Clamshell Sharp Zaurus Reviewed

Bill Kendrick writes "The Gadgeteer has a review of the new clamshell-style Sharp Zaurus SL-C700 Linux-based PDA. This new model, currently only officially available in Japan, sports a larger keyboard than the SL-5500 we have in the US, as well as a full 640x480 screen and 400MHz XScale CPU. The review mostly compares it against the HP200. The reviewer got his hands on an 'English version,' made available by Dynamism for a hefty pricetag of USD$700." (See this earlier story for more screenshots from the English conversion of this device.)

Comments

Cons Pros

[scubacuda]

Pros:
Super-cool look and feel; perfect laptop for your favorite stuffed animal
Useable keyboard
Bright clear screen (amazing, actually)
Fits easily in shirt or jacket pocket

Cons:
Expensive ($700 from Dynamism for English version)
Limited software availability
Shortish battery life
No manual yet, PC setup a mystic adventure

Until it comes down in price, the cons are (in my opinion) a big deal.

My advice is: pick a laptop or pick a PDA. Make sure that either of them does their respective job well. Don't expect your PDA to be a laptop, and don't expect your laptop to be small enough to put in your pocket (yet!).

On a side note, Fujitsu makes a killer laptop! I've seen it in action...perhaps one of the best laptops for its size...

Major cool factor, but...

[The Tyro]

I'm still using a palm IIIx, and it's more than adequate. The color screens and multimedia coolness are great though...

I admit that my use of a PDA is basically as a mobile "black book" and scheduling device. Seriously, how many people honestly require all these awesome features? (I understand the "bragging rights" argument, but I work with a stable of non-geeks who could hardly appreciate this device... they don't even know how to rip/encode an MP3...)

Still, I do like the fact that it runs on Linux ;)

Come on now /.

[Lord Bitman]

Isnt it time to change the PDA in that icon? I think we've got something better now.

Very cool...

[mlk]

So we Psion users might of been forgot by Psion, but not by everyone.
Lets hope the Linux install is as easy to use, and well though out as EPOC (does anyone have one? or links to some screen shots of).

Well almost "The battery life is only estimated to be 3 ½ hours", bah my Psion lasts a lot longer.
And I don't like the look of the keyboard... But yummy big screen, but will not fit as snug in my coat pocket (Psio Revo, very small). Eap, I see a hard desion ahead of me...
Sharp C700 PDA
Stick with my Psion, save up for a 17" TiBook.
Eap.

3 1/2 hours!

[m0nkyman]

That's when I stopped reading. That's not a PDA, that's an undersized, underpowered laptop. A PDA should have a battery that at the minimum lasts a full day, so that the appointments for the day are accessible without recharging.

that's my 2cents.

Re:3 1/2 hours!

[timeOday]

3 1/2 hours isn't that bad, my palm m515 doesn't last that long on high brightness. Who looks at their pda for 3 1/2 hours in a day? It shouldn't take longer than 30 seconds to check the calendar. How much talk time do cellphones get these days?

My big problem with this thing is the size. Even a palm V is a little larger than I'd like. If it doesn't fit discreetly in my hip pocket it's useless to me. Those little keyboards are useless. If I can't touch-type, might as well make it smaller and hit the keys with a stylus. On my palm I use QuickType, after some practice it's far faster than graffiti (and open source too!)

Re:still runs linux

[mirko]

Yopy was mentioned in European magazines, in December.
The Z. never was.

Dont care if it's flamebait, its the truth....

[josh crawley]

---The Gadgeteer has a review of the new clamshell-style Sharp Zaurus SL-C700 Linux-based PDA.

Ohhhhh Ahhhhhh. It runs linux. Like I care. I want something that works, not something to make a political stand.

Still the political stuff aside, why is Linux (a server based OS) on something that should be totally embedded? Yes, I know LinuxEmbedded is a project too, but whats the point? You use/make what's best for the job. The Linux kernel just doesnt look best for the job.

---This new model, currently only officially available in Japan, sports a larger keyboard than the SL-5500 we have in the US,

It's got a larger everything. The fucker's just a mini-laptop.

---as well as a full 640x480 screen and 400MHz XScale CPU.

Whatever happened to crusoe? Wasnt that one supposed to be the lowest heat and energy intake for a cpu of that class?

