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Zaurus 5600 Announced
numatrix writes "Sharp just announced the release of the SL-5600 Zaurus today, the followup to the SL-5500 linux pda. Features include an xscale 400mhz processor, 96mb total flash, higher capacity battery, 2.4.18 kernel, built in speaker and mic, and all of the best bits of goodness from the 5500.
Infosync has an article as well."
millihertz? millibit? Gee, these are specs for the brain of a motorized barbie, not a pda!
correction guys, its 64MB flash, 32MB RAM.
http://www.zauruszone.com/files/sl5600pics.zip
I had hoped this was sarcastic, but maybe not. Please let me be wrong and this be a waste of typing.
"2.4.18 kernel". Nope, definitely doesn't run linux, it's a 2.4.18 GNU/Hurd kernel... <sigh>
Yes, it runs linux.
No it runs Windows CE 2.4.18.... Maybe you should _read_ the article before posting.
http://www.sharpusa.com/products/ModelLanding/0,1
http://www.sharpusa.com/products/FunctionPressRel
14MB of Photos: http://www.zauruszone.com/files/sl5600pics.zip
Pretty much:
Linux 2.4.18
64MB of Flash
32 RAM
1700 Battery
Speaker and Mic added
Will be out around end of december and early January
Probaly we have the same price as the 5500 when it came out (~$500)
The mini laptop that came out that everyone saw also was anounced today, but that is for Sharp Japan.
Benjamin Meyer
Do you changes clothes while making the "chee-chee-cha-cha-choh" transformation sound?
Since everything is /.ed this is the text I have in my cache !
Next generation Zauruses announced
By: Larry Garfield, Tuesday, 12.11.02 13:52 GMT
Is it Zauruses or Zaurii? Either way, Sharp has officially announced two new models, one for the US and Japan and one for just the Japanese market. Guess who has exclusive pictures?
Sharp has released details on their upcoming next generation Zaurus Linux-based handhelds. One model will be marketed in the US as the Zaurus SL-5600 and in Japan as the Zaurus B500, while the other, the Zaurus C300, will be available exclusively in Japan for now.
On the outside, the SL-5600 is the same as the Sl-5500. But it's what's inside that counts.
The SL-5600 will use the same general form factor as the current SL-5500 model. However, it will run on a 400 MHz Intel XScale PXA-250 CPU. Rather than using a split-RAM architecture like the Sl-5500 and Pocket PCs do, the SL-5600 will have 32 MB of RAM that is dedicated to just active memory. For user storage, it will include 64 MB of NAND Flash ROM for both the OS and user applications, compressed for increased capacity. The user will have at least 32 MB of uncompressed space available to install additional programs. How much actual space the user will have available will vary depending on the files installed, as different files compress better than others. The writeable ROM also means that the SL-5600 won't suffer from the double-symlink problem of the SL-5500, making it easier to install programs to SD or CF cards. It also means that user data cannot be lost even in the case of complete battery loss.
The SL-5600 includes sliding keyboard of the SL-5500. It also has a built-in microphone and polyphonic speaker. The screen is the same 16-bit TFT QVGA 240x320 display as the previous model. One of the main complaints about the SL-5500 was its battery life, so Sharp has responded by including a 1700 ma Lithium-Ion removable/rechargable battery, the largest of any handheld to date, that causes a slight hump in back. As with the Sl-5500, it supports both Compact Flash and Secure Digital cards, but does not yet support SDIO due to licensing problems with the closed-source SD drivers.
The more ambitious Zaurus C300 will only be available in Japan. (Ill: MobileNews)
On the software side, the SL-5600 runs an updated version of the Lineo Embeddix GNU/Linux distribution used on the rest of the recent Zaurus line. The new version runs version 2.4.18 of the Linux kernel, and supports both TCP/IP networking and standard USB I/O for synchronization. (The SL-5500 used a TCP/IP-over-USB setup for synchronization that was sometimes unstable.) It comes packaged with Hancom Office as well as Opera 6 for web browsing. The browser will support both Flash and Adobe Acrobat files via plugins. It also includes the Jeode Java Virtual Machine, which will tie into Opera for web pages that support the PersonalJava specification. The Qtopia UI environment also includes several enhancements already present in the Japanese-only Zaurus SL-A300.
The SL-5600 will also be marketed in Japan under the name SL-B500, and have extra Japanese language support.
