Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 PDA Review

An anonymous reader sent us a link to a review of the Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 PDA. This Linux based handheld with a built in qwerty keyboard with decent connectivity. As with most PDAs, there are a lot of tradeoffs that have to be made yet. Read the review to see what they are.

Comments

5600 is old news. C700, 750, 760 are new

[dbowden]

The 5600 is little more than an upgrade of the 5500. That's been out for a year and a half.

Shoot -- I'm not an early adopter and I've had mine for over a year. This is not news.

On the other hand, the C700, 750, and 760's are hot, and I want one!

Not a KWhore

[Anonymous Coward]

The site seems to be /.'ed, so here's the first page of the article:

Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 PDA

Category
Systems / Servers / PDAs

Product name
Sharp Zaurus SL-5600

Model number
SL-5600

Manufacturer name
Sharp Electronics Corporation

Provided by
Sharp Electronics Corporation

Price
499.99

Review by
Jon

A long time ago, when I first heard about Sharp releasing the Linux based Zaurus 5500 PDA, my interest was peaked. I was just dying to see what it could do. Alas, I never had a chance to try one out for myself. Over the next few months I plan on purchasing a new PDA to take over from my Palm IIIc, and just recently, Sharp was good enough to send us one of the newly upgraded Zaurus SL-5600 units and I was able to finally give it a whirl. Let's see how things shaped up.

Inside the Zaurus SL-5600 Box

Meet the Zaurus SL-5600:

Included in the box is what you'd expect for any new PDA including cradle, power cord, instruction booklet, and of course your standard Windows software CD-ROM.

At first glance, I was surprised at the size of the PDA Unit, measuring 13.8cm x 7.4cm (5.4" x 2.9") and a thickness varying from 1.8cm to 2.3cm (0.7" to 0.9"). It also weighs in at a hefty 203g (7.1 oz). This is pretty big for a new PDA, and it's even bigger than my old Palm IIIc. With size comes issues like how to carry it (pocket, bag, briefcase, etc.), but size can also mean more features. Lets leave the size issue for later, and take a better look at the unit itself.

The Zaurus SL-5600 is a very large PDA.

Right from the start I liked the appearance of the Zaurus. The plastic silver casing is attractive to look at, but its resistance to scratching would worry me. It doesn't look like it could take much of a beating from use. The big 3.5" reflective TFT screen (320 x 240 resolution, 65,536 colors) is sharp and clear. It displays well in various lighting situations, something I can't say about my Palm IIIc. Also included is a clear protective cover for the screen - a nice feature. The colours are bright and vibrant, and contrast very well. Below the screen are indicator lights for E-mail and Battery indicator lights, a very useful addition in my opinion.

The Zaurus boasts a big 3.5" display at 320 x 240 resolution

At this point, there is a break in the casing, and my favourite feature of the Zaurus comes into light. Sliding down the bottom section of the case reveals the QWERTY keyboard. The trend for most new PDAs is to move away from the stylus based text-input to a finger-keyboard type input method, a move I totally agree on. The keyboard on the Zaurus is quite responsive, and it has a pretty good layout. One of my only gripes is a lack of an 'Esc' key, as I struggled to use a port of Vim which I installed on the unit. A stylus is still a good idea for navigating menus and selections, and a software based graffiti-like text input method is also available. A neat feature of the software-based keyboard is the option to customize it to recognize your own personal handwriting. This could allow you to write more naturally, than say, writing using Graffiti on a Palm device. I definitely found that I could input text faster using the Zaurus's keyboard using my thumbs than with a stylus.

Sliding down the bottom of the PDA reveals a QWERTY keyboard

Under the keyboard is the usual set of easy access keys, included with almost every PDA. These include Calendar, Address Book, Home, Menu, and E-mail. Keys for Cancel/OK are also included on either side of the "cursor key", a navigation button that allows you to scroll your cursor up/down, left/right in any of the applications. This is a nice addition, and I found it quite handy.

