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PDA Buyer's Guide Reviews The Sharp Zaurus SL-6000

Posted by timothy on from the deep-pockets-in-both-senses dept.

Tong Zhang writes "PDA Buyer's Guide has published an in-depth review of the Sharp Zaurus SL-6000. If you like livin' large, this super-sized Linux PDA may be just the ticket. Sharp targets the enterprise rather than consumers with this Zaurus model, which looks like an SL-5600 on steriods. It has an amazing VGA display, a 400 MHz processor, thumb keyboard, WiFi and more. Read the full review." This adds just a bit more information to the previously mentioned review at BargainPDA.

14 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. This thing is the future of mobile computing now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'll trade my 2.0ghz pentium4-m Laptop for one of these with a extra USB keyboard and flashcard in a heartbeat (or external USB drive if possible).

    The thing that makes it worth it?

    Linux OS + decent screen + 10-12 hour battery life.

    WTF am I suppose to do with a laptop that can only run for 1.75 hours before needing to be plugged in again? It's not nearly as usefull as I thought it would be.

  2. Looks cool but.. by tfbastard · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Sure, it looks cool, but I've given up on PDAs a long time ago. A regular wallet-sized calendar works better for me. OTOH, I rarely have more than 3-4 meetings per week, but still.

    1. Re:Looks cool but.. by Ianoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Try keeping a diary when you have a large number of repeating events every week/month. Entering those in time and time again gets rather tedious, especially if your schedule is changeable (and with a paper-based diary it's quite difficult to drag and drop an event to one hour earlier without judicious use of tipex and biro). PDAs are a lifesaver for students and business people with lots of regular meetings and deadlines.

    2. Re:Looks cool but.. by topdogqqq · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I have to agree, I looked in depth into PDAs and even the really expensive ones still don't have enough ram to carry big databases or do much heavy lifting. Also, they are a real pain to use with that tiny stylus. They basically are still in beta from my point of view. Short battery life, not enough ram, hard to navigate, no real file system, hard to backup preferences. I won't use one if it's given to me.

    3. Re:Looks cool but.. by LilMikey · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I was in the same boat. I bought in to each generation. I had an old Palm IIIxe, a Compaq Aero, and they're running around here with iPaqs and e750s. None of these devices are capable of replacing my trusty, although quite huge, laptop. The PDAs floated around in my pocket for maybe 6-8 months each before realizing I don't know enough people or have enough appointments to waste my time with these devices.

      However, I bought a SL-6000L over the weekend. It's amazing what these devices will do. These 2 reviews cover the hardware pretty comprehensively and the included apps ok but they only allude to its true capabilities. It's surely everything my laptop did for me and it fits in my (larger) pockets. I admit, the USB host and VGA screen are what pushed me over the edge. Check out ZUG for a better idea of what people are doing with these machines.

      --
      LilMikey.com... I'll stop doing it when you sto
  3. But it's HUGE by drizst+'n+drat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The darn thing weighs in at 10.5 ounces and with the plastic screen cover closed, it measures 6.2" x 3.2" x .9". Come on now -- almost an inch thick? You're not carrying this thing in your pocket; not even if it runs Linux! No thanks ... I'll stick to my Compaq 8350.

  4. Cost? by Marxist+Commentary · · Score: 3, Insightful

    $699? Ouch...

    I think I'd rather have a cheap used laptop for that price. More functionality, about the same weight.

    --

    Stop corporate

    1. Re:Cost? by Tet · · Score: 3, Insightful
      $699? Ouch... I think I'd rather have a cheap used laptop for that price. More functionality, about the same weight.

      Rubbish. The Zaurus is a complete Linux box, and thus has exactly the same functionality as your desktop or laptop machine, albeit in a smaller form factor, and less expansion options. As for weight, I don't know about the SL-6000, but my SL-C860 is significantly lighter than any laptop I've ever come across (lighter even than the Libretto).

      --
      "The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
  5. PDA with HD? by ciroknight · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I know I've posted this before, but how long will it be until Apple realizes what they're missing? Slap that LCD on a current generation iPod (or iPod mini if you really want to make a lightweight device), port QuickTime video to it, and poof, a pocket sized multimedia device that will put most anything else on the market to shame.

    I think it's the logical progression to see PDA's start to take on parts from laptops/desktops. PDA's are really the Laptop's of our generation. A USB host controller is awesome because of all of the USB devices that exist. USB Networking is a definite plus, but most everything is going to Bluetooth/WiFi anyways.