Sharp's other new model is the SL-C300, previewed recently at CEATAC. The C300 has the same internal hardware and software as the SL-5600, but is slightly larger in each direction The device opens width-wise to reveal a landscape-mode full-VGA 640x480 color display, the same size as the display on the SL-5600, and a mini-sized QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard has larger, finger-friendly keys and separate numeric and alphabetic keys, as wel as traditional directional buttons. It has a smaller, 950 ma battery, as Sharp expects it to be used more as a laptop alternative than a handheld. Unfortunately, the C300 is not slated for release outside of Japan.
The SL-5600, SL-B500, and SL-C300 will be avaiable Quarter 1 of 2003. Prices have not been set, but the SL-5600 is expected to retail in the $500-$600 range.
Until then, high-resolution pictures of the Zaurus SL-5600 are available on the following pages.
Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
Are there any tweaks/optimizations in the kernel for the xscale processor? It appears pocketpc 2002 from microsoft can't take advantage of the extra power; here's hoping linux can....
No Norm, those are your safety glasses; I'll wear my own thanks...
*cries* First my friend's video card is better then my P200, and now this?
Since everything is /.ed voici la description from http://www.sharpusa.com/products/ModelLanding/0,10 58,1016,00.html
SL-5600 | Handhelds
Powerful, Flexible, Mobile.
The Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 combines state-of-the-art Sharp technology and Sharp innovation to deliver a unique and compelling PDA solution. The Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 offers everything from mobile communications to mobile multimedia; keyboard integration and dual expansion delivering one of the most versatile and flexible PDA solutions on the market today.
To join our mailing list Click here.
Zaurus developers please Click here.
Features
Wireless Communications
With optional Compact Flash(TM) modems and Sharp Mobile Services you can have wireless connectivity virtually anytime, anywhere.+
Integrated Keyboard and Sliding Cover
Sharp's clever integrated keyboard design allows easy data input without sacrificing space. Edit text or e-mail effortlessly with a standard QWERTY keyboard.
Rechargeable, Replaceable Long Life Battery
With its replaceable 1700mAH Li-ION battery, larger than any other battery in a smart handheld device, the Zaurus provides extra long battery life so you can be mobile longer.
CompactFlash(TM) and SD/MMC Expansion Slots
Sharp combines the best of both worlds by offering two expansion slots. Two slots allow you to add two peripherals simultaneously such as a CompactFlash(TM) modem card and SD memory card. This seamless design makes upgrading easy and simple
Mobile Multimedia
Sharp's color LCD technology and high powered processor deliver top quality multimedia for all corporate and personal needs. The SL-5600 has a 3.5" 65,536 Color Reflective TFT Front-Lit Screen with 240 x 320 resolution for outstanding graphics and clarity, indoors or out.
Speaker & Microphone with a Stereo Headphone Jack
Listen to your favorite music or movie clips anytime, anywhere.
Stylus and Touch Screen
In addition to the SL-5600 built-in QWERTY keyboard, the stylus and touch screen allows you to navigate through applications with ease.
Customizable One-Touch Access
Instantly view calendar, address book, menu and e-mail with just one press of a button. Or customize the button settings to suit your personal needs.
Linux / Java Based Platform
Linux® and Java(TM) based architecture provides a powerful and open operating environment - allowing many Linux and Java developers to write applications for the SL-5600, and integrated into various enterprise environments.
Specifications
CPU Intel® 400MHz XScale(TM) processor1
Platform Linux2 based embedded OS (Embedix3) QT Palmtop Environment, Personal Java4
Display Reflective TFT LCD with Front Light (touch sensitive panel supported), 3.5" with 240x320 pixel, 65,536 colors.
Memory 96MB Total
32MB SDRAM
64MB Protected Flash - secure memory for storing PIM info and applications.
Input Device Touch Panel, QWERTY keyboard with a sliding cover
Card Slot 1 compact Flash Card5 slot, 1 SD/MMC card slot (no copyright protection feature)
I/O Port Serial/USB (via docking station port, IR port)
Sound Stereo headphone jack included, mic and mono speaker included.
+For wireless communications, additional accessories and an available service plan are required. Wirelss services is subject to network availability.
1 XScale is a registered trademark of Intel Corp.
2Linux is a registered trademark owned by Linus Torvalds
3Embedix is a trademark of Lineo, Inc.
5CompactFlash is a trademark of SanDisk corporation
Product specifications and design subject to change without notice.
© 2002 Sharp Electronics Corp.
Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
I own an SL_5500 which gives me satisfaction, except when it comes to its batetry life : 2 hours with full backlight, maybe 3 with half...
Will Sharp finally sell an extra-capacity battery for the Z ?
I think this'd be much more appreciable than a puny 96MB (I can't fill its 64, anyway) on a 400MHz Xscale.
