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Images and Screen Shots of Zaurus SL-A300
Ch_Omega writes "Sharps Linux-based Zaurus SL-5500 is a wonderfull PDA with lots of features, but it's also a bit on the large side. Unknown to most, Sharp also has a slim and sleek version available, namely the SL- A300. It's so far only available in Japan, but Infosync has screen shots!." And it weighs only 120 grams, imagine. A trip to Akihabara anyone?
Why do you have to put things like these when I've already closed the deal for a 2nd-hand Palm? 8-(
;-) This looks cooooool. It's too expensive for me yet, but in a few years I'm sure it'll be way cheaper - or my salary way higher, so everything is peachy anyway :-)
Kidding, of course
My weblog in spanish
Wouldn't this device not run Linux, as Sharp was to continue with thier old OS in Japan and us Linux for internatinal markets?
I'd do something interesting, but my server can't handle a slashdotting.
except to show where a lack of user interface standards will NOT take you.
I would much rather have Symbian as a handheld OS.
Just reading nothing but Advertising today. I'm waiting for a breathless "news" story on another product.
That as long as they are switching to an XScale Processor, they should also increase the mhz at least 400mhz to compete with other devices...they actually lowered it 6 mhz instead! The chip has the capability, they just decided not to use it I guess.
This thing (the pics of the device) has been out and about in while. I almost got a Zaurus. Something about applications that are easily installable stopped me there. I do the tar ball compile thing for work....I don't want to do it for something I need to work to keep track of work if you know what I mean. I don't have time for that! ;)
Gorkman
Actually, using linux on a non-keyboard device could lead to some difficulties, If you, for an instance, run into problems on an ordinary PC, you simply CtrlAltF[123456] into terminal mode and kill the troubling application. But what if you run into this problem on a PDA? My opinion is that linux is not linux without a proper keyboard.
GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
This Zaurus, and these other new PDAs look fancy and all, but as long as they do not have a quality mobile phone BUILT-IN atleast it is impossible to even consider buying one. Even though the Nokia Communicator is already dated, I still think it's the only real choice if you are looking for a combination of a phone & PDA (& mobile ssh client for me) - with emphasis on the phone side. Or, is there something else that works and which has a decent KEYBOARD built-in?
Rasterman, the main developer of The Enlightenment is already porting EVAS, the gfx engine of E17 to run on Zaurus LINUX. Here are some pics.
For those of you who were are Linux World last month Sharp had one at the Intel booth for anyone to see and play with. It is the smallest and thinest pda out there currently. Next week at the Intel developers converace there might be one also. (Don't know for sure, but I know for sure I will be there! Stop by the Sharp booth and say Hi!). For those of you who _really_ _really_ want the Documents tab that is on the A300 I can tell you right now that the A300 ROM is not compatible with the 5500 so don't try. If you do try you 5500 will die and will cost you $500 or however much you paid for it. (Although you could rip apart the rom, grab the launcher exe and get the english translations off the cd or course this isn't supported by sharp, probably wont work, use at your own risk, it might explode in a nuclear reaction and it wouldn't be there fault bla bla bla). BUT you can put Open Zaurus on your 5500. For those of you who hang out on IRC in the #Zaurus you will know that the A300 currently has no plans to come to the USA, but there is a different pda coming to the us. The only information known about it for _sure_ is that it has an xscale. Anything else that anyone tells you is just made up cr.. to make them seem like they know something they don't.
-Benjamin Meyer
P.S. You _HAVE_ to check out this game for the Zaurus.: Buzzword Bingo
I am thinking of bringing it with me to the Intel conference. hehe
Do you changes clothes while making the "chee-chee-cha-cha-choh" transformation sound?
Worst. Interface. Ever.
Why can't you people* realize that a device that has an ugly user interface can't possibly be "better" in any meaningful sense of the word than any other device? I don't care if it runs off of the moral power of virginity and ends world hunger. If it's ugly to look at, it sucks.
Sometimes it seems like the Linux community would love to see a truly egalitarian world in which all software is free for everybody, but nobody wants to use it.
*By which, of course, I mean Linux advocates. I feel safe addressing the Slashdot population at large, because I'd guess that roughly three out of four of you are Linux advocates, for some reason.
I have a Symbian device and the OS is quite lacking when it comes to programming. I would much sooner have a Linux based device, plenty of applications to port.
If only I had some idea how much that was, I think I'd be really impressed. Let's see... that's about 1/8 of a kilogram, and I know they weight people in kilograms... So that does sound good!
Sharps Linux-based Zaurus SL-5500
Tim
Backup not found: (A)bort (R)etry (P)anic
Let the Japanese have their little phones! It seems that all guys ever want is small, small, small. Men need to realize that it's not a phone's size that makes it special! Look at yourselves, always obsessing over the size of the other guy's phone. Learn to use the one you've got!
Ok, I'm an idiot.. I clicked on the wrong link at Infosync. Man, I hate that.
recent linuxdevices.com article
I think this is exciting news for those of us interested in the linux pda market. I have zaurus sl5500 and loving it. The zaurus is by far the pda with the most geek potential out there. Try finding another pda with an SD slot, CF slot and a qwerty keyboard built in, all in a reasonable size and price( contrary to the article, the zaurus is not big at all ).
Based on upvotes, Ageism is the only "-ism" Slashdotters care about and think isn't SJW
stupid troll. Tetris has been available for linux for a long time, under the Communist License.
"Sharps Linux-based Zaurus SL-5500 is a wonderfull PDA"
Wow. I didn't know Sharps had anything to do with computers, let alone Linux. I remember when they just did medical waste disposal. Seems everybody's branching out these days...
