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Sharp Ships Zaurus SL-5600; 5500 Available Cheap
Bill Kendrick writes "LinuxDevices is reporting the good news: Sharp is now shipping the Zaurus SL-5600 Linux-based PDA. Compared to the SL-5500 that's been out for the past year, this new model sports a 400MHz X-Scale CPU, twice the Flash (32MB), twice the RAM (64MB) a much better battery (1700 mAh), and a real speaker and mic. Learn more at Sharp's website." And IceFox writes "Well I wasn't expecting this to happen till next week, but I guess it was put up early. For a limited time on hsn.com you can get a Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 PDA for $198.92, combined with a hsn.com coupon you can bring the price down to $169.08. For anyone who has wanted to play with this Linux PDA here is your chance to get it for very cheap." Update: 03/18 02:03 GMT by T : Reader Brendan Hoar corrects the listed specs: "The specs for the SL-5600 are incorrect. It should be 64MB of flash, 32MB
of SDRAM. It's technically *half* the RAM of the SL-5500, not twice the RAM." Thanks.
32meg? Ive got 512meg on my keychain device, after ripping it apart the chips really would'nt take up much room in a pda.. I guess its a cost thing.. but I'm sure it wouldnt cost much to expand to 256/512..
please enlighten me someone.
moo
Heard that the C700 was coming in late 2003 to North America. At least thats what techtv said at some point in January.
The sharp zaurus is one of the best tools ever. I have used it in many different situations where before I would have had to grab my laptop. Using Minicom I have programmed routers with the nifty serial cable. I have spent many hours playing Dopewars and Wyvern (a pretty nifty graphical mud). The sharp image comes with Opera and is readable even at the furthest zoom (-4 or something.) My options are NOT restricted by sharp, there is even OpenZaurus (or OZ as the Z junkies call it.) The walkthroughs on the pages are mostly made for Linux noobs.
It runs Kismet (with the special socket drivers I can run low power for about 2 hours.) The software library is always growing, and the developers are happy to share their techniques for cross compiling/QT developing.
The wonderful thing about the Zaurus, is people already have developed and even COMPILED programs for the arm that run just fine on the Z, (mostly Ipaq/other linux SA device developers) but that means an even BIGGER software library.
The community is so helpful, you may be asking questions in the #zaurus channel in irc.openprojects.org and the person answering your question, just might have been the one developing the program you are asking about. It is not infrequent to hear "#Zaurus:So_and_so Yeah here that version is kinda buggy, I just compiled the new one here."
I have to mention Zauruszone even though it is no where near the community it used to be, there still are useful links
With this price there is something that I have wanted to do with the Zaurus for a really long time. Turn it into a media player. For $600 or some insane price you can get one of those media players with the 2 line text lcd. Pick up one of these connect it to the network, power, and receiver. Then write a little app to play audio files over the network onto your stereo. You get a COLOR 320x240 lcd TOUCH screen. I don't think that there is any media center that has that for this cheap. With the touch screen there is all sorts of extra goodies that you could put on it to make managing the music easier. Heck you could just run apache on it and browse to it from any computer and all it would do is display the current song and cool swirly plugins. Put some cool visual plugins on it, duck tape it to your stereo rack (or make a nice case, whatever suits you) and enjoy.
Do you changes clothes while making the "chee-chee-cha-cha-choh" transformation sound?
...as my palm130 (http://www.palm.com/products/palmm130/ )do all that I want, I won't switch; Linux or no Linux.
After all, as far as I can see, the only benefit this device offers is Linux; everything else has been done before either by Palm or bysome PocketPC (allthought I would never get one of those myself, for the same reason).
Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
From the hsn page, under "requirements:"
"Microsoft Windows 98/98SE/2000 Professional/ME/XP"
So, then, Linux is a good enough platform for developing the thing on, and running the handheld software, but Sharp can't write desktop apps for us to synchronize it?
I'm sure it's very easy to set it up to synchronize with Evolution or whatever-else-you-want, but, seriously, why doesn't Sharp at least tout that it runs Linux as a marketing strategy?
I don't understand, someone please enlighten me.
We dance to all the wrong songs.
--Refused.
The 5500 has 64MB of RAM (but half was reserved for file storage) and 16MB of read-only flash.
The 5600 has 32MB of RAM (giving it the same working memory in the standard configuration) and 64MB of read-write flash (giving it slightly more storage space).
So, there isn't really any more RAM for applications in the SL-5600.
Sounds like the open-source VOIPs are finally in for some serious usage.
I guess batterly life (while using wifi) will still be pretty bad compared to a moderm mobile, but for international calls it would still be a godsend; I just spent a fortune calling to Europe from the GDC.
sudo ergo sum
Does it run BeOS? heheh
For eBook use, one of the more popular applications for PDAs, you really need something more like the newer Sony Palm devices. This resolution isn't quite enough for crisp fonts (even with subpixel rendering) and it's small enough that most preformatted PDF/Web content still needs to scroll half a screen horizontally to be read at a legible magnification.
Can we please please see a Zaurus with a 360x480 display?
If you want a portable personal computer, though, the Zaurus is pretty fucking cool. Just remember: it's a PC, not a PDA.
retail Price on HSN: 499
average price on ebay: ~200
with the coupon it is a deal, but not 300+$ off like the hsn website would lead one to beleive, even if it is "mint in box"
64 flash (that is rw via jff2)
32 RAM
The SL-5600, which is powered by a 400 MHz Intel XScale processor, features a reflective QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) color LCD screen and a unique integrated QWERTY keyboard with sliding cover. It also includes a rechargeable (and replaceable) 1700 mAh battery, 64MB of protected Flash memory, 32MB of SD-RAM, dual expansion via CompactFlash and SecureDigital/MMC card slots, and an integrated speaker and microphone. The software stack is based on Linux along with the Qtopia GUI environment and PIM suite, Opera embedded browser, and the Geode Java virtual machine.
Do you changes clothes while making the "chee-chee-cha-cha-choh" transformation sound?
It has a thumb keyboard (really the only way to use it efficiently.) Runs Linux, can run GCC, can be used to program routers with a 15 dollar cable. Has a SD slot and a CF slot, can run a swap file on either memory storage unit, so real memory is not quite so big a deal.
It's cheaper than any comporable device, has a screen which is backlit, and readable in the sunlight, has a software library with hundreds of titles.
It can run kismet, it has a wireless internet service (not WIFI but CDPD or some hybrid.) The battery is replaceable so you can carry 3-4 LIon batteries with you on a long flight (although expensive but worth it in my eyes). Flite is precompiled to run on the SA and can be used to read books/trigger events via your WIFI card/CF storage whatever.
Lets put it this way, if you like to play with your PDA, get a Zaurus and best of all it fits in your pocket.
HSN.com don't ship outside USA.
No, I did not read the f***ing article!
I see a 50 node Beowulf cluster in a 2u rackspace!
Sig? We don't need no stinking sig....
If you want really cheap you still might be able to get a SL5000 which is below SL5500. I love my Zaurus, running Open Zaurus which give you Konquerer and with a CF Wifi gives a really cool portable table like client. Mixed with VNC for remote admin and SSH for cli interfaces.
Also make a cool MP3 player with cheap SD cards. There is so much I could write. Just get one. It rocks
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
I have a Zaurus, and while it's a great minicomputer, it's not a good PDA by any stretch.
After about 3 or 4 months of using the Zaurus, it went back on the shelf, and the old Psion Revo+ came out instead. The Revo/5mx just kick it all over the Zaurus (and PocketPC) when it comes to doing Actual PDA Stuff. The address book/agenda tool on the Revo is miles ahead of what you have on the Zaurus, and still better than what's on the PocketPC. And, if you want to kick it up a notch, the Word/Sheet programs on the Revo handle Word and Excel files about a hundred times better than Hancom Word/Sheet on the Zaurus. I just feel more productive with the Revo, and it seems that the software is better.
It's funny, but the Revo+ runs at about 1/6 the speed of the Zaurus, but Opera seems to render pages just as fast. It has half the memory, but it doesn't have any of the memory/space limitations I ran into on the Zaurus' internal memory. (Yeah, I kept the MP3s on a CF card).
I do hope that the OpenZaurus project continues, but it seems that they're not making any huge strides in the PIM areas. From what I understand, OZ's email client doesn't really work at all. Not confidence inspiring.
But I do miss the mp3 player.
-Crazy Earnie, the Used Car King
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
Could this one probably run mplayer (http://www.mplayhq.hu) ? You could use it watching adult movies under your blanket late at night while your mom thinks you are sleeping ;-)
I'm excited about the 5600 for my use and still recommend the 5500 for general development and use.
Go Sharp!
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
Before I whip out my credit card and ask a friend in the U.S. to forward this on to me since hsn doesn't ship to Canada :-(
- How's the battery life? ~4 hours? ~20 hours? How much do you use your s and how often do you have to recharge?
- The OS that comes presinstalled, it's linux based right? Do I get a shell with it? Can I compile and run most linux apps? What's the deal with OpenZaurus?
I did try and get answers from HSN and myzaurus.com (and even openzaurus.com) but these ones weren't answered.
Thanks!
I'll have something intelligent to add one of these days...
I added a card the size of a stampt to get 256mb of extra storage and I can still use the cf slot for ethernet on my Zaurus.
That said, I recently replaced my first zaurus ($300) with a new zaurus ($250) only to be given a heart attack by this article.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
So it runs Linux but requires Windows? Hahahahaha.
I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
Back in my day, people understood that "minicomputer" was the thing between "mainframe" and "microcomputer" on the hierarchy of power...
The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
When discussing the Zaurus in relation to WinCE, a lot of people go on about features they see as novel to a Linux PDA.
I'm a big PDA nerd. I'm working on my own PDA OS/computing environment. And I've done a lot of comparisons between WinCE, Palm OS, Newton OS, and Linux.
Linux on the PDA can do a lot of slick things- run Apache, Emacs, Vi, Perl, Python, SSH, VNC and X11. WinCE can do that as well. There is an XFree port, multiple SSH clients (Free, free and commercial), etc. You can tunnel X11 over SSH on a WinCE machine. You can use a serial cable to adminster router with a terminal emulator. Some of these things are of questionable usefulness for some people, but it is possible all the same.
I've heard way too many people go on and on about how their Linux PDAs can do these things as an advantage over WinCE PDAs. Linux PDAs may have their advantages (moral advantage?), but running a handful of useful Unix-ey tools isn't one of them.
Check out Rainer's page for a lot of useful WinCE ports.
I cannot say the same for Palm OS, however. PalmOS is relatively primitive (internally) compared to WinCE and Linux/PDA, which are both full-blown, relatively modern operating systems that run on PDAs. Some of these things work on Palm OS devices, SSH for instance, but X11, Emacs most likely do not.
I'm *really* tempted to buy this Zaurus- seems like a good deal. But the same thing as ever is holding me back- Linux PDAs have no real handwriting recognition system, like the HWR on the Newton OS or CalliGrapher for Windows CE. I use it quite a bit for taking notes- taking bitmap notes doesn't compare in their usefulness to real text notes. The thumboard wouldn't cut it for taking college lecture notes for me, and the character recognition wouldn't either.
Other than HWR, I have still stuck to using WinCE and the Newton OS as my PDA platforms. The available software for WinCE is generally of a higher quality than you can get for Linux PDAs. Like on desktop Windows, there is a lot of trashy software, however, but the good stuff is pretty good, better than most of what you can get for Linux PDAs, commercial or not.
That isn't to say that all Linux PDA software sucks, or that you can't get a decent package here or there- on the contrary. The Hancom Office apps are pretty nice. However, Linux PDA apps are all too often like their desktop Linux apps- messy UI wise. Especially the Free and free apps. The commercial QTopia shops put a bit more thought into their apps, which is good.
If you like what is available enough, and think the moral advantage of Linux instead of WinCE
I've wanted a Linux PDA for quite some time. I did something similar to you, I bought a Helio for running Linux. Similar specs as an Agenda (75 MHz MIPS, 2 MB Flash ROM, 8 MB RAM, serial, 160x160 B&W screen). Linux was ported, so was PicoGUI, but in the end, it does just about as much as an Agenda does. Maybe a little more- the open-source default VT-OS is still pretty useful. After that, I got an iPAQ 3100 for developing Dynapad, and tried running Familiar and then QTopia on it during a couple months in the summer. Went back to WinCE after that,
I also run Squeak on it, and can use it for programming. But generally, it's a toy compared to my Newton 2100 or my Jornada 720.
That said, use whatever you like. I'm not a "WinCE evangelist," but thus far, I've preferred using it over Linux on a PDA. I don't even use Windows on the desktop (or server), but I'm a big proponent of using the best tool for the job.
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
that people keep claiming that something like that, a 400MHz RISC processor and 32M of RAM isn't fast enough for running X11 and therefore requires an embedded window system that is incompatible with what we run on our desktops.
The reason is probably that without using an add-on Flash card, the old SL-5500 stored a lot of stuff in RAM, which was easily lost. The only reason I can imagine why they lowered the amount of SDRAM is for battery life, although that seems kind of short-sighted to me.
Where is the bluetooth support? Or WIFI? I need either to connect to internet and read my mail.
Bluetooth is a must, wifi would be neat. With bluetooth I can get internet access through my GSM phone with GPRS. I use this all the time with my ipaq and Ericsson T68i (or Nokia 7650).
I can drool all day long over how cool the applications are, but without easy internet access when I am on the move, the device is useless.
I think the problem here is that Sharp is really slightly behind the curve on all the new PDA developments other than screen tech, and behind in the business model as well.
Wireless will soon be a built-in feature in just about every portable device and none of the Zaurus models are scheduled to include even bluetooth, so you'll have to sacrifice an expansion slot for that which could otherwise be used for an important purpose.
Plus, the 32MB SDRAM is just not progress. It should be at least 64MB of SDRAM by now. 64MB is not asking for much these days, really.
The only significant improvement here is the move to XScale.
But for those who might want to use the Zaurus as a media player, the interface to the screen is still a dumb, slow, CPU-drive frame-buffer. Add to that the XScale's lack of floating point and you have hardware that just won't want to handle DivX type codecs.
However, there are now graphics accelerators being built for PDAs in order to take more of the load off the CPU. Sharp should look into these.
Sharp is targeting these devices purely at niche enterprise users, but I feel the future will mean the blending of PDA with laptop.
When PDAs are running at 500+Mhz there is no reason for them not to support just about every class of application a laptop a few years ago could do, which includes 3D games and full-framerate video playback.
It won't be long before something like an IPOD which is like a dumbed down PDA that just plays media will evolve into a sub-$1000 laptop class machine that is designed for END USERS rather than the enterprise.
Steve Jobs has already stated that he thinks the Laptop is the future of hardware sales, and I think once you can offer something that gives you the basic functionality you want in a laptop within a PDA formfactor (more importantly, a PDA pricerange) then your sales will literally explode. Something like this eliminates your MP3 player, provides a portable video player, AND eliminates the need for a tablet PC/webpad also.
For most people on modest budgets, the idea of shelling out $1200+ for a laptop is just unacceptable, not in the era of $500 desktop machines... So a single device that can be the swiss-army-knife is going to be the killer app.
Eventually the industry will realize this, even if it has to happen by accident or something.
There is another contender in the Linux-based PDA arena: the Motorola A760.
It is also a GSM dual-band cellphone, supposedly coming out in late 2003.
I believe I read something on slashdot.org about it earlier, but can't find the URL. Here are other URLs with text on the device:
ma2oliveira