Features:

The Zaurus SL-5600 contains an Intel XScale processor at a speed of 400Mhz. I found this processor very powerful, and the Zaurus was very responsive. Applications launched quickly, and I was easily able to p

Re:Not a KWhore

[sirket]

... my interest was peaked.

What was the author trying to say here? His interest had been rising, he saw this PDA, and now his interest was falling?

Or, perhaps, did the author mean to say that this new PDA had "piqued" his interest?

-sirket

Re:Not a KWhore

[RevAaron]

I gave up on a SL-5500 as well. Granted, unlike most Zaurus users who actually like their Zs, I was (un)fortuante enough to have used good PDAs before I got the Z- A Newton 2100, Jornada 720, and an iPAQ 3150. Even though WinCE is worse than PalmOS in a lot of PIM-ish areas, it resembles a "real OS" far more than PalmOS does. It's the little things that make it better for power users- multitasking, being able to allocate more than 64K of RAM in a chunk... :)

Disclaimer: Contrary to the tone of the rest of this post, I feel the need to clarify, less the less intelligent and more 1337 members of our communtiy get confused.

I am not a fan of WinCE. I've used it because it was the only real option for me for the time being. I do not use Windows on the desktop. Or the server. I use Mac OS X and Linux. But I am not shamed to admit that I use WindowsCE. Perhaps I should be embarassed for the sorry state of PDA Linux software.

so it begins...
I've said it on here a 1000 times- I can do just about all of the things Zaurus users boast on any Windows CE PDA. On my Jornada 720 WinCE 3.0 palmtop (aka Handheld PC 2000), I've been able to:
browse the web well (IE is much better than PocketIE for PocketPC 2k and 2k2), do my email and admin via a real 80x24 SSH and telnet terminal (in a readable font, even), run apps remotely using XFree86 for CE and VNC Rdesktop/Windows Terminal Server Client, IRC and IM (AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, MSN and Jabber), play MP3s and OGGs, share files with FTP/FTPD and Samba, go wardriving on my bike, write papers in LaTeX (and compiling and viewing w/ WinDVI), serve with Apache, and lots of other stuff I can't remember now.

Especially snazzy is developing on the PDA. Thanks to the really nice keyboard and the big screen, I've written, compiled, debug and ran quite a bit of code on the WinCE Jornada 720 itself. I've done most of my PDA-coding using: Squeak Smalltalk, Dialect, and Perl (w/ Perl/Tk). However, there are a lot of other options- a number of BASIC implementations, Java (compiling supported too), Python, Ruby, Caml, Scheme, OpenLisp/ISLISP, Common Lisp (GCL), PocketC, and plenty of others.

One thing of note that AFAIK you can do on the Z but can't on a WinCE device- compile and run C. While entirely slow and unwieldy, there is a port of GCC to the Z. IIRC, the GCC StrongARM WinCE port was aborted a while back.

And yes, you can do all of that stuff on the keyboard-less and smaller-screened PocketPC too- they're both WinCE 3.0. Some of it isn't as useful with the smaller screen and real keyboard, but it's just as useful as it'd be if done on the Zaurus.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm sick of the pattern these Zaurus discussions take: "Oooh, cool Zaurus review!" -> "Dude, Zaurus sucks- get a Palm or PocketPC and get a usable PDA!" -> "STFU! I can do all these l33t things that you can't on anything else!" In most cases, that's where the discussion ends; the PalmOS or WinCE users just assume that the Zaurus user is right, regardless of the actual utility of the "l33t thing" in question. That isn't to say there aren't things you can do on the Z you can't do elsewhere, but that's the case with all platforms- there are things you can't do with Linux that you can with CP/M. :)

I hope the screen on the SL-5600 is better than that on the SL-5500, which was absolutely horrible. While the Zaurus has *no* real handwriting recognition or decent notetaking apps (no, IQNotes or DrawPad don't do the job), at least the character recognition got less sucky (read: faster, no longer taking .5 seconds+ to recognize a character!) in the new 5500 ROM and on the 5600.

All of that said, I will be getting a C760 soon. Even though I think most of the software for the Z is incredibly immature, I am getting it for the development of a new PDA platform called Dynapad. The C760 is an incredi

Re:Nice, but...

[dbowden]

See my post above re: the C700, C750 and c760 models.

640x480 65k screen w/ clamshell keyboard. Plus all the goodies (Linux, OpenZaurus, etc.) from the 5500/5600 series.

Aw, what the heck. Here's the link again.

Re:Same tired post.....

[alue]

In the end $499.99 quickly builds up to about $599.99.

Actually to get full functionality of a PDA you have to spend a lot more than $600.

PDA$500
128M Memory Card$55
Wireless Card$140
Extra Battery$50
Battery Charger$45
Carrying Case$75
TOTAL: $865

And that doesn't include the opportunity cost spent on the hours it takes to get the thing to sync with Linux!

Re:Same tired post.....

[DoctorPepper]

Perhaps, but it's awful difficult to stick that laptop in your back pocket, which is where my trusty Handspring Visor resides every work day. And has been since I bought it in August of 2000.

ROM 3.10 available for SL5500

[mirko]

SL5500 users can now benefits from the same application set as SL5600.
check here

Re:Cool

[dbowden]

The 5600 is native Linux -- it uses an embedix distro w/ Qtopia for the front end. There's also an Open Source distribution, which frankly, I prefer.

geek.com has another review of this

[gosand]

Funny, just before seeing this posted, I had just finished reading a review of the 5600 at geek.com . Since the review posted is slashdotted, maybe you can check that one out.

I adore my SL5500

[Glyndwr]

It's not really a PDA, it's a pocketable Linux computer.

First, the PDA side of things. People criticise it for having weak PDA features which, compared to Palms, and that's somewhat true; my previous Psion PDAs had a few extra features around the edges that I miss, but by and large the PIM features are fine for my moderately advanced use.

But there's so much more! SCUMMVM in the palm of your hand with mp3-encoded talkie versions of Fate of Atlantis or Day of the Tentacle is pretty nifty.Add a Wifi card, install Wellenwreiter or Kismet, and go low-profile warwalking. I have a Pocketop IR folding keyboard for long documentation on the go; the screen rotation software Just Works, unlike a lot of PocketPCs.

Unlike Palm owners, I can handle DOC and XLS files native on the device; this is particularly key because the Zaurus is a computer in its own right and not a PDA. The Hancom office apps shipped with it are usable enough for quick on-the-go editing and creation. I could do with one of these now for instant printing of invoices when I'm out at a client's site.

The big compelling piece of software is OpenZaurus, a completely open source and regularly updated distro to replace the Sharp ROM. It's a bit like trading Debian stable for unstable; kinda hacky at times, kinda buggy at others, but it's so exciting to get a massive batch of upgrades every few weeks full of improvements. It's never been buggy enough to lose my PDA data, and in any event with multisync, unison and rsync my data is backed up six ways to Sunday.

Other people like apps like opie-reader for ebooks, portable Ogg players (there are a few), portable DivX playback, email (this is noticeable ropy under OpenZaurus, but getting better), and many more... For more ideas, see this thread on zaurus.com.

Downsides? I find the QWERTY keyboard wearing after a few minutes, hence I have the Pocketop, and I've managed to scratch the screen under the handwriting recognition area so I can't really use it any more (I think that was my fault, to be fair). The battery life sucks too, but then it does on all these colour mobile devices. Apparently, the SL5600 is better.

So basically, if you want a PDA, get a Palm. If you want a pocketable Linux computer in a PDA form factor with respectable PIM features and a mountain of open source apps, get a Zaurus.

Re:I adore my SL5500

[Minna Kirai]

OpenZaurus, a completely open source

Open source, eh? Do you happen to know what license it's under, then?

Their website doesn't mention anything about that.

Since it's apparently based on Linux, I'd expect it to be under the GPL (at least in part). But that obviously isn't the case. Look at the Openzaurus download page. There are links to 20 different binary packages, but no links to source code. According to the GPL, you must put source links in the same place as binary ones.

