Sharp Zaurus C-7x0 Reviewed

jwr writes "The fine folks at BargainPDA have a full-length review of the latest Sharp Zaurus C-7x0 handhelds. " We've covered this PDA in the past but this is a much more in depth review on this solid looking device.

Comments

I was excited about Zaurus

[stratjakt]

Until I played with one at Office Depot.

I found navigating it was awkward and non-intuitive. It just reeked of "desktop computer" crammed into the PDA.

PalmOS is just so much easier to deal with on such a small device.

Re:I was excited about Zaurus

[Blasphemy]

If all you want is a date and address book, you should stick with a palm. I love being able to ssh/vnc/rdp from anywhere and compile my own kernel to include some features the manufacturer left out.

If you want a "Personal Mobile Tool", nothing out there beats a Zaurus. Keep in mind that you played with a 5x00 series model. the 7x0 models are currently only available in Japan (and are far superior).

Re:I was excited about Zaurus

[jav1231]

What PalmOS lacks is intuitiveness. Playing video on it is awkward and retrieving files more OS-like is not possible. I want something more like an OS but Linux PDA's are expensive, which is just so damn odd to me. JAV .

Re:I was excited about Zaurus

[JanneM]

Yep. I played with one a while ago as well, and well, Qtopia is really not a good fit for the PDA form factor.

On a PDA, I interact with one application at a time. I _really_ don't need a WM taking up space. I don't need a title bar. And I don't want a really big row of sundry buttons taking up the bottom - or a gigantic scrollbar taking up space on the right for that matter.

A PDA is not a small laptop. It is not used as a small laptop. Please make allowances for this.

Re:I was excited about Zaurus

[RevAaron]

Ah, it's that time of the month again where I point this out... :)

You can do pretty much all of that "Personal Mobile Tool" stuff on WinCE, and these days most of it on PalmOS. I've been telnetting and sshing in from my Newton and WinCE boxes since before the Linux-based Zaurus existed. On WinCE, I never had a problem: having a Unixish CLI environent, running apps remotely with VNC, running apps remotely- and a few locally via X11 (yes, there is a XFreeCE), going wardriving, admining via ssh and telnet, admining my work Windows PC via rdesktop.

As a longtime user of Newton, WindowsCE, PalmOS and Linux PDAs, I really believe the whole "PMT" thing is just a bad excuse for not being a good PDA. There is no reason Sharp and Trolltech couldn't provide a software environment that is a good PDA and a good PMT. Running Linux and being able to use ssh and VNC is no excuse for poor software in just about every mobile area.

Re:I was excited about Zaurus

[JanneM]

I agree.

The hardware is absolutely top-notch. I was drooling after about five minutes of trying it out. I absolutely worship the screen-orientation function. And, of course, having access to a shell (a _real_ shell) with ssh and so on is a huge, huge benefit.

Unfortunately, Qtopia lets the device down. it is slow, clumsy and - obviously - memory innefficient. It also precludes any hope of porting any gtk apps to the device (and well over 95% of all apps I'm interested in are such).

Far better would be using a more lightweight toolkit - gtk, perhaps - or fltk, if nothing else to deflect the unnessecary acrimony between toolkit proponents.

I am also disappointed in the Linux-compatible syncing options available. I run Evolution, like most Linux users, but there is no simple way of syncing to it. Frunstrating. I almost bought a unit, but the drawbacks for a Linux user is just too large.

Question....

[JoeLinux]

Does Palm show any interest in Linux hand-held interoperability? It seems to me it would be in their best interest...They are still manufacturing hardware after all...decent stuff at that.

Re:Question....

[Aliencow]

Getting my brand new Tungsten 2 working on Linux with Kernel 2.4.21 and pilot-link was MUCH easier than getting my Zaurus working on linux.. The thing is the zaurus does TCP/IP over USB...and the desktop app for Zaurus just plain sucks, so I basically FTPed to my PC from the Z and uploaded/downloaded instead of doing a sync.. I guess setting up rsync would be the best on the zaurus, desktop app sucks way too much..

i cant help but think

[fuckfuck101]

that PDA's are no longer needed, with mobiles which can do alot of a PDA's job (and in the next 5yrs certainly all) and a laptop doing the rest. laptops can be as small as you like now, the price is going down, performance is getting better, compatibility is ofcourse, great with all other types of input devices. i don't see a PDA niche anymore.

