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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.
This PDA is Linux and Java based. This makes it very easy to tailor it to your needs if you know what you're doing.
Take VB or Java/JFC. Not often do you see widely used commercial apps written in either of these. But the amount of "inside"or one-off specialty software written like this is huge. I think this PDA could find a niche in that sort of market. Dont think of it as a product so much a s a PDA "kit" that you have to might have to tweak a little.
-... ---
I don't understand the need to put Linux in EVERYTHING. Linux is a great operating system. We use for networking and for even in some 3D sim environments. But honestly... do i have to walk around with a watch that runs Linux, and talk on a Cell phone that uses Linux, while cooking dinner in a Microwave that's running Linux?
Who came up with the idea that Linux was the one size fits all solution for every operating system need? There are much better OSes for embedded systems and PDAs.... PalmOS and VMware come to mind...
I picked up a Zaurus on monday and have had zero problems with it. As a matter of fact, kick ass is the best way to describe it. I got mine to sync with Outlook without any problems at all. And if the reviewer can't figure out the interface, he shouldn't own electronics, after all a microwave is far more difficult, not to mention a stove or refridgerator or DVD player. And after installing the terminal and file manager, I got Perl running on it, as well as Nethack...dreamville!
GeneralKael -- Slacker Extraordinaire
The Sharp Zaurus ist definitely the best PDA ever built. The OS is great, it is easy to program, you get the Qtopia SDK for free, you have a keyboard that is usable (I tried it on the CeBIT), you have support for WLAN cards, support for other CompactFlash cards, etc. You can play mp3s (with a big one of these memory cards it can replace your mp3 player), you can play videos (although that doesn't perform perfectly), and, of course, you can do all the stuff you're used to from other PDAs. As soon as the Zaurus is out in Austria, I will get one. Definitely!
A monkey is doing the real work for me.
I bought a 5500 the other day, and love it. I haven't picked up a wireless card for it yet (although I plan to ASAP), but have been using it via USB networking to my linux desktop. I've installed ssh on it, ssh in and then NFS mount some volumes from my other linux boxes, making it easy to download and screw with sw on it from my desktop. :-(
..of course I'm not a typical user (as a unix admin, and security weenie).
I've also got X installed, but you have to kill the QT desktop before you can launch X
You can also install xcopilot on it (Palm emulator) and run lots of Palm sw. I installed a gnuboy port on it and have tried out a couple of gameboy games. The ones I tried were too slow, I thought. Maybe xmess playing colecovision games will work out, or xmame/zmame with some older arcade units will perform better.
The fact that it runs linux makes it the ideal toy, as it's easy to modify and hack to do whatever you want.
-- I speak only for myself.
Being able to sync with Outlook is still very important. While I don't choose to use it, that is what I use are work. And where are most of my appointments? At work.
I would still like to see a review from a technical magazine/journal/website that I trust. Somewhere that I am comfortable with the clue-level of the reviewer. 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. The WSJ may be different, but I don't read it, so I must paint with a wide brush.
room101 -- how much can you stand before they break you?
(they always break you eventually)
i'm replying from it now.
it syncs w/my outlook.
it works with my linksys cf very well.
kbd is very cool.
opera isn't bad.
the reviewr is on crack.
Mind the gap...
The zaurus syncs over IP networking.
Windows XP has a personal firewall that is built in and enabled by default without the users knowledge.
Put two and two together....
This poor guy just needed to turn off his firewall, becouse if it is turned on the Zaurus can not sync.
And, yes, I own a Zaurus.
Why is it so hot? Where am I going? What am I doing in this handbasket?
There is a Palm OS emulator available for the Zaurus... Check it out! http://www.climov.com/zaurus/qpose/
Oh, and the reason why he couldn't sync it with XP is because of XP's built-in firewall blocking the port the Zaurus uses. So his problem wasn't the Zaurus, it was XP.
-Riskable
"Those who choose proprietary software will pay for their decision!"
It seems that logicians have used this phrase in the way you describe for hundreds of years, and I say it's about time they examine their usage and realize that it's nonsensical and a poor translation of "petitio principii". "Assumes the proposition" or even "circular argument" would describe the problem better and would release "beg the question" for such times as a discussion in fact "cries out for" a question to be raised.
This next song is very sad. Please clap along. -- Robin Zander
The software that the Zaurus uses is still way too clunky to be ready for consumption by the general public. I've been playing around with Qtopia for several weeks now and it really isn't nearly as functional as CE or palmOS from a regular user standpoint. I've loved hacking around on the thing, but here is a small list of problems/annoyances that I've noticed so far:
* There are "Mystery Meat" buttons in nearly every application. Doing something like adding or editing a contact in the address book is made frustrating because you have to tap on a tiny graphical button that you *think* might be what you want rather than a textual pulldown menu that makes sense. (This one of the biggest annoyances. Software should be functional and easy to understand before it's made to look pretty)
* Even doing something that should be simple like changing your timezone is done with an overcomplicated application with no help of any kind (You see a screen with a world map, and you have to *guess* where your city is located by tapping on the worldmap to set the timezone correctly).
* The rotation app doesn't change the orientation of qtopia itself, only the applications running under qtopia.
* You have to basically reboot whenever you install a new program for it to show up on the desktop.
* Bootup time from a reset takes almost 1 min compared to just seconds on CE or PalmOS. (I wouldn't have cared about bootup time if I didn't need to restart the damn thing every time I install a program)
* The device seems to forget its backlight settings from time to time. (backlight turns off then won't turn on again unless you go into the light and power app to set it).
* Clicking on an icon with the stylus then moving it just a tiny amount while your trying to open an app brings up an annoying window (this comes up accidentily all the time for me).
* Seems to be very dependent on having network/internet access to install software. (This is a BAD thing on a handheld)
* Sure, it has productivity software, but it's far too limited in functionality to really be useful. Or maybe it is functional, but I just don't understand it. (have I mentioned the "Mystery Meat" factor?)
* Updating the rom is time consuming and requires extra hardware to do. (example: Updating the operating system on the Zaurus requires a blank compact flash card and a bit of work (not that I mind hacking around, but we're talking about a non-techie user standpoint here). Installing an OS update on an ipaq or similar device requires no special hardware and is fairly effortless. I've found that even installing linux and qtopia on an ipaq and making an update is easier than making the same update on the Zaurus)
Basically, the Zaurus is probably good for the tech croud/linux geek, but definately needs a lot more work before it's ready for consumption by the general public or to compete with other handhelds IMHO.
Although most people who bought a Zaurus love it, including fellow poster TechnoLust(read his journal), the ones that don't complain about the Linux OS - saying they prefer Windows or Palm. Hey, some people like a little handholding with their handheld.
The people who bought it because it runs Linux all seem to love it. Personally, the idea of a wireless handheld that runs bash and can ssh into my network is irresistible. I'm buying one, soon!
No, Thursday's out. How about never - is never good for you?
It also seems that there is mention of Outlook in quite a few places in the same manual... I picked this up after skimming the downloadable PDF for about 2 minutes.
It would seem the problem here is not the product, but instead a dumbass reviewer that
What's a shame is the number of people that will never look at the Zaurus because if this column.
.technomancer
My company does some "pervasive computing" research. In many situations it's convenient to use an iPAQ because they're quite powerful, even though the UI sucks. (Occasionally we've even done prototypes by hiding an iPAQ running Linux *inside* another piece of plastic.)
We've found that the Zaurus actually runs Java better than the iPAQ (the widgets come out nicer and it seems to suffer fewer drawing bugs). I also think the UI is marginally nicer than Pocket PC.
But these are all just in situations where we need a lot of horsepower and a really nice screen. For day to day use a Palm gets the job done best.
P.S. If you're curious, here are some pages about two projects that we've used iPAQs for:
Personal Information Portal (very out of date)
Personal Universal Controller (with CMU) We've tried the Zaurus on the latter and it works much better.
I was at JavaOne this past week where they were selling the Zaurus and the Linksys 802.11 card at a pretty steep discount. They had access points all around the Moscone center so you could access the 'net and participate in a programming contest they held.
One of the very first things I noticed about the Zaurus was the the battery life is pitiful. The freshly, fully, properly charged removable battery lasted about 20-30 minutes when using the wireless card for internet access. Battery life without the wireless card installed wasn't much better. What am I supposed to do with a PDA that lasts 30 minutes?
If everyone took that logic, Linux wouldn't exist. Everyone would have said, "oh look, another OS, who needs one we already have Windows and the Mac, no apps either, pft". And many did - but it's growing anyway thanks to the people who weren't happy with the current offerings, and made their own.
Anyway, lots of people are programming apps for it already, mainly because it's trivial to port apps from Linux. In fact, I'd guess that's one (the main?) reason why they used it - easy access to a large base of software. The asteroids game on it for instance is just KAsteroids.