Downloading an unpacking those binaries won't reveal any licensing information, nor "an offer good for three years to supply source to any third party".

Searching around on the Openzaurus site for source code, I find an intriguing FAQ entry which claims that Openzaurus code is GPL, and another which explains a way to get the source. Or rather... a way to get some source code. Actually... patches against other, 3rd party distributions. Which if you had those distributions, you might be able to assemble into the Openzaurus source code... The code to some version of Openzaurus, not necessarily the same code that built the binaries you have.

All of that is completely against the GPL.

You can't give out patches- it must be the whole source.
The source code and binaries you provide must correspond exactly (same revision).

Re:Cool

[pheph]

There is a very decent, free, Linux Desktop Sync software for the Zaurus called Qtopia by TrollTech

Re:Same tired post.....

[Anonymous Coward]

yawn.

Try $17 for the Wireless Card.
http://www.bensbargains.net/ktalk/105004171 8,39040 ,.shtml

Re:Same tired post.....

[FatRatBastard]

I happened to get my 5500 from the HSN deal a few months ago. At less than $200 I could justify it (and the extra $60 for the wireless card). Basically, its my ultra portable web browser/e-mail/ssh client for when I head to a coffee shop. I don't use it for PIM functions (nor did I really use my Palm III when I had it). In fact, the closest thing I have to a PDA is my iPod, which I find perfect for storing my contacts and notes.

The Z5500 is nice, but only at the sub $200 price I paid for it.

Re:Cool

[Locutus]

The new 5600 and the new ROM for the older 5500 nolonger can sync with a Linux PC. Sharp has changed the internal data structures for the PIM apps( ON THE ZAURUS ) from standard XML to their own database format.

The QtopiaDesktop for Linux will not sync with the new Zaurii. But people are working on this. Not Sharp though.

LoB

Developers get a Discount

[Martok7]

I own the SL-5500 (and love it) and received an email from Sharp stating that people who participate in the Sharp open source app development can receive a nice discount on both the SL-5500 and SL-5600. If I remember it was a pretty good deal too.

Sharp and SCO linux

[Anonymous Coward]

This PDA runs a version of Linux provided by Lineo. Lineo is a Canopy company which was a spin-off of Caldera.

There is a clause in the Sharp contract with Lineo whereby Lineo will "emdemnify" Sharp if there is any IP claim against this Linux-based OS. "Emdemnify" is a lot stronger than "hold blameless." "Emdemnify" means that Lineo ensures Sharp against any claim by a third party of IP violation.

It seems to me that if SCO claims that they are owed royalties for any Linux, then the GPL is violated for all Linuxs. Therefore, any copyright holder who contributed to Linux can tell Sharp to quit using Linux, because the GPL has been violated. This means that Sharp will tell Lineo to
defend the lawsuit or to pay damages to Sharp.

Of course, this assumes Lineo is still in business...

Re:Same tired post.....

[Tin Weasil]

If you don't go for the newest hardware, you can get up and running with the "full functionality of a PDA" for a lot less then you quote:

Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 - $199.99 (tigerdirect.com)
256MB Memory Card - $54.99 (tigerdirect.com)
Wireless Card - $29.99 (tigerdirect.com)
Battery Extender - $6.99 (semsons.com)
Battery Charger - $16.59 (Radio Shack)
Carrying Case - $24.50 (hsn.com)
TOTAL: $333.05

You just have to be willing to look for deals. Sure, the SL-5500 is not the 'latest' model. But it suits me fine. I've owned 5 PDA's prior to my Zaurus, and the Zaurus is the first one that has allowed me to leave my laptop behind.

The "battery extender" mentioned is actually a much better solution then keeping up with an extra battery. It can be used to either run or charge the Zaurus and can be instantly replinished anywhere there's a supply of "AA" batteries.

My SL-5500 runs OpenZaurus 3.1 and syncs just fine with Linux and Windows. I'm sure that putting an OpenZaurus ROM on the SL-5600 will also produce the same results. Flashing to OpenZaurus is easy. It takes under 10 minutes and requires no user interaction to setup.