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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.)
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.
~ a low user id is no indication I have a clue what I'm talking about.
>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.