Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

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.

13 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Someone's gotta say it by Roland+Piquepaille · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yes but, does it run Windows CE?

  2. Correct Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Rather than the empty link (href="") in the story, this is the correct link to the previous story on the Zaurus SL-6000.

    Also, the BargainPDA article, directly, is here.

  3. 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.

  4. A Year and a half by Pine+UK · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "the terminal application (it comes on the CD), allows you to issue Linux commands, edit config files and all that great stuff." Yeah, Ok, that's great, but won't it take like a year and a half to enter a command with one of those stupid hand writing recognition things?

    1. Re:A Year and a half by Ianoo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I believe that OpenPDA/Qtopia is good enough that the average user should never have to touch the terminal for any reason whatsoever. It's about as close as Linux gets to "it just works" and your average "man on the street" might not even realise it's running Linux, since Qtopia doesn't look like your average Linux X desktop (if there is such a thing, KDE and/or GNOME).

  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. Another PDA for ya.. by tarunthegreat2 · · Score: 5, Informative

    and this one's much cheaper, and yes, it runs Linux. Simputer

    --
    My Favourite Meme
  7. Pricing ? by polyp2000 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The one thing I dont understand is the high cost of certain Linux based PDA's. Given the cost saving on the operating system licensing surely that should be passed onto the consumer. The hardware itself isnt radically different from PocketPC based devices which in general cost less. Sooner or later I'll be in the market for a PDA but i dont think I should have to pay extra for the privelege of not having to use a Microsoft based one.

    The real question is out of the newer specification PDA's which ones can be re-flashed with Linux and work as well as the sharp offering ? I suppose a palm based device might be an alternative but i want my bash shell and dev tools to boot .

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  8. I've got SL-C860 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    I've ordered an 860 from shirtpocket(.co.uk). This is clamshell model sold only in Japan, but Shirtpocket guys have made really good job on translating it to Engslih. However, I've moved to Cacko ROM. It is an amazing PDA, best of everything I had or still have (such as Garmin iQue, an superb Palm OS PDA + GPS). Simply put, this *is* a laptop you can put in your pocket (although a bigger one). It's got 640x480 screen, SD and CF slots (I have a WiFi card there), and it connects via USB to act both as USB host and P2P network interface. There's a LOT of software there and several flavors of ROM images. You can even make your own Linux distro for it. There's that PDAXROM for geeks: you get the login prompt, log in, then type startx to get GUI, the real GUI with moving, resizeable windows, just like you on your PC. I have perl and python there, there are several IDE environments, Java and GCC. It can be overclocked, in which case you can use mplayer to view full-screen movies in 25fps. The keyboard is small, but you can get used to thumb typing in a short time. Yes, you can make swap files to get extra memory as well. While the PDA functions aren't quite impressive, you can put Korganizer there and get pretty decent results. If the mail app isn't worth it, install Mozilla Thunderbird and have a go. Yup, you can put GIMP there, Apache as well. PHP just goes with that. And what would it be without MySQL? You can install it too...


    This really is a Geek dream come true. :) It isn't for the faint of the heart, for it does need some knowledge to hack it, and flashing ROM in a wrong way can render it unusable, and you get no support outside of Japan. This is a hacking toy, the best I've seen so far.


    Oh, and the geekiest of the geeky things: I've shown it to Ken Coar while he was wisiting Croatia, and guess what - he was jealous! :-)

  9. OFCS.....obligatory grammar nazi post by Rhubarb+Crumble · · Score: 5, Funny
    like all Zaurii before it

    Zaurus -> Zauri.

    I know that you can quibble about what the plural of 'virus' is as it's derived from an uncountable noun, but as Zaurus is clearly derived from Saurus (=lizard)

    1 Saurus -> 2 Sauri
    1 Zaurus -> 2 Zauri

    'Zaurii' is obviously the plural of 'Zaurius', as 'Triarii' is the plural of 'Triarius'. Now go and write 'romani ite domus' on the wall 100 times.

  10. comparison survey of all SHARP Linux PDAs by wehe · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here is a comparison chart of the SHARP Zaurus Linux PDA series. The survey contains also the internal code names for the PDAs, which are taken from dog races (Collie, Boxer, Poodle, ..).

  11. 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.

  12. Re:Developer Resources? by wytcld · · Score: 4, Informative

    See www.pdaXrom.org, this article on cross-compiling, Gentoo for Zaurus, the Zaurus Software Index, the Zaurus Message Board, Zaurus.spy.org, and last but definitely least the Zaurus User Group (which among much else has active discussion of where to buy the clamshells from).

    --
    "with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton