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Sharp To Ship New HD-equipped Zaurus In Japan
ctid writes "On 10th November, Sharp will release its new Zaurus PDA. The SL-C3000 includes a 4GB hard drive, a 416MHz Intel XScale PXA270 CPU and 64MB of RAM. All of that in a package weighing 298g! There is no news as to whether Sharp will release this ludicrously desirable toy in the West, but I'm not hopeful personally. Maybe we can rely on suppliers like dynamism.com (in the USA) or shirtpocket.co.uk (in the UK) to help us out?"
Unlike Sony's PDAs, there's no wireless on the Sharp model, only infra-red. There's an SD and a CompactFlash card slot for expansion, so there's scope to add Bluetooth or Wi-Fi later on. There's also the usual USB port for connecting the device to a PC, and an earphones socket.
I don't understand their decision not to include wireless into the device. Yeah you could add it with a CF card but that's an added expense and something else to carry w/you. Plenty of businesses now offer wireless service (Old Chicago, Kinkos, coffee houses, and a bunch of bars come to mind) and I would certainly think that most people would consider wifi a necessary feature.
The base of the unit above the keyboard looks a bit thick. I wonder if it is meant to be held in your hands and you type w/your thumbs or if it is to sit on a surface and you type normally. Personally I prefer holding a device in my hands and typing but that's just me.
I am now, more than ever, interested in some sort of "palm top" device for use in my home. I love being able to walk around and do what I need to do online from wherever. Even a laptop seems too bulky for me these days. At a little over 10.5 ounces this would be the perfect device for that purpose.
"...416MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor backed by 64MB of SDRAM and 16MB of Flash ROM."
64 ram and 16 rom??? No Wi-fi or Bluetooth built in? How many of us actually use infrared on a regular basis?
Sorry, Sharp; you're doing all of us a disservice by not promoting Linux as a device that can compete with comparable Windows Mobile-based devices.
Anyway, despite my quibbles this sounds like a pretty solid device. Why are they only releasing in Japan?
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
-- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.
Sharp To Ship New HD-equipped Zaurus.... in Japan!
I own and use the Zaurus SL-5500 and find it to be one of the best PDAs out there, second to none. And I would recommend any Zaurus to the Linux masses.
WBG Links
www.wbglinks.net
List price in yen, of course. Speculation on the retail price plus the export/import markup can't happen without it!
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
Seriously, add an inexpensive docking station, and this would be the ultimate ultracompact laptop. You could use it as a normal PDA where ever you are, and at home or work you could plug it into the docking station and be on the network, use it for email and typing, and so on. For most people, this would make a practical second computer.
Lets just hope the price (including that cheap docking station) matches the size!
See what I've been reading.
It will be interesting to see how devices like this (if released in the US) will compete with the OQO, etc. I am guessing the prices of PDAs with a HD will be close to $1000, so the cost/benefit analysis of each will be interesting indeed.
This is a Japan-only product, so catering to the plenty of businesses that offer wi-fi in America probably doesn't fit well into their business strategy. However, it does fit well into the Japanese way of life, where you are probably going to want to use this to take care of business while killing time riding on the train. Also, while wi-fi is nice, most laptops still come equipped with an IR port, making it an ideal method for syncing data quickly without having to whip out the SD card.
As for the ergonomic aspect, I'd wager it's ultimately designed to be held, because rush hour on the train can be killer when it's wall-to-wall people. Also, with the way people message on their cell phones nowadays, the thumb-typing aspect sounds pretty reasonable.
I'm going to have to go down to Den Den Town come November 10 and take a look at this bad boy. Looks pretty sweet.
"Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day; set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life
The sl-6000L can be had at a discount at amazon because Sharp has closed shop in North America for Linux support. They're taking the English developer's site down as well.
298 grams = 10.5 ounces.
http://www.busyweather.com/
Geesh, color screen, microdrive, slap in a wifi card.... maybe 45 minutes of battery? What is this good for?
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
full size mouse/ keyboard and monitor, it would be all I need....
Simple question: why don't they use a CF or SD card type of flash memory instead of a HD (at least CF cards with 4 GB are already available)?
Nice bit of free advertising there.
No wonder they can charge $2500-$3500 for laptops that cost around $1500 in Japan.
$1000 is a pretty sweet profit margin for "install a US keyboard".
Please help metamoderate.
Eh? Wi-Fi is plenty outbuilt. Many train stations even have wireless networks, so you can just check your email when the train stops. You can also find insecure networks if you need that. I did this with my iBook riding the Shinkansen from Tokyo to some small town you've never heard of. No Apple laptops now come with IR either, though all PBs have BT built-in and iBooks can have it factory-installed cheaply. I agree with the OT; this PDA has some issues.
Lalala
Not *everyone* wants wifi.
Most people do. But there are some people who work in enviornments where they are prohibited from bringing wifi devices. So, there is a tradeoff there. Also, some people want a lower cost, and would like Wifi, but also want a lower cost device as well, and would be willing to buy the device now, and add wifi later.
From a manufacturer's perspective, it is better to have that customer buy your product, and then purchase Wifi later, then it is to lose that customer to some other manufacturer based on them having a lower cost device. If people really want Wifi, then, simply create a bundle that lets people purchase your PDA along with the CF card that gives them WIFI, and then the problem is solved. That way, you can market your product to both sets of people and straddle the two segments of customers.
It's a little kludgy. But, I don't think it's such a horrible strategy.
Randy
Randy.Flood@RHCE2B.COM
I thought "HD equipped" meant High Definition. :-(
--- Ban humanity.
Ya know, as great as that product sounds, I'd be very wary before dropping any cash for a Sharp PDA.
Why? Well remember that linux-based 6000 version that had several reviews on here not too long ago? Well, Sharp is ALREADY DROPPING SUPPORT FOR IT.
wtf is up with that? Lots of people around here just dropped $600 for this thing, only to get bent over by Sharp.
For what it's worth, I'm extremely happy with the 6000. It's rugged as hell, the screen literally has to be seen to be believed, and it can do just about anything. But buy another overpriced product from Sharp only to have them screw me over again? Thanks, but I'll pass.
-Fatty
From what I see of their Japanese product releases they are trying to further the cause for more functional handhelds. Obviously there must be a high demand for such items in that part of the world. The demand for these must not be as high in the U.S. or Europe since they have steadily (and quietly without prior announcement) drawn out of these markets.
I agree with the other takes I've read on this article. Yes, they should've added wi-fi or Bluetooth. And yes, they couldn't dropped the 4 GB HDD in favor of a 4 GB CF HDD. I had an SL-5500 and have to say having a Linux box in the palm of my hand that I could use as an Apache/PHP/mySQL server was certainly impressive. So was the fact I could code and compile on the unit. But the hardware was built on the cheap. And that is being kind.
The thing that saddens me the most about Sharp is that after actively participating on their developer webboard for a couple of years I can say that they don't really foster many close ties with their user population. They drop things like a rock and without much dialog.
In Japan, many devices have both SD and CF slots. The CF slot can take memory, but its main purpose is to add connectivity. Wi-Fi limits one to sitting around in a hotspot. Japan has better solutions: all three major carriers have 3G cards with thoughputs of up to 2Mbps. DDI and bMobile offer PHS-based cellular solutions up to 384kbps at flat rates. Connected users expect far more in the way of ubiquitous connectivity than Wi-Fi allows. The majority of the population, for example, sends and receives most of its email via cellphone rather than computer.
So PCs have Wi-Fi, PDA users tend to go with one of the cellular solutions.
Why does Japan get all the good toys (and do they wonder the same thing about the USA)?
Seriously, I was in the market for a laptop through a few weeks ago and it amazed me the variety of ultraportables that Sharp Japan produced. They probably have ~10 machines that run on transmeta chips, one of which (MM20, MM10 might be counted as well but I am not sure it is still produced) is readily available in the US. Other vendors offer Linux notebooks in Aisa, we have a single HP model, and a handful of vendors offering whitebooks or rebranded stuff.
It must suck for those who just bought the (only recently US distributed) Zaurus SL-6000L, their $700 toy goes obsolete in 6 months. Then again if you buy a toy priced poorer then a low end notebook you must expect it at some level.
How do I keep track of people who are fingering
I read 4GB and I think "CF type II microdrive." So if the 4GB drive is in the unit, is it removable? Is there a second CF type I or II slot for real expansion, or is this a balancing act? I mean, ANYONE could put a 5GB microdrive in the lowly 5500 if that's all we're talking about, but we still can't combine a CF WiFi and a CF HD at the same time unless there's two slots.
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Sounds cool. The Zaurii are great little devices. In combination with TextMaker for Zaurus (and hopefully the PlanMaker spreadsheet, too), this sounds like the perfect mobile office.
SoftMaker Office for Windows|Linux|Android
If I want a laptop, I'll buy a laptop.
Acording to this article, Mr. Hirohide, sharp information communication enterprise headquarters told "Moreover, a thing that overseas deployment is also considered."
Isn't it good news?
OTOH, if you do not contact them, you may have to use WinCE and its siblings for the rest of your days. Well, the choice is yours, just don't say you never had one...
looking at Palm, iPAQ, and iPod sizes
The picture makes it look like it is quite thick ... I wonder how it will compare to the above.
