New Zaurus Linux PDA Available In the U.S.

pdawerks writes "The Sharp Zaurus SL-6000L handheld, which runs Linux in the Trolltech's Qtopia environment, has finally made it to the U.S. at a pricepoint of $699, according to a PDALive.com article. It has a 4-inch 480 x 640 CG Silicon reflective screen that is much larger than the one in the 5x00 models, and the screen supports rotation on the fly (portrait and landscape modes). Sharp has also incorporated a sliding thumb keyboard into this model."

Comments

Re:My kinda testing!

[Dimensio]

It also can apparently survive being drenched with water, provided that you dry it out before turning it on.

Friend of mine had one next to a leaky air conditioner. Well, six feet. The thing really needs replacing. Got soaked, got dried, still works.

Sorry, but looks count....

[}InFuZeD{]

Does anyone else notice that these Sharp PDAs are less-than-beautiful in case design?

I'm not highly impressed with either the case design OR the OS design, but the case in particular.

Look at the Sony Clie NX series modles, the Tungsten E, etc. Those are some nice looking handhelds. The Sony Launcher also LOOKS nice.

Sorry, but when I see pictures of these Sharp PDAs, they just don't excite me. The only upside is the VGA screen.

I'll definitely be looking out for VGA Palm units in the near future though, those should be great :)

Demand

[slimak]

Really, what is the demand for a product like this? The price alone sets this way above what the average consumer should be willing to pay. Sure there are the "power users", the technophites and the "too wealthy to cares" who this is perfect for, but what about the rest of us? Seems like another case of a product with too high a price for the features that will be frequently used.

Re:Flip that...

[boisepunk]

I own a Zaurus SL-5500: the "original" US market unit (as opposed to the original developer's unit, the SL-5000, which was basically the same thing with half the RAM). I'll say this: you can have it... when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

Two reasons it rocks:

• The keyboard. The primary reason this is 10x more efficient than (most) palm devices: I can type very quickly on the build-in "hidden" keyboard. Yes, the Zaurus has something like PalmOS's Graffiti. In fact, the Z's recognizer is more sophisticated and accurate, and can learn any strokes you teach it. I still use the keyboard.
• Linux. No, I do not use my Z as a "hacking tool" or "geek toy" primarily. I've written a test app for it or so, but that's it. (Doing so is incredibly easy, actually, but I haven't had a lot of time to spend on it.) I bought my Zaurus as a PDA, and that's what I use it for. Since I use Linux exclusively on the desktop, having it on the PDA is extremely natural, not to mention making things extremely flexible. I find syncing silly. I prefer ssh, scp, or (with the newer ROM) smbclient (which is like a braindead ftp, but it works). If I needed syncing, I would use rsync. It just fits very naturally into my work environment.

Some people complain about the PIM apps; the quality varies. The Todo List and Address Book aren't great, but I don't use the former and the latter is sufficient. The Text Pad, however, is pretty handy, and Opera (which even renders slashdot well!) and Hancomsheet (a fully-blown spreadsheet!) are killer apps for me.

The only reason I don't upgrade to a CL-760 is the fact I can't justify the cost: my Z works great as-is. With the work on OpenZaurus and Opie, the PIM issues are being solved, and I have little chance of being left with a "dead" platform.

I'd still take my 860

[stuffman64]

I recently purchased a Zaurus SL-C860 from Dynamism, and it is truely a device I can't live without. Sure, it was pretty expensive at around $850, but no other pda I've ever used can touch it in terms of speed, style, and overall "coolness." Hell, I'm running an X11-based ROM on it now, and nearly all X apps can be recompiled to run on it.

I think I like the clamshell layout better than the traditional vertical PDA layout of this and the 5X00 series. Being able to quickly convert between mini-laptop mode and PDA mode is more useful than I'd ever imagined it would be. If I were to suggest a PDA to anyone, I'd say the SL-C760 is the better bet, as it costs the same as the 6000 and is nearly identical to the 860 (the 860 has a slightly larger screen, all-silver case and better default software, which is only helpful if you are japanese!).

Sure, the 7XX and 8XX series do not have the built-in wireless, but the coolness factor of the design, and the fact that almost nobody in the US has one, make it the better choice (IMHO).

PDAs Arent Cutting it For Me

[artlu]

I loved my SL-5500 PDA from sharp for about 2 weeks, and then tossed it in a drawer along with my Palm IIIx and Newton. I am sure that there are many out there that love PDAs, but my cell phone has done everything I have ever needed out of a PDA. I'd rather spend the $700 and get the Sony Ericsson P800 phone with the megapixel cam, etc!

Maybe when we have star trek like PDAs that will analyze everything about my surroundings i'd be more receptive.