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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"
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
These devices are not PDAs...[SNIP]
The are BOTH - they are a full computer that can do the functions of a server (SSHD, GCC, Apache, DHCP, Samba) and the funcitons of a PDA (Apointments, Address...).
Size wise:
The're arount a quarter of the size of the Libretto. The're about a sixth of the size of the Fujistsu P Series.
It's smaller that a Dell Axiom.
Lookin at the pictures, and seeing the resolution of the scree - I was very suprised at how small the device is. Think of 1.75 sets of playing cards.
The screen has the rediculous resolution to display Japanese char with clarity - for us English users, it's just a bonus.
The are, really, a very powerfull computer shrunk down to the size of a PDA with some well done PDA apps thrown on the top.
The keyboard is better than a Psion Revo, not quite a good as a Psion 5 series. Much better than a Blackberry, or Treo.
I traded my Psion for one of these - it's been great to SSH into a server when on the road, and it stored my contacts and apointments just fine.
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.
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?
OK, I have both a Libretto and a Zaurus. I love my Libretto. The Zaurus was a fun toy for a bit and if it actually worked well would be good, but it has too many little problems (the worst of which I could probably sort out if I invested the time but I'm now fed up with it so I don't).
OK, you can't fit the Libretto into a shirt pocket, but you can't really fit the Zaurus either. You can fit it into most overcoat pockets. OK, the Libretto's battery life is really crap - but the Zaurus's battery life is no better if you have an 802.11b card in, and if you try to take the card out it sulks, and won't recognise the card again if you put it back, so you've no network... unless you reboot, and about one time in ten the reboot doesn't work and loses all the stuff you have in the filesystem. The Libretto, by contrast, just works.
Again, the Libretto is a real computer - mine has Oracle, Postgres, Apache, Tomcat and all my own applications on it, so I can walk into a customer site with this ridiculous little box and demonstrate a whole suite of client-server applications. It may be old, but it still knocks people out. Also, you can really type on the keyboard. The Zaurus keyboard sort of works, but it's painful. The handwriting recognition is better - except the membrane over the screen gets scratched by the stylus, so mine has a dull patch over the writing area which is really annoying.
Finally, my Libretto runs perfectly ordinary vanilla-flavour Debian 3. It's a very comfortable user environment. The Zaurus logs the user in as root, and has a clumsy and awkward-to-use file system layout. It's security is very poor, with an open password-less FTP server which (again) logs all comers in as root.
In summary I think my Libretto is a briliant machine and the best yet stab at ultra-portable real computing. THe Zaurus is an interesting prototype of a machine which with further development might become usable, but in its present state is a gimmicky toy.
I'm old enough to remember when discussions on Slashdot were well informed.
(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.
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?
Graphic card (this is the one I mentioned above; I think it's the first CF-slot video card I've heard of)
It may have just been the first CF-slot video card you've heard of for Linux PDAs rather than any and all platforms... But in any case, WinCE PDAs/PocketPCs have supported a number of VGA out CF cards for quite a while, some proving some pretty badass resolutions.
According to the page, the SL-C760 gets 8.5 hours use on battery. The SL-C750 gets 5 hours.
Damn, it's about time. Boy was it a shock when I made an attempt to switch from using my Newton 2100 and Jornada 720 to the Zaurus SL-5500. I'm used to being able to do hours and hours of work on my PDA in a day without having to recharge... The SL-5500 gets 3-4 hours when you have *no* backlight, no network card, and are just doing a low-CPU activity like reading an ebook... but when you want to be browsing the web using konq or opera using a wifi card, esp if you have the backlight on- even at its lowest- it pushes that battery life down to like 1.25 hours. disgusting. good to see that more power efficient CPU and a biger battery!
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad