Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

New Zaurus Linux PDA Available In the U.S.

Posted by simoniker on from the sneaking-out dept.

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."

7 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. SWEET! by ErichTheWebGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a tad on the pricey side, but I'm gonna buy one just to show up some dude at my company who got a tablet with XP Tablet Edition and thinks it's the cat's meow...
    Although he sometimes salivates over my Mandrake desktop....

    I wonder if it would be any cheaper if they went with GTK instead of Qtopia? Ah, wtf, it should be cool anyway! Count me in!

    --
    bash: rtfm: command not found
    1. Re:SWEET! by boisepunk · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It seems lots of companies are jumping on the Linxu PDA wagon these days (Powerplay V, Softfield VR3, Zaurus, etc). This is great for those of use that use Linux, but the the main problem I see with all of these devices is that they only Sync with Windows out of the box.

      Empower Tech, Softfield, Sharp, and now Royal should all be providing software to Sync with Linux (as well as Windows for the Other 95% of the population).

      Why is this this so important? Well what has annoyed me the most about linux PDAs is that all the dev tools are in Linux, then you have to transfer your apps over to a Windows Partition to use there Windows transfer software load it (or use Wine).

      No Linux PDA will be successful until it Syncs (and Syncs well) with Linux. Heck, some Palm PDAs are easily to sync to with Linux then the current Linux PDA offerings.

      The market already has successful PDA platforms that Sync with Windows (Palm, Pocket PC, Psion). Why not finally make one that Syncs with Linux out of the box?

      Somehow I doubt Royal will step up to the plate in this regard.

      --
      main(0)
  2. Flip that... by CrypticSpawn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That is a price of a cheap laptop.

    1. Re:Flip that... by boisepunk · · Score: 5, Interesting

      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.

      --
      main(0)
  3. Re:My kinda testing! by xanadu-xtroot.com · · Score: 5, Funny

    Got soaked, got dried, still works.

    Sounds like the last few years of my drinking career...

    --
    I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
    I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
  4. Open Zaurus by I_Want_This_ID · · Score: 5, Informative
    Open Zaurus is going to have some fun with this one.

    It's a tad on the pricey side though as an SL-5500 can be had for under $200 and the SL-5600 (which has the 400 MHz xscale proc and 64 MB of RAM) is under $400 last time I checked

  5. Re:Free hardware by LqqkOut · · Score: 5, Funny

    I guess Bill Gates was right after all!

    --

    -- In Soviet Russia, radio listens to YOU!