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Zaurus SL-6000 Prototype Revealed
Gudlyf writes "The Zaurus User Group has a short piece (with pictures) on the newly revealed prototype of the Sharp Zaurus SL-6000. Among the many new features are integrated wi-fi, integrated bluetooth, a larger screen and possibly more RAM. Word is that this unit *will* appear in U.S. markets."
Don't get me wrong, they are still selling OK (mostly because they're so cheap now). However, I predict PDA usage will die off over the next few years.
They are too bulky, fragile, and often lack functionality (eg. phone). Modern cell phones are much better suited to the role of a PDA. Most are fairly small, very rugged, and you need your phone anyway, perfect match.
I have actually been looking for a PDA watch. Although I won't wear it, but I'll take the band off and keep it in my pocket. This what I really want:
- Something very rugged (like a watch)
- Very small (like 1" across; like a watch). Something I can put in my pocket and not notice it's there.
- Standard PIM applications (including an encrypted password/PIN database)
- Cheap so if I lose it I don't care
Hmmmm... A watch without the band is almost right but often the device is curved and lacks functionality.
Hell, I have a 3 MB smartcard sitting in front of me right now (note the chip is about 1mm thick and 5mm across; small!), you'd think they could make a really tiny PDA using the same technology.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
I think people that compare the Zaurus to the Palm or other PDAs are missing the point. The Zaurus is more of a mini computer than a "digital assistant" (even if Sharp insists in marketing it as a PDA). I say that as an engineer: I would look at the Zaurus to replace my HP48G, not to replace my palm pilot (which has been replaced by my cell phone a long time ago). PDAs like the palm are on their way to extinction, there's nothing they can do a good phone won't do better.
From that perspective, the Zaurus doesn't even have to be too small, I won't carry it around everywhere, just to work or meetings or things like that. It's much more convenient than a laptop, and this model (if it ever really comes out) actually has good connectivity.
You said it, brother. Then again, you usually do have pretty good posts about PDA-related stuff.
The linux zealots constantly inflate the miserable usability that most linux things currently have, and it just gets ridiculous when you see something like PDA's that require ten times the user interaction saavy needed for a desktop.
Trolltech in no way did any of their homework regarding PDA UI design, and it shows in the Qtopia widget borders that gobble up vast amounts of valuble screen real-estate, and in the fact that I have to do twice as many taps to accomplish the same task I was doing on a Palm.
Ergonomica Auctorita Illico
Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!
You also run into the problem that Sharp's hardware is half-assed in it's design. Powerful, I'll give it that, but incredibly half-assed. My 5500, which I purchased back in my "I'll give linux a second chance even after I was dumb enough to buy an agenda" phase, has the power button on the outside of the PDA, unprotected by anything. More than once I've pulled my zaurus out of my pocket only to find it's already turned on. You would have thought that at least one engineer at Sharp would have momentarily considered the idea that putting a power button unprotected on an area where it could easily get hit in your pocket was a bad idea. Would it have really been that much work for sharp to have recessed the power button and extended the flip-shield so any accidental pocket presses would be eliminated?
It's ironic that the Zaurus has a hundred times the CPU and memory of the original Palm, yet for all that technological advancement, the Palm is still a far better designed machine.
Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!