Trolling using another account since 2005.
The hardware.
That is like saying "if linux is so free, why does a quad xeon machine running linux cost more than a 386 running linux?"
There simply IS no comparable palm model, however a comparison with the iPaq would be fair....
Finkployd
Way to read the article! Hell, even the posting above says "Linux" right in there. And yes, the Zaurus runs not only Linux, but offers easy ways to flash out the supplied "distro" and flash in your own. Debian has an ARM port which runs on this device, and there is a great system called OpenZaurus that is available. There is a proliferation of GUIs out there, as the device comes with Qt embedded, which is pretty slick, but can run X as well. There is also something called PicoGUI, but I haven't found any compelling reason to use it yet. You can download SDKs from TrollTech and write your own apps. You could even load gcc on the Zaurus and do your development right on the handheld.
As to the new model (the 5600): other than getting included speakers/microphone and a better battery, I'm not sure the memory changes are that big an improvement (although if you stick to the default "distro" from Sharp, I suppose they are)... running OpenZaurus on the 5500 with all 64mb of the internal memory as RAM (there is also a 16mb flash partition where you store your main binaries), then having a 64mb SD card in the SD slot and using that for all the add-ons, you have quite a bit of RAM and quite a bit of "disk" space. Much better than the default installation. I suppose the faster CPU would be worth quite a bit of the extra $100+ you'll pay for the newer device, but it's a handheld... how fast does it need to be?
I do not have a signature
Etc.
That's a lot of slutts.
And the masses cried out, "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0!"
Now, with cell phones it's not so bad because they're not that costly, but with a PDA like the Zaurus or the Tungsten we're talking hundreds of dollars to fix or replace the thing. What was wrong with "software" based keyboards -- the onscreen ones used with current Palms and PocketPC handhelds?
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
Last I saw a Sharp linux-based PDA, it wasn't a PDA, but a pocket-based computer. You still had to partition the RAM between execution and storage, funny ways of launching apps, etc.
Palm has a very elegant PDA solution. And its very difficult to bend it to do non-PDA things (i.e. play MP3s, movies, etc.) SOny is doing a good job, and PalmOS 5 shoudl make things even easier. Then there is this other way where you try to mimick a PDA out of a computer. You lose the simplicity of the PDA but gain the power of a computer.
Is there a ahppy medium, or should we just stop trying to cram the two into one package?
Is it Zauruses or Zaurii?
Zauruses: 1. Zaurus is not a Latin word (and Z is almost never used in Latin); 2. if it were a Latin word, it would be Zauri, not Zaurii.
I think they made a bad decision on the ram:
Rather than using a split-RAM architecture like the Sl-5500 and Pocket PCs do, the SL-5600 will have 32 MB of RAM that is dedicated to just active memory.
While the Sharp rom on the SL-5500 leaves your hands tied and dedicates the 64MB built-in ram 50/50 to ramdisk and available RAM, various custom ROM images like the Crow rom and OpenZaurus let you move the ramdisk to an SD flash card while freeing up all 64MB for usable RAM.
Having only 32MB for main memory REALLY ties your hands. Is SDRAM really so expensive that Sharp couldn't have used 64MB for main memory?
Can I plug it into a folding keyboard and run emacs? That would blow my m515 away...
I just wanted to give a shout-out to all the current 5500 users... Uh, seriously, though, we should all email Sharp and let them know that it would be nice if they'd kick a ROM update down to us. There are known problems with the current Zaurus software (especially the PIM) that have been fixed in Opie. I know, I know, run OpenZaurus. OpenZaurus has problems too. So it would be nice if we could get an official Sharp ROM update that included the newer Qtopia. Who's with me?
The most intesreting thing about this is that they are releasing another model. This must mean that they've made enough mondey from the previous model to justify it. Which must be a first for a Linux-based PDA. I have an Agenda, and while it was fun to play with for a while, it was way too slow to be useful. Obviously enough people think otherwise about the Zaurus.
Is this from personal experience? Or do you have an article to cite? Or is it just a troll?
A desktop operating system - especially one as unfriendly as Linux - does not automatically make a great consumer device OS
This is smelling more and more like a troll. The SL-5xxx series uses a form of embedded Linux, which is clearly not the same animal. Linux itself is the kernel. All the extra crap you get on top of it is part of the distribution. The 5xxx series doesn't use KDE. It doesn't use Gnome. None of the stuff that you would use to determine whether the desktop was friendly or not exists on this machine. Instead, they use an embedded version of Qt. If you'd like to cite some articles about disappointment with this approach, I'd be more than happy to change my opinion.
And the Java implementation was an out of date joke.
Out of date? Oh, now I know this is a troll; the 5xxx series uses PersonalJava 1.2, which is the same spec that is CURRENTLY available from Sun.
Basically Sharp didn't appear to care at all about the quality of the software on the 5500.
You know, I'd much rather have them concentrate on the hardware more. Software can always be replaced. I have a Compaq iPaq sitting at home in a drawer that no longer gets used. Why? Because the hardware is mostly junk. Low battery life. And it crashes if you look at it wrong, losing EVERYTHING on it. And the backup process was just too S-L-O-W to be worth it. It's just not reliable. At least this new unit is designed with the flash memory to hold your data, even in the event of a complete power failure. That would have been a nice feature on the iPaq (instead of having to buy a flash card).
GreyPoopon
--
Why is it I can write insightful comments but can't come up with a clever signature?
Story made a mistake. It's 240x320. Also, they made another mistake; the name was changed to SL-C700 to avoid confusion with the already released in japan A300.
First let me say that I love the Zaurus. I own a Palm V and a IPaq3970. However to say that Palm doesn't have anything to compare to the Zaurus isn't correct.
The new Sony (based off Palm OS) compares quite well to the Zaurus. Both are on similar hardware. Granted that the NEW Zaurus is on the Xscale processor, while the Sony is on the 20x ARM processor. BUT notice that Sharp doesn't say that their apps are 2x as fast! A lot of work has to be done to run great on the new Xscale processor, and I doubt that Sharp did that work. Or if they did, not all the apps are tuned for the new processor. In short they both rock for processing power on a PDA.
Next lets talk video. The Sony has a built in camera. The Sharp doesn't.
The Sony has 320X480 resolution, the Sharp has 320X240. Sony wins.
Both have fold out keyboards.
Both have CF slots
The Sony has a boat load more apps.
The Sharp could be your PDC and Web server and probably run MySQL.
The Sony cost more, but is out now.
The Sony runs Palm OS5. The Sharp runs Linux.
The Sharp has a great browser for surfing on a PDA.
Neither one have a good wireless solution or built in Bluetooth. It must be noted that the Sharp does offer a HUGE wirelss modem attachment, that nobody would want to carry and cost around $40/month. Both do support 802.11b CF wireless cards.
Both devices lack driver support for CF cards compared to Pocket PC devices.
Hmmm looks like I just did a comparision of the two products.
In my opinion either one is great. It just depends on what you want to do. If either one offered a good wireless solution I would have gone with it over my Ipaq. God pocket pc 2002 sucks!
The more I learn about science, the more my faith in God increases.
Mysterously, 36 computer employees were killed late Monday night and early Tuesday morning around the country while setting up a display for a new pocket PC. Fellow employees witnessed an arch of electricity hitting the victims and surrounding electronics. One witness commented "it was like a scene out of Command and Conquer." The manufacturer of the pocket PC, Sharp, refused to comment officially on the incidents, saying only "we have the most powerful line of pocket PCs on the face of the planet".
I own a Palm Vx and a Z5500 and I haven't touched my palm since then. Looking back at my palm, I wonder "how could it ever be sold??". The palm is sooo limited in functionality compared to the Zaurus. First of all, you get a shell, which is (to me) worth every penny of the Zaurus. It allows you to do whatever you want and tweak everything in the OS. OpenZaurus allows you to go a step beyond by installing what you want and freeing up some valuable memory.
:)
The *only* disadvantage I found so far is battery life. With a wireless CF card, you can use it for about 1 - 1.5 hours. Now that's bad. Of course, new 802.11b CF cards (type 2) are out and use less power, but I don't feel like shelling another 80$.
Even if you are not a Linux guru, I recommended it for it's basic features. It runs Opera, you can get any kind of instant message, basic office-type tools, etc. It kicks Palm's ass big time.
The slide in keyboard is just amazing. I have no words to express my happiness
Now like someone said earlier, try running apache and mysql on your palm...Now that's customization!
If you want better words to compare Palm and Zaurus, let's say that the Palm is a nice agenda with very limited computer functions while the Zaurus is in fact a small computer with nice agenda features. That's how I see it. It's kinda like comparing a typewriter with a computer.
-- Leeeter than leet
According to the press release from the Japan official site, the battery last 18 hours with Backlight turned off and a static screen.
Another interesting add-on is a Compact Flash XGA adaptor from I.O.Data for video output, now all we need is some nice games.