---The review mostly compares it against the HP200. The reviewer got his hands on an 'English version,' made available by Dynamism for a hefty pricetag of USD$700."

Hell, my TI-86 with serial link cable (Z-80 and 90k rom) only cost a hundred. Yes, any PDA will beat the socks off it, but it can do all that math, and with asm programs downloaded for free, it can be a PDA and game player too. And my TI calc lasts for days on, and I can put it in my pocket.

Re:Dont care if it's flamebait, its the truth....

[RobGarth]

>I want something that works, not something to
> make a political stand.

Agreed. I use Palm OS. But at some point you have to make the decision between a moral/political stand and convenience. I believe in open source. I don't like Microsoft Ethics - therefore I refuse to use MS products.

> why is Linux (a server based OS) on something
> that should be totally embedded?

Linux in the enterprise is actually a fairly new concept. Linus never wrote it for any other machine than his own desktop. But of course it does run well as a server. But the same argument could be said of PocketPC. Why use a desktop OS on a PDA - and furthermore - why use a desktop OS on a server. In fact I imagine linux is more suited than windows ever was, as all they have really ported is the Kernel, the rest is rebuilt, and the kernel is shrunk and tailored to a PDA anyway.

And you are right, it is a mini laptop - which is why I want it. I work 24x7 support, and the idea of pulling out a linux machine with a useable keyboard from my pocket, logging in and doing my work, is very enticing.

And the XScale and the Crusoe are in completely different classes, please don't trust MHz ratings.

Re:Dont care if it's flamebait, its the truth....

[josh crawley]

---Agreed. I use Palm OS. But at some point you have to make the decision between a moral/political stand and convenience. I believe in open source. I don't like Microsoft Ethics - therefore I refuse to use MS products.

I really wouldnt mind using a MS PDA, but what I have saw, they eat battery power at horrendous rates (2 hours on my fiends pda-and that was the best times). That alone is the major deciding factor.

---Linux in the enterprise is actually a fairly new concept. Linus never wrote it for any other machine than his own desktop.

Unix based things have always been suited for servers. Linux is just a re-implementation of a Unix system.

---But of course it does run well as a server. But the same argument could be said of PocketPC. Why use a desktop OS on a PDA

In a way, that's what DOS was. Single user single tasking operating system. It didnt do much in terms of hardware (other than a very basic interface). Only the concept of 'Windowed content' brought multi-tasking to the masses.

---and furthermore - why use a desktop OS on a server. In fact I imagine linux is more suited than windows ever was, as all they have really ported is the Kernel, the rest is rebuilt, and the kernel is shrunk and tailored to a PDA anyway.

True, but the the "desktop OS vs server OS" was fought between Windows NT and Win9x. NT was network suited. If you bought the higher product, you got nt Server. MS just slapped server stuff on a Desktop OS. That's what merged those two together.

---And you are right, it is a mini laptop - which is why I want it. I work 24x7 support, and the idea of pulling out a linux machine with a useable keyboard from my pocket, logging in and doing my work, is very enticing.

That's exactlty my point. They oughtta call it MINI-laptop or something. Still, if you're in tech support, does it have serial ports to use? I didnt look close at the pictures.

---And the XScale and the Crusoe are in completely different classes, please don't trust MHz ratings.

I was asking based on related energy input and heat output. The less those 2 are, the better for small computers. In a PDA type setting, I really dont care about speed of the cpu, just as long the unit is snappy (and bloat-decreased).

Re:Dont care if it's flamebait, its the truth....

[Bill Kendrick]

> 1: Why not a single task system? Eliminates VM (and associated overhead).

I happy to enjoy being able to stop what I'm doing, looking up a phone number, and going right back to where I was without digging around to find the application I was running.

I also enjoy talking on IRC or checking my email while a web page loads. Or calculating some numbers while a new program is being installed.

> 2: Why soo big monitor? 640x480 is a lot of power to keep lit. Try 320x240

Hmm... Because you can see a lot more on it, no doubt? Perhaps that's why people keep making bigger monitors and TV sets. Or maybe they're all crazy, and it's an LCD conspiracy!

As for being 'big' physically (you seem to think it's a lot more space to 'keep lit'), it's no bigger than the SL-5500. The screen is about the same size as pretty much every other PDA out there. (It's the same as my Palm III, if I count the silkscreen area, which is 'soft' (ie, screen space) on most newer Palms)

> 3: WHy is monitor color? If it's a pda, you need text and grayscale images. Needless energy waste.

