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New Sharp Zaurus SL-C760/C750 Linux PDAs
i4u writes "Sharp announces new models of their Zaurus PDA line. The new models are the SL-C760 (launch date: June 21, 2003) and the SL-C750 (launch date: May 24, 2003).
The new PDAs have a faster CPU, more memory and feature a bigger Screen (VGA 640x480) than the former SLC-700 model.
The start speed of applications improved to about twice (compared to the SL-C700) by adopting the Intel XScaleTM PXA255 400MHz CPU.
Connectivty is possible via Wireless Lan and FOMA broadband wireless phones. The installed software contains also an MP4 Player for Movies. Nice for business users is the ability to connect the Zaurus to a projector (800x600) and present MS PowerPoint Slides. Photos and English translation of Press-Release available on I4U.com"
is very good, starting to come around in size finally.
I didn't see where the size was listed, but after looking at these I have to question when do PDA's become subnotebooks? Or maybe its just the form factor thats throwing me off.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
Excuse me if I missed it, but no where in the translation did I see if these models were going to be available in the US. Are they going to be like the C700, only release in Japan, but re-sold through companies like Dynamism? --Jon
Check out this month's Linux Journal for a review of this. It's currently only available online to subscribers
Also, check out this site to buy one.
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl? url=http://www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/030516.h tml&lp=ja_en&t
According to the translation, As the Zaurus SL-C700 the new PDAs feature the Linux OS and the unique 2-way folding of the screen.
Would prefer A300 with Bluetooth and Lithium-Polymer batteries. These c7xx come close in features, but look how thick they are! (.9" or 23mm for the bigger model.)
..that thing is really nice! I wonder how many people will buy on of those and not actually use it for anything productive atall. I know thats what would happen if I got one! :)
...only better. More resolution, flipable display, and best of all, no WINCE.
The Mobilon stopped production when Microsoft pulled support out from under it. Seems the MIPS processor was a part of the WINCE Tower of Babel that they figured was more dispensible than the SH series.
The SL-C760 was one of the models I had a play with at CeBit, and the screen is so good that it cannot be described.
:o)
They already had a working OZ build for it, so that should be available publicly soon if not already.
The form factor is nice, it fits great in a hand just like a palm, but when you need a keyboard (ssh anyone?) this arrangement is much better than the pull out version on the 5500. They even remembered to put a | key on it this time
They were having a few speed problems with the XScale (it was running about the same as the Arm 206's in the 5500) but they may have fixed that.
Build quality is fine, much more robust than the 5500, same good mix of CF and SD/MMC. Much better battery life as well. Not sure whatll happen with the arm-compiled packages that are in such surplus for the 5500 though - maybe someone will write an emulation layer.
On the whole, definatly a winner, especially for Linux/UNIX admin types - go out and buy one now!
Beep beep.
These devices are not PDAs. They are notebook computers with inadequate screen resolution (640x480), no hard drive, short battery life, and a membrane keyboard that's too small to type on. A PDA is something the size of a calculator that you can put into a shirt pocket. You give up the convenience of a full-sized screen and keyboard and a fast CPU so that it fits in your pocket and runs for days between battery changes/charges.
This is right up there with 1998 Toshiba technology. Back then, Toshiba introduced the Libretto. It had 640x480 screen resolution, a real (though small) keyboard, and, unlike the new Sharp models mentioned here, had an actual hard drive. They were 8.3"x4.5"x1.3" and 1.8lbs. And Toshiba didn't try to pretend that the Librettos were PDAs.
I don't care that the Sharp units run Linux either. Being able to fsck the flash disk hardly makes up for the other inadequacies in these devices.
I was at Java One in 2002 and got sucked into buying one of these things. I haven't used it since. I did some wardriving with its wireless card and Kismet, but found that the wireless card was unstable... and I would have to reboot Kismet every 5 minutes. Thus, the wardriving option was out. After that, I never found a good use for it. I would prefer a full fledged laptop compared to something marginally functional as this.
Too bad it's not available here (Finland). At least the earlier Zauruses weren't
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
The English article's slashdotted, so I don't know what it said, but the poster's comment about the 800x600 video output failed to mention that it requires an additional expansion card to do this.
From the Japanese page, the other options are:
Large lithium battery: 10,000 yen (same as supplied with SL-C760)
Lithium battery: 5,500 yen (same as supplied with SL-C750)
Battery recharger: 5,500 yen (only supports SL-C750's battery)
Digital camera card: 24,000 yen (fits in CF slot; 350,000 pixels)
Voice recorder kit: 5,000 yen
Also, they've tested it with a variety of CD cards. The selection available includes:
PHS wireless cards (PHS is a form of mobile phone in use in Japan)
802.11b wireless cards
Modem cards
LAN cards (10baseT only, it seems)
Graphic card (this is the one I mentioned above; I think it's the first CF-slot video card I've heard of)
The usual CF memory cards
According to the page, the SL-C760 gets 8.5 hours use on battery. The SL-C750 gets 5 hours.
The software includes the usual Hancom apps, an MPEG-4 player, an MP3 player, presentation software, audio recorder, and a Java environment.
Where can I order one on the net?
Stuff like this can be bought from at least three sites: http://www.dynamism.com/ http://www.japan-direct.com/ http://www.conics.net/ If it's not yet there, you can always mail them, and ask when it will be available...
conics will probably ship them. Just ask them.
***Quis custodiet ipsos custodes***
Or for the full specs in English, go here.
There are two kinds of people: 1) those who start arrays with one and 1) those who start them with zero.
you mean this one?
... to have the goddamn video iPod I've been whining about for a year now...
Oh well, guess we'll never know, eh? My guess it that it doesn't, so the comment was modded down by a BSD zealot.
The C700 screen is better than most laptops. I can see it in the Sun. The 760 has the bigger battery (1700 v.s. 950 mAh) and they are claiming 8 hours battery life, and it doubles the memory.
Basically think of most of a Linux laptop in your pocket (although it uses Qtopia, not X unless you add it). For network diagnosis it is hard to beat. Plus you get the standard WordProc/Spreadsheet/Present/etc.
Also it works as a SD and CF reader - it uses Samba to export the card mount points to your desktop. So you don't need another USB CF or SD reader. And it plays MP3s, and other formats (more than the iPod).
I have a collection of map images which I serve using the Boa webserver, the usual collection of network tools like (t)ethereal, and I can even compile on it (I have a 512Mb SD). I can also plug it into my cell phone and turn it into a wireless access point - NAT - firewall (I recompiled the kernel to add iptables).
It can replace a laptop if your eyes are reasonably good since the screen is sharp, clear, high-resolution, but still physically small (but there is the magnify button). I can't fully touch type (there is an external keyboard for that), but I can enter text reasonably fast.
I suppose someone will get one because they are neat, but people buy sports cars and rarely drive them and then never go much over 55. But that is a terrible waste.
whats always bugged me is for two years PDA's were faster then my P200 box that i used and only used.. Even though i've built a better one now, should i be afraid one day we are going to have 3GHz PDA's? lol
I've left to find myself. If you happen to see me, please, keep me there until I return.
... is actually pretty funny of an acronym-ish word play. Yes, silly and juvenile, but still pretty funny as a bashing word.
"Hey, lookee my new belchdata 538turbo! Pretty snazzy looking, huh? huh?" "Ya,but what's it running?" "well..." *winces*
Doesn't matter how cool the device is, the software is junk. I have worked with the software quite a bit while trying to develop some applications and can list off many issues with it. First off the software isn't even compiled for the XScale chip, but for the arm. Sharp is _still_ using a pre-beta fork of qtopia 1.4 and refuses to incorperate bug fixes that have been fixed by Troll Tech into their software. Anyone here have the new wc12 linksys wifi card like me? (the only cf wifi card linksys makes anymore) well you have almost no chance of it working every time you plug it in. Your only solution is to use Open Embedded. What a fun game? See how long it takes you to find a grammar mistake in any of the applications that are included on the Sharp rom. Forget syncing with linux. Forget syncing via wifi. Windows via usb is your only way now. Oh which leads to a nice security hole. Ever find a z that you need some data off of? Just plug it into your windows machine that has the usb stuff installed and then open up a ftp connection to the z to port 4242 (user root no password) and bingo you can do whatever you want with the device even remove the "security" file. One has to wonder were Sharp plans on taking them. I have hung out on the #zaurus irc room and over the year I have seen a number of their employees leave. I wonder how big there team is now. Other then slashdot have you ever seen any marketing? I couldn't even find my 5600 in best buy or circut city now. Even worse the developers have been stop developing for the sharp rom (some join OE). After finding out all of the problems with the z they stop devloping for it. Checked out ebay for a used z latly? If you do inquire to _WHY_ they are selling it. Check out http://www.killefiz.de/zaurus. It is hardly 100 new apps a month like back when everyone first was into the z. Probably the worse thing about the Zaurus is that it is giving embedded Linux a bad name rather then Sharp.
Parent is -1 Misinformative
:-(
The review that we cannot access is, of course, a review of the previous model, not "this".
Dynamism only sell ( at a very steep markup ) the previous model. Try conics ( for that model ) instead, but they dont take credit cards, so you have to risk PayPal
I don't really have any use for a PDA in general. I know it's all about what you need when it comes to computers. I just was curious exactly why do people need this. What can you do with it that you can't with gameboy SP and a cell phone? I don't need to read .doc or ebooks while driving to work. Why do you have a PDA?
I just got sharp PDA 5500 from Amazon.com which is great. I have wireless card in it so I can do scheduling , browse the net and email on the fly when I am on the road. This does replace my Notebook since I can do word /spreadsheet/presentation documents.
I am thinking of using this as monitoring tool for my Weblogic Appservers thru JMX. The Java JVM is cool I wrote some small apps in Netebeans IDE and ported it in my PDA.
I have not had a crash yet since I installed the network card. It seems like almost all compact components works on the PDA. the screen is sharp.
I compared this to the Dells Axim PDA and SHARP PDA beats it hands down.
I can assure you these are no desktop computers. Here's what they do GREAT:
- Play MP3's, ogg files, and even video -- particularly with OpenZaurus (OZ).
- Let you reference your contacts, appointments, to-do lists
Here's what they're GOOD at:
- Enter new appointments, to-do list items. Data entry is slower than on a laptop or desktop.
- Synchronize with your desktop. Setup is tricky on these units, especially if you go with a pure Linux solution, but doable.
And here's where mine is not-so-good:
- Trying to store any good size software package (like a compiler). Yes you CAN add a 256MB SD card or a 1G hard disk, but the hard disk eats your battery..
- Trying to do software development. Data entry is too slow without a full size keyboard (yes, I know you CAN hook one up, but that's difficult too). You have to build on a PC and deploy to the Zaurus. QT development is nice, though!
- Surfing the web. It works, but the small screen size and zooming and whatnot makes it tricky.
- Entering a long document. Without a full sized keyboard, it's slow.
And, the impossible:
- Trying to do something requiring a lot of CPU. You can try running xmame, for example, but most of the games won't work because the CPU is not good enough.
Sounds like a typical PDA if you ask me.
Get rid of everything Micro and Soft: Buy Viagra and/or Linux
Well these may be excellent, but I refuse to buy a PDA with qwerty keyboard if the keyboard layout can not be changed to accomodate my language. And from the pictures, I doubt it since there is no room for extra keys to the right of 'L'. I wonder how many customers PDA manufacturers lose worldwide because their keyboards can not be localized according to local markets.
One manufacturer that gets it (the first one?) is Nokia. If you take a look a their 6800 phone you will see that the keyboard layout leaves room for scandinavian characters, and I am sure many others too.
1) Are they ytoo big to be usable. I know they fold up, but do they fold up smalle enough.
2) How's the keyboard
3) does it fold completely open so you can use just the touch screen like on a traditional pda?
Can someone explain what FOMA is with regards to the connectivity? What sort of connection would it be to the PDA? What kind of speeds?
Good post. In case you do not know there is a new ROM out for the 5500, bringing on par with the 5600. It was posted two days ago V3.1 Get it here but make sure you you do a backup. I am still having sync problems and my SD card is still "missing"
Help fight continental drift.
...Sharp is continuing to support the old models very well.
I got the 5500 I'm typing this on from the HSN deal, and I don't think I've ever blown a better 200 bucks.
Sharp released a new version of the ROM a couple of days ago:
http://community.zaurus.com
It's got Opera Embedded v6, which is just amazing.
Between Sharp and OZ, these things should remain useful for quite awhile.
hang brain.
One thing people seem to be missing. The Sharp 700 series has a flip display (you flip it around and the back of the display covers the keyboard). That's why it really is a PDA and not a micro-size notebook, although you get the benefits of both.
Also the 800x600 output requires an expansion card.
Karma WHORE!
I can run X on my old Cyrix ^x86 MX and the XScale processor in this thing is much faster than that.
... because Sharp actually did issue the news in a language more comprehensible to this audience either:
Linux "clamshell" PDAs with an Intel Xscale PXA255@400MHz, 64 megs of RAM and up to 128 megs of built-in flash are only some of the mouth-watering specs for the new SL-C760 and C750, just released in English to make geeks world-wide wish they were in Japan - the only place, again, for which Sharp has announced to market the new models. The predecessor, widely acclaimed for its excellent "Continuous Grain Silicon" VGA LCD, has been made available by third parties in the USA, Germany, and directly from Japan, but if you're looking to replace e.g. your aging Psion with the latest and greatest Linux PDA from a local vendor, you may want to get Sharp to change their mind and make it available world-wide this time.
In other news, in India the Simputer is expected to be shipping below US$200 (10000 rupies) soon.
Wouldn't both of these be rather compelling items for ThinkGeek to carry as well (just in case the current vendors get overwhelmed by Slashdotters buying up the equivalent of a monthly production - BTW, what's the discount at 30000 units) ?
I'm not buying a PDA until the screens are at least 1024x768. I also want to have a hard drive, 3D acceleration, and have the ability to multitask in different windows. And until you give me a keyboard and mouse, it just won't be a real PDA.
The actual PDA products - Do any of them have a phone module like the visor handspring and the visorphone?
Or, if I want phone/pda functionality in one unit am I still 'stuck' on palm, have the danger hiptop, or forced to use WinCE?
These things sell for way more than $350. If that's what you paid then obviously you don't have the model being discussed here.
What is this obsession with iBook size anyway? The iBook is 4.5 pounds, has two spindles, has a battery life of about 4h, and a 12" diagonal. That's a hefty, big, power-hungry laptop. In the PC world, you can get a 2.5 pound, 1 spindle laptop with an 8h battery life that is considerably smaller, too.
(That's why I dislike PDAs with keyboards. They force you to continually switch between finger and stylus. Maybe some people are dextrous enough to multiplex their keyboard/stylus hand. I'm not. Not that I'm any good at Graffiti or Jot. For me, the ideal is a stylus-compatible keyboard.)
The new Zauruses may be as small as "other" PDAs. But the keyboard and the L-shaped design make them too much like subnotebooks for my taste. A good slate-style tablet PC is actually closer to the PDA concept than the Zaurus. A slate-tablet may cost 4 times as much, and be way to big for your pocket. But at least it preserves the strolling user concept.
Oooohh, 640x480 VGA = Orgasmic DooM pleasure.