Oh, there is also the camera CE-AG06 (640x480 color)
Other interesting parameters:
w x d x h: 74mm x 138mm x 18mm (w/o LCD cover)
weight: 205g (w/o LCD cover)
display: 240x320 3.5" 64k color TFT (Front light) (i.e. you can read clearly under direct sun light)
No Bluetooth? Look up Bluetooth support from their developer site.
As a long-time Palm user, I used to think that PalmOS was the way to go for an Organizer: tons of apps available, all optimized to be simple, as few clicks as possible to do what you want. With a black and white model, your battery lasts forever, which is more important than colour anyways.
Then I got a Handspring Treo. At first it was awesome. Now I was only carrying around a single device, which was smaller the cell phone it replaced, not to mention the Palm. One device, and it fit in my pocket. Added bonus was the integration of my contacts list. Of course, all the apps were originally designed to work with a pen rather than a keyboard, so they were no longer optimally designed, but I still prefered the keyboard to Graffiti.
Then I hooked up GPRS Internet. Suddenly PalmOS didn not seem so hot anymore. When you're on the internet, you want a real computer, period. PalmOS has about 8 different email programs. They all suck for one reason or another, and they all cost real money. SSH sucks. There are a couple of good web browsers, considering, but they're slow and can't do a lot of things.
It really reminds me of 1993 when I was running Linux with SLiRP and it's predecessors giving me real internet access and the windows users were using ProComm or something and only got a single command prompt.
Bryan
First, it's big--even PocketPC machines have gotten much smaller. Sharp sells a Zaurus in Japan that's much smaller (no keyboard, no CF), and they should bring that to the US.
Second, while they have managed to create some decent apps in it, the use of Qt/Embedded causes problems. Qt/Embedded eats up lots of memory (much more than X11+XLib+FLTK) and it makes porting software to the Zaurus a lot of work. Also, it has some annoying bugs, for example, locking up the GUI with focus problems. I thought I could live with Qt/Embedded, but I can't. Having a standard Linux command line environment on the handheld has turned out to be great, and I want the same convenience for the GUI, not some oddball hack.
The main reason for getting a Linux PDA for me is to have something that it's easy to port software to, and something I can carry with me, and the Zaurus just falls short on both accounts. I think the iPaq running Handhelds.org or a Yopy may be a better choice.
There is no "plus". I gave RSS sizes. Those include all the memory that an application actually uses.
However, if you want to compare shared library sizes, FLTK is a 423kbyte library, and FLEK (sockets, XML, dates, files, math, etc.) is another 282kbytes; the Qt/Embedded equivalents are more than five times larger.
Please, obviously you never wrote a single line of code , for otherwise you would know that raw X11 is pretty much useless as afar as app programming goes.
You just demonstrate again that you jump to conclusions without any factual knowledge.
No to mention the fact that with X11 one usually ends up with multiple set of widget libs since which would be a complete nonsense on a device like the Zaurus.
It's not "nonsense" at all. The main attraction of Linux handhelds is that they require less porting. That means, I want the option of using an existing toolkit if it makes sense, I don't want to be dictated to which toolkit to use. If I have to rewrite the entire GUI anyway, I might as well port to PocketPC or Palm and get a much bigger user base.
* For the resident set size of Qt/Embedded, we get: qpe process, 6.7Mbytes, embeddedconsole, 3.8Mbytes, addressbook, 3.9Mbytes, etc.
Yes but how much of the RSS is shared? Most of the ram usage you list is probably due to shared libraries that all three apps are using. To work out their memory usage (for simplicities sake ignoring other apps sharing the same libraries) you go (qpe RSS-qpe shared)+(qtmail RSS - qtmail shared) + (console RSS - console shared) + shared ram usage. If you just add up those three apps RSS you get 14.4Mb. Obviously that can't be the way things work cause that would mean just those 3 apps exhaust all the available ram of the SL5000 here.
For instance, running qtmail here it uses 4.2Mb RSS, but 3.6Mb of that is shared! So the amount of extra ram now consumed is 400K.
Looking at the QPE process here it is 6.7Mb RSS and 5Mb shared.
I'm not familiar with the Agenda, what functionality does the window manager provide?
In the case of the Zaurus here, the QPE process gets me a window manager, several on screen keyboards, wireless lan monitor, battery monitor, clock, volume control, application launcher, taskbar, document tab, desktop sync server, and probably more i have forgotten.
I suspect the Agenda 75Kbyte window manager doesn't provide all those features. How much ram is used on the agenda once you start up all the extra processes to provide that funcionality?
Also, there is no KDE flab in Qtopia AFAIK, it's just QT based.