Deep Psigh

[G4from128k]

Another nice clamshell, too bad its worse than the 3-year-old Psion 5mx. How come nobody can make a PDA with:
- A decent keyboard
- A screen you can see in full sunlight
- Battery life of at least 20 hours (my 5mx regularly gets 30+ hrs)
- A light set of applications for basic office work?

I'm not saying the Psion 5mx is perfect, but you would think that with all the miracles of modern technology that someone could have made a device at least as good. Maybe Moore's Law is being bested by Gate's Law -- new products must have every feature imaginable, even if that makes no feature actually usable.

Read my thoughts on this topic:

[lpret]

Here's my journal entry where I discussed this very situation and why I think all will stay around. It has to do with which devices people use together.

Also theKompany

[vlad_petric]

Their deal is particularly appealing to those who purchased tkc software for 5500 devices (and since theKompany is the most significant Zaurus software vendor, there are quite a few) - they'll give you C7x0 versions of the apps that you bought from them for free.

http://www.thekompany.com/embedded/devices/

OpenZaurus

[SHEENmaster]

OpenZaurus is a much better distribution than the default Sharp one.

If you can't stand the small screen and keyboard, just attach a dumb terminal and away you go.

I don't have enough storage on it to recompile the kernel locally, but I am using GCC on it to do a bit of work on a project of mine during class. The keyboard is nothing to ogle over, but it's a hell of a lot better than a virtual one.

If you want an organizer, pick an old palm up on eBay for a few dollars. If you want a handheld computer, check a zaurus out.

It's nice but somethings missing

[Daath]

The price is horrendous! I just found a place selling it for 840 EUR - roughly the same as the dollar. That is INTENSE!
I mean, it's not even got WiFi or bluetooth or anything like that.
On the other hand, it looks to be one of the coolest PDAs around. Keyboardless PDAs don't do it for me. I have an old Psion Revo laying around, which is pretty cool but outdated, before that I had Cassiopeia and another, but without keyboard they're not as attactive.

Give me a Zaurus with wireless and a built in tri-band phone, and I am sold. No messing.

Wanted to get a Zaurus C760 very much . . .

[Yeechang Lee]

. . . and even placed an order with an overseas vendor. What stopped me?

• The horrible PIM software. I've used three Palm devices since early 1997, and have been able to easily move my calendar and addressbook data from one device to another. In effect, I have a comprehensive record of my life over the past six years in electronic form. I know I could quite easily beam or otherwise transfer the data to the Zaurus, but what good would it do if the PIM software is too clunky to do anything useful? [1]
  
• Lack of Sharp support outside Japan. I don't mean in terms of warranty per se. I mean in terms of things like the non-release of the C700/C750/C760 outside Japan, the recent discontinuation of all Zaurus sales in Europe, rumors that "only three" Sharp US employees are now working on the Zaurus, etc.
  
• Size. I know the C760 is just a little larger than my Sony Clie N610C, but even a little bit makes a big difference when you're talking about your pants pockets.
  

Thus, I've 95% decided on getting the forthcoming Sony Clie UX50. Smaller than my current Clie and with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, while the Zaurus comes with no wireless built in and even the Socket model, generally agreed the best and smallest Wi-Fi CF card, would stick out a little bit from the case. Why only 95%? Because of the two big flaws in my mind with the UX50 (the tiny physical size of the screen, and the lack of portrait mode), and because the C760's manifold virtues may yet suck me into its embraces.

[1] One thing I've thought about is using Jpilot, which I happily use to sync my Clie to my Linux box, on the C760. Anyone else do this?

Powerpc 405lp

[rshimizu12]

The Zarus is a good pda but the processor to much of a power hog. Hopefully Sharp will start using the IBM 405lp. Personally I think IBM will sign a agreement to implement the 405lp with Sharp. IBM is well positioned to do a OEM agreement with Sharp.