Can the Zaurus run NetBSD instead? I don't want to run anything that's under lawsuit. A FreeBSD port would be fanatastic. I'd buy one right away if it had a FreeBSD port.
These are, dumbass. Just because it looks like a laptop, doesn't mean it's as big as one. Sheesh.
.9"). Maybe you have room for something that size in the pockets of oversized Hawaiian shirts you wear to cover you man titties, but most of us have normal-sized pockets.
Hey moron, I didn't say that they were as large as a laptop. I said that they were too big to be PDAs. The SLC760 is 120mm x 83mm ×x 23.2mm (4.7" x 3.3" x
The SL-C760 is spec'ed at 8 hours continuous battery life.
And that's nothing. Many Palm PDAs will do over double that on a pair of AAA batteries.
Learn to read.
All the reviews I've seen for the Zaurus machines focus primarily on the hardware, which is nice, but it's telling.
Telling because the stock applications are shite. The wordprocessor is shite, the spreadsheet is shite, the power point presenter is shite, the agenda is shite, the media player is shite and the todo list is shite.
Oh, I have an SL-5500, and a Psion, so I know what could have been done with the hardware spec of the Zaurus and some half decent developers.
It gets a low D from me. Could have done a fuck of a lot better.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
You can read it here: http://sharp-world.com/corporate/news/030516.html
Unfortunately, history has shown time and again that clamshells just don't sell. I guess most people figure that they'll get a notebook instead.
I am posting now on a 1999 Psion netBook using Opera via WiFi, a terrific clamshell still not eclipsed by modern offerings. It has outstanding PIM apps and is blisteringly fast with an honest 8 hour battery life.
Even so, few were sold. No one wants clamshells.
It's come a long way from when I first got my Zaurus SL-5000 a few years ago. Should shape up to a pretty cool product.
Browse the Information Directory
http://www.sharpusa.com/products/ModelLanding/1,10 58,1016,00.html
Where do you want to be, What are you doing to get there.
Much as I like the idea of a PDA running a free kernel, it's not much use to me unless the rest of the software is free, or I can run my own software on it. What's the free/non-free status of the bundled software? And can I easily install my favourite free software, XFree86, etc.?
http://www.excite.co.jp/world/url/body/?wb_url=htt p%3A%2F%2Fwww.sharp.co.jp%2Fcorporate%2Fnews%2Fslc 760.html&submit=%83E%83F%83u%83y%81%5B%83W%96%7C%9 6%F3&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=3&wb_co=excitejapan
It looks from the pictures like the new models (C750, C760) have flat "membrane" keyboards, and the the C700 has actual keys.
Is that true?
There is a pipe ("|") symbol on the Zaurus keyboard - just try using Shift Spacebar, and there it is.
A built in battery restricts your range to within one charge of a power socket.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
You call that English?
OMG, you mean there are smaller PDA's out there?
One's with more battery life?
No shit. Of course there are. I never claimed that there weren't.
You however said the Zaurus, isn't PDA-sized, and doesn't have a battery big enough to last for multiple days. Both statements are wrong.
Maybe you want your PDA to be smaller and have more battery life, fine. Say that. Your post was incorrect.
Life is too short to proofread.
Nice. For comparison, if you use one of the older Wizard models (true, more of an "organizer" than a PDA), it's even smaller:
SL-C760: 120mm(W) 23.2mm(H) 83mm(D) 250g
SL-C750: 120mm(W) 18.6mm(H) 83mm(D) 225g
OZ-650: 153mm(W) 20.8mm(H) 85mm(D) 210g
OZ-770: 162mm(W) 19.9mm(H) 82mm(D) 220g
So it weighs a little more but is otherwise generally smaller than the OZ wizard models. As soon as they hit our shores and can be found less than list price, I'd love to pick one up. I love my OZ-650 but wish it had network capabilities. The Samba share feature of the new SLs will be sweet!
In the Portland, Ore area and like card games? Check out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/portlandgames/