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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.
Looks like their web server is running off their PDA. *ba-da dum*
Vincent J. Murphy
Spandex Justice
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
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!
SL5500 users can now benefits from the same application set as SL5600.
check here
Trolling using another account since 2005.
Alcohol and Calculus don't mix. Don't drink and derive.
The 5600 is a great PDA, I really like mine. As far as syncing with Linux though, forget it. The CD comes with software to sync with Outlook, that's it. Apparently the Qtopia-Desktop software for Linux allows you to backup data, no syncing though. I say apparently because I cannot get it to run on my Redhat 9 system. From what people are saying in the Sharp forums, not too many people have had success with it. Also, with the 5600 and the latest ROM update to the 5500 the PIM data format is different so if you were syncing your PIM data in Linux you won't be able to any more. The people who were working on syncing software have had to start over. It appears Sharp is leaving Linux desktop support for the Zaurus up to the community, and they are not being all that cooperative. The Kompany apparently has syncing on their list of features to add to their tkc PIM apps for the Zaurus. Of course they are only worried about making sure it syncs with their product Aethera. Its really too bad, I'm sure if Sharp would just cooperate enough to create some sort of libraries or tools for getting the Zaurus data to and from the desktop people would be writing sync software for every PIM desktop app under the sun.