    Either way, this is a damned cool PDA, even if hella expensive, and I can't wait to see something like this, but cheaper, or any of the improvements from above are added (micro hd, minus usb host controller, plus wifi AND bluetooth, plus quicktime/some movie player).

    --
    "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
  6. A Geek's Toy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Linux + non-volatile + fits in your hand. I'm pretty sure customizing and tweaking this pda would be alot easier and fun for us geeks.

    With that in mind it makes it appearant why it's not targeted for consumers.

  7. Re:Pricing ? by torpor · · Score: 2, Insightful

    One thing that you have to take into consideration is that Sharp probably doesn't expect to sell a whole lot of these things ... its fair to say that their treatment of the Zaurus product line (I have an SL-5500, love it to death...) is pretty much an afterthought, for the consumer market.

    Instead, you'll see these things being used a lot by sytems integrators for business/commerce systems, and that explains the average higher cost for the Zaurus PDA's over other, equivalently featured products from competitors.

    That said, the Zaurus is a whole lotta computer for what you pay and pretty much smokes the competition when it comes to programmability. When was the last time you spent a few hours tweaking the PalmOS kernel to exact every last bit of performance out of it? Well, that happens all the time in Zaurus land, and there are a really amazing wide range of options for this PDA, when it comes to distro's ...

    Look for OpenEmbedded-based distro's in the future lineup of linux-based PDA's. It really is smooth and sexy ... I've been with PalmOS since day one, but this year I abandoned it completely and moved exclusively to Linux for my pocket computing needs ... and let me just say that it is tres-exciting, ssh'ing over WLAN to the bulge in my pocket where I've got bittorrent's sitting alive for the local 2600 meeting, ooh yeah ...

    --
    ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
  8. I have one of these SL-6000Ls and ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have to say that I'm shocked, just shocked, that people are posting the following drivel without reading the article or learning anything about this machine:

    1. ... year and half to enter a command with handwriting recognition ...

    When I use Konsole (tabbed terminal---better than the default), I do it in one of three ways: (a) built-in keyboard, (b) Happy Hacking Keyboard Lite 2 (with control key in correct position) attached to the USB connector, or (c) ssh from another machine with a full-size keyboard, since the SL-6000L is usually on the network when I'm around other machines.

    2. ... given up on PDAs ...

    It's not a pda, it's a small Linux machine I wear on a camera strap around my neck and use while standing up on a totally wifi campus where I need to be mobile.

    3. ... You're not carrying this thing in your pocket; ... I stick to my [Windows-tax-paying, Linux-fighting] Compaq

    I previously used a Clie, about the size of your Linux-fighting Compaq, and found it was no fun to carry in a pocket, either. Plus, it didn't do enough to replace my laptop.

    4. ... rather have ... laptop for that price. More functionality, about the same weight ...

    If you can find a 10.5 ounce laptop for that price, get it. I dare you to.

    5. ... hardware itself isnt radically different from PocketPC ... should pass on Linux saving to consumer ... I never took Econ 101 ...

    The SL-6000L has a VASTLY better screen than any PocketPC. It is VASTLY more ruggedized than any PocketPC. It has VASTLY more features (USB host, 802.11b) than any PocketPC. It's made in VASTLY smaller quantities than any PocketPC.

    6. ... needs a built-in camera ...

    Thanks to Sharp for NOT including a built-in camera. I need to take it into places where cameras are no longer allowed (thanks Donald Rumsfled, this totally solves the torture problem) for government meetings. I don't want builtin cameras on anything really important.

    7. ... should be feature for feature like a phone and cost $200 and I am an idiot ...

    Well, you got the last part right, but seriously, it's not about features, it's about usability. This thing is usable as a phone, but it's really a laptop replacement for people who want to use a computer in situations other than sitting in one place for long periods.

    Finally, I would like to comment that Opera on this machine is the most impressive example of an application fitting a machine I've seen in a very long time. I use http://local.google.com to find services in my new home at Carnegie Mellon, a very wifi campus, for instance, and this is the fulfillment of the promise of mobile computing.

  9. Re:looks nice, but.... by LilMikey · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As for the camera... I doubt enterprise would be very interested in it and if they were, there's a camera addon for the 5xxx line that is rumored to work fine in the 6000.

    --
    LilMikey.com... I'll stop doing it when you sto
  10. Re:Nice ........ by LilMikey · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ....but I'll stick with my Treo 600.

    ...as you should. This is a completely different device targeted at a completely different audience.

    --
    LilMikey.com... I'll stop doing it when you sto