Since when do I need greyscale images? It's hard to read a map if all of the lines are black and white. And frankly, having a To-Do list item highlighted in red when it's past due is a pretty reasonable way to make it noticable.

> 4: People want devices that do XYZ. Why not have plugin devices that power themselves (on their own batteries)? Your 802.11 card dies. big deal. You can still use yoru pda.

I see what you're getting at here, but batteries aren't light. If everything had batteries in them needlessly, the thing would weigh way too much to be comfortable to hold. Besides, spending the extra cash on a low-power device is probably much cheaper than if the device had its own battery!

> 5: Have no keyboard onboard. Makes things too klunky. Have the gui able to handle all touch access but have a keyboard adaptor (along with keyboard battery) so you dont have to hunt letters.

You'll be wanting the SL-A300 then.

> 6: Why not use a slower processor but have dedicated circuits that are only used when demanded (music decompresser).

I guess maybe you don't know much about modern PDA CPUs...

Me too.

[enkidu]

Exactly my view. I'll change and upgrade with my computers at work. I'll upgrade my apps, I'll patch the OS (particularly since IT will fix it if things get totally wacked). I run Win2000 and RH7.2 at work. I want my home computer to always work. I run MacOSX at home.

For my PDA, I expect it's primary duties to be a notepad + address book + scheduler + RPN calculator. I want something that is small, nimble, quick to use, easy to backup, and will never crash on me. I'll live with a wait cursor on my computers but not on my PDA. I'll live with multiple clicks to perform one task on my computer but not on my PDA. If I want a portable MP3 player, I'll get a Zen or a iPod. And for my PDA needs, the PalmOS based ones are it. I currently use a Handera330 and have no complaints. I'd take a Tungsten T in a heartbeat. Not for its whizz bang features, but for its formfactor and screen. Oh, and I'd trade color for battery life anyday on a PDA.

The Sharp would be a cool laptop backup though. If I worked as a SysAdmin, I'd carry one with a CF ethernet adapter and a serial cable everywhere. However, I'm a code slinger and much prefer my Happy Hacking Keyboard to a thumbpad.

EnkiduEOT

XML sync format

[21mhz]

for some reason they decided to drop the XML format from the PIM

If this is really so, this means they lost me as a prospective customer. I don't want a Linux PDA to play the same old games with proprietary formats.
At least, until SyncML synchronization is unavailable for C700, there is little reason for me to prefer it over Pocket PC. Heck, there are SyncML add-ons for Pocket PC already.

My Two Cents

[Anonymous Coward]

The Zaurus features fantastic hardware with a built in thumbboard that's surprisingly responsive, compact flash and SD slots, an excellent screen, fast processor, etc etc. I have no complaints about the hardware, topnotch stuff.

The software is an entirely different story. It ranges from quite good to abysmal. The "OS" itself is nice and intuitive, modelled quite straight from standard KDE (if you're not familiar with KDE, it's very Windows like). And although things like a "start menu" don't translate well to the tiny size, the OS is still quite navagable and usable. The Opera web browser is great, the Jeode java virtual machine produces no complaints, media player is great, the to do list, contacts, etc are just fine.

But the calendar application is awful. It's very buggy. Trying to change an appointment from within the PDA often leads to disaster, with the calendar app left in an unstable state (hard to explain). Attempting to fix the situation usually just leads to appointments being deleted. I've been reduced to only adjusting appointments from my desktop and resyncing, which removes a significant reason for having a PDA in the first place. Just horrible, and the biggest strike against the machine as I feel the calendar app is the most important of the bunch.

The desktop syncing software is also unfortunately pretty raw. The version that ships with the Zaurus is pretty crippled and old. Newer versions lead to more features (such as the ability to install software), but they have their own unique bugs (such as sometimes the syncing process ignoring your overriding preferences and doing what it wants at times).

If you're looking for a neat gadget to have some fun with or experiment with, look no further. Unix in your pocket is pretty cool. If you want a solid PDA you can depend on, keep looking. Or at least wait, I suspect a revision or two of the core ROM should change things dramatically. After all, rather small bugs are holding the show back, easily squashed.