a cool little calculator it Supports Algebraic and RPN. Functions are broken up into Standard, Financial, Scientific, Statistical, Programmer and Conversion.
Even if he already tested many PDAs there are still big faults in his description: :-)
1. I don't think the UI is complicated. It is indeed very similar to other PDAs. But this is only a personal point of view and not very objective. For nearly every PDA OS I can find somebody who completely loves the UI or hates it more than anyhing else.
2. He wasn't really interested in the available software at all. He only looked at the offical Sharp site but compares the amount of this software to all the Palm/WinCE programs which can be found somewhere in the internet. If he would look at zaurus.sourceforge.net and zauruszone.com he would find some other programs. Also the KDE project begins with porting desktop applications. I can already play Quake and Nethack on the Zaurus!
Additionally every new PDA OS lacks programs. Why had anybody bought thinks like Palm OS or even Windows 95? In the beginning there were no good applications for them? With this in mind you cannot really critisize the lack of software (perhaps when you still use DOS because there are no really good win applications you can
Damn my fault!!
Make that [LeftShift + Space] gives you the | (pipe)
If Slashdot is where the spelling-challenged go when they die, I'm in heaven.
I don't think that it's the XP firewall. I've got a Zaurus and can't get it to sync with Windows 98.
I own the development version and there are a few unfair points.
Size-It may be bigger than a IPAQ, but remember it has a compact flash and SD card built in. The IPAQ needs a separate card reader to do the same. Comparing it against the Palm was totally unfair, these are different products. And anyway we are talking cm's here. It fits nicely in my pocket shirt pocket. How much smaller does it need to be?
As for the size when the keyboard is out, well thats when its being used not carried. Whats the palm alternative, a separate keyboard you need to carry round.
Battery Life- I have found mine totally acceptable. Then again I don't stare at my MP3 files being played like Walt does. Does he watch his washing machine on spin too?
Since I've got it, its been my MP3 player, e book reader, games machine and address/calender book and photo album. If I had the money to get a wireless lan card it would be my browser/email client to.
I did have issues initially with synching, but this was the development version, and since then nothing. However I wish Sharp had been a little more slick with there support and rollout.
Best of all I have the most configurable PDA which I can write application I want forin a comfortable(and free) programming environment.
I'm happy, I hope Walt is in his Windows world
Choose your allies carefully, it is highly unlikely you will be held accountable for the actions of your enemies
I recently bought one at JavaOne, where they were selling the development models (32mb instead of 64mb memory).
I agree with a lot of the review (especially the screen being really nice) but have two other additional gripes:
1) The palm-like handwriting recognition doesn't seem to work well, and also seems to "lag" while I am drawing out the strokes. It's a good idea to trace the strokes to see what I wrote, but it doesn't fee responsive. Some of the bad recognition could be me just being used to the Palm interface.
2) (Big problem) I'm not sure I should blame Zaurus for this really but... the wireless 802.11b CF card they sold with the Zaurus at the show has a serious issue. When in place, you cannot remove the stylus!! Good thing I always carry a Palm so I had easy access to a stylus. I guess in a way I can blame them for not moving the CF card a little over to the side anticipating things like the wireless CF card (which it does have drivers for already).
My other thoughts are that with the CF card it seemed to drain power rather quickly (possibly even while the device was off?), and that I found using the keyboard awkward while holding the device - also slower than grafitti.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
first of all.. i think it's strange that a lot of the people posting on here seem to take mossberg at his word without ever having even seem a zaurus. i have been using a zaurus SL-5000D since November and have been very happy with it. Granted I am a so called "techie" but I wouldn't use Linux just for the sake of it, i'd actually want it to be functional. I've been using a wireless card with it and had it work out of the box. I've been a Palm user for many years and have been searching for an alternate PDA for about 2 years without much success until the Zaurus came along. To address some of Mossberg's gripes: 1. Doesn't sync with Outlook - Incorrect, it does sync with outlook provided any personal firewalls are configured to allow the traffic through (sync uses IP over the USB connection). 2. Cluttered/Complicated interface - the Qtopia interface is similar to Palms with the tabbed folders. Seems pretty well organized to me. I was seriously considering buying the Ipaq a few months back and that interface was not any less complicated. 3. Hefty dimensions and weight - once again, compared to the Ipaq, the zaurus has almost identical dimensions except for when the keyboard is pulled out. It may be the Shaquille O'Neal of PDAs when it's open but isn't it better than those ungainly external keyboards for the Palm? You can use the unit quite well with only the stylus by the way. Considering that the Zaurus comes with CF and SD slots in built, it is a lightweight compared to the Ipaq with it's expansion sleeve. 4. Clumsy keyboard - I find the keyboard quite similar to those on the RIM Blackberry devices. I don't think this can be a point of contention since no other PDA in this class has an integrated keyboard. 5. Battery life - Battery life could be better but not a show stopper IMHO. I've found battery life to be inadequate on most PDAs. However, Mossberg's test is unrealistic, how many times would you be listening to music and have the screen fully lit up? I guess it could happen but doesn't seem all that common. I've found battery life to be around 5-6 hrs of high volume usage. I believe the SL-5500 will have a better battery and charger unit. 6. Inadequate Documentation - This is one area he is correct on. Sharp really has to do a better job of providing adequate and accurate manuals and documentation if it wants the zaurus to be a commercial success. 7. No programs for Linux - wrong again, there are thousands of apps for linux but not that many yet adapted to run on the Zaurus. Since porting these apps is a matter of re-compiling, it will be a very short time before apps become plentiful. One of the advantages of Open Source that Mossberg doesn't seem to understand. Additionally, since the Zaurus ships with the Geode JVM which means that thousands of Java apps are already ready for the Zaurus. 8. Expensive - it is.. but similarly priced to the Ipaq which has the identical specs, 206Mhz StrongARM, 64MB, 3.5" color display. Having said all this, I do think that Sharp and Trolltech (Qtopia's developer) need to refine the sync applications and polish them to suit non-techie users more. --kish