I saw one of these at Linux World. I own a 5500 and like it (it works for me, not sure about for others, but then this was for me). The 3000 would remove all of the reasons why I like mine. No CF means no wireless and I love the keyboard. The keyboard makes mine very useful for me.
This looks like a step backwards to me.
You can't grep a dead tree.
Now THIS is quality advertainment!
For those who weren't aware, the OS shown in the screenshots is Qtopia, by our friends at Trolltech.
slashdot!=valid HTML
Just in case nobody knows what / where Akihabara is, here's the official Akihabara home page as well as a nice shopping guide in English.
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
I'm waiting for a dual processor version ;-)
Why do people climb Mt Everest? Because it's there. We need to port this to FreeBSD to be really happy as hackers. linux kernel code is too much of a mishmash kludge when you actually look at it.
Because they make it!
Small hands.
This new hardware|software is great, but unless it has feature ____, and implemented exactly the way I want it, it is ABSOULTELY worthless. I don't know why they even bother.
almost everywhere else in the world has labor day on may 1st.
"so far" only in Japan might mean "never" in the
USA. I wonder why there aren't numerous outlets
for graymarket items like this. There is *LOTS* of electronic stuff in Japan that we don't see in the US. But it's not actually *illegal* to import, so why is it so hard to get something like this?
I personally would like to be able to acquire the SCMS-free minidics and DAT's that they get over there (but not here).
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
Do not read this
Of course, my biggest problem with either model of the SL-whatever is the $#%$@@@@~ proprietary connector, which cannot be had for love or money in lots of less than 1,000 outside of Japan. Would it have hurt Sharp too much to use the same connector as the Palm V or Clie? As it is, no-one can build a peripheral for it without hacking apart the horrifically expensive cradle ($50 USD) or serial cable (also $50!).
I have owned several Sharp Zaurus PDAs starting back in the 80's (and yes, I traveled to Akihabara to get all but one of them; the 5500.) Of course they weren't Linux based until recently, but they were all great. I used to like the little cards you could buy for the older ones; they had some great games on them.
This new model lacks some of the things I like about the 5500, but I think it still looks pretty good. By the way, does TheKompany make localized apps? TheKompany's applications are really what put my 5500 over the top.
DOUBLE THE FREAKIN' DISPLAY RESOLUTION!!! I couldn't care less what operating system my PDA has, but if I can't confortably read from its screen - I WON'T BUY IT.
I owned an iPAQ. Fine piece of machinery, but the screen resolution was 320x240. Ebooks look like crap, text in general is hard to read (even with Clear Type which improves things a great deal).
Guys who design all this gear, please REALIZE - if it's hard to read off the device, it's not worth the money! If you want to improve the sales, double the screen resolution and leave screen size the same. This will enable crisp text and reduce the pixelization. Maybe some day people could read books and news off their Sharps and HPAQ's.
*
English Menus on the SL-A300
If you have an SL-5x00 series, and want to have japanese support (menus, IM, handwriting recoginition), you may want to go here:
Japanese Language support on the SL-5x00 series
Alea jacta est!
ok i've been researching getting a new pda to replace my m105. now i really want this... no fair.... *cries*
Blah.
Even though there is no keyboard, text input shouldn't be all that hard. Remember the article about typing with you eyes a few weeks ago? A program called Dasher is the fastest way to input text aside from a keyboard.
Welcome to the land of the free...pay toll ahead...no photography...please open your bag...
Does anyone know how the SL-5500 is doing commercially? Has Sharp sold a lot? Has it been successfull enough with the non-linux crowd for Sharp to stick with their platform?
Sorry folks, pocket pc already does all that. nothing new to see here. move along.
http://more.sbc.co.jp/sl_j/doc/hardware.htm
But only Japanease.
I decided to sell my spare Netwinder to a fellow Linux developer and roll my profits over to the SL-5500. Its an awesome looking machine, and has a mini-keyboard to boot. I think it is a much better pocket pc than this SL-A300 which is more of a PDA IMHO.
Clickety Click
I know this if a bit off Topic, but please help if you can, and don't mod it Off Topic.
I live in Japan but I'm not so good at the language. I really want to set up a PDA so that I can write Kanji into it using the stylus and get the japanese pronounciations (both) and a definition. I have found some resources but it is confusing. The problem is I don't want to buy any PDA untill I am sure I can make it do what I want. I would really like to use a Zaurus 5500, but anything that gets the job done will do. I can purchase one from the USA or in Japan. Please contact me directly by following the link to my homepage if you have done this. I will greatly appreciate any help you can give me.
[news for me, stuff that doesn't matter]
Lets define technical merit basing our opinions in something objective like aesthetic beauty.
Goodness gracious me, I thought good technical judgment was dead and buried.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I want not phone in my PDA.
I don't want to lose both capabilities when the device dies. I want to have as many options as possible when I need to change phone OR PDA (I don;t want to be forced to change both at the same time.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Mobile phone calls are too expensive if you don;t need the thing extensively (cheapest line rental is around 7 US$/month, which is what I use in calls only. Why should I pay rental?) thus I use a cheap almost throw away, non-bulky, minuscule phone with a "pay as you go" service.
Mobile phone is not a must, no matter how much marketing types would like to make you believe so.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
this is a tiny device. Mhz has no meaning. You think the CPU actually runs at a constant speed?
Long battery life so that you can use the thing without ever worrying if you've got enouch juice to hold you until you're near your charger is much more important.
I seriously hope people aren't being as stupid as they are with computers and buying PDAs based on the processor speed rather than the features.
Presumably this will cost around 350 dollars US, and Sharp will translate that into 800 Euros over here, because they are part of the illegal electronics cartel still ripping off Europeans.
I hope others will also boycott them, at least until the class-action suites bankrupt them.