SD memory for palms is rapidly improving; soon, larger capacities will be cheaper, making a $250 1GB+ palm smaller and better than this toy.
(note, I have posted on this before)
Use my userscript to add story images to Slashdot. There's no going back.
I don't understand their decision not to include wireless into the device.
How about (assuming you mean 802.11*): desire to have battery life longer than fifteen minutes? There's just not enough room in the tiny little thing for a big enough battery to make wifi useful.
...try OQO. Has 20GB hard disk, 1GHz x86-compatible processor, ethernet and USB connectors...
PS When will phones have huge hard disks, screen and docking stations with Athlon64?WiFi only devices are possible. I think your right in the case of this new Zaurus. With the extra power going to the Harddisk, the battery life would be abysmal.
Gorkman
As stated above the specs aren't really state of the art... but the problem I had is written on a completely different piece of paper:
:). The problem is it seems that the buttons are broken because sometimes it still runs normal and sometimes it doesn't. Don't get me wrong I loved the Zaurus and I miss it dearly even though I couldn't use it for more than one month but once something is deffective you have almost no chance of getting it fixed.
:).
Clumsy as I am I managed to give my Zaurus SL-C700 flying lessons. Unfortunately I forgot to teach it how to land proberly. It crashed. Badly.
Now the funny thing is it still worked! For another five minutes
Or do you know someone who can fix such gadgets? I don't and sending it in to Sharp is no option because local sharp branches will not take it (being a Japan only release) and sending it in to Sharp Japan is quite another problem because Japanese companies usually don't accept such things from other countries. You need to supply a japanese address.
Even though I really like Zauruses I guess I won't buy another one. They cost so much to import or to have them fixed that they're just not worth the effort anymore.
Of course that will not keep me from trying to find someone who is capable of fixing it
The processor and the storage is nice... but the lack of RAM and built in Wireless leaves this unit second choice. I don't think it would be difficult to put Linux on a FlipStart unit but it's not really fair to compair when you look at the prices involved. For the money, you could have the Zaurus upgraded and buy the aftermarket wireless. Of course if I had the money, I'd buy neither... http://www.dynamism.com/xp741/main.shtml That right there is the object of my digital lust.
MadOgre.com
mini ipod are at 30 gig
I believe the old developer model would run an ibm hard drive in the cf slot. I never tried it though cause I had my 802.11 cf card in there
the CL-3000 is actually smaller than a SL-5500, I have my SL-C700 in my pocket atm, and its not big at all.
In Japan, many devices have both SD and CF slots. The CF slot can take memory, but its main purpose is to add connectivity. Wi-Fi limits one to sitting around in a hotspot. Japan has better solutions: all three major carriers have 3G cards with thoughputs of up to 2Mbps. DDI and bMobile offer PHS-based cellular solutions up to 384kbps at flat rates. Connected users expect far more in the way of ubiquitous connectivity than Wi-Fi allows. The majority of the population, for example, sends and receives most of its email via cellphone rather than computer.
But, esp for the size of this Zaurus there is absolutely no reason that bluetooth, wifi *and* both SD and CF cards can't be there. It's not like Japan doesn't have wifi. Yes, a lot of people use cellular connectivity with their tiny devices there, but people still use the faster wifi connection at home, or where there is a hotspot. The iPAQ hx4700 and Dell Axim X50V both have VGA screens, 624 MHz XScale CPU (50% faster than this sad excuse for a new Z), built-in bluetooth and wifi and CF and SD slots for more memory or cellular connection cards. It isn't one or the other, not for a while.
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
I believe the quote: "Try not. Do or do not, there is no try." should be attributed to Yoda and not Dr. Spok
-- john
This is a handheld computer.
My Zaurus (an SL-C760, PXA255@400mhz, 64MB RAM, 128MB flash memory, CF LAN and CF 802.11b) is a shirt pocket sized replacement for lugging a laptop bag around. I don't synch, I use a Jumpdrive to move files between my 512MB SD card and a PC. I get about 8 hours of battery life, but again: It's not just a PDA, it's a handheld computer.
A variety of after market Operating Systems exist, including OpenZaurus, pdaXrom, and several tweaked versions of the Sharp ROM. Lots of tools are freely available that run on all these ROMS: BASH (busybox), nmap, ssh(d), gcc, Apache + PHP, vnc(d), ftp(d), rdp client, SQL client, smb(d), etc.
There are entire weeks that I use my clamshell Zaurus without using any other PC.
There's also the usual USB port for connecting the device to a PC, and an earphones socket.
Am I missing something, or did El Reg just glance over an ignore the thing having USB host capabilities? I can't verify it, but I'd sure as hell assume that it does, as the SL-6000 did.
That certainly seems worthy of note.
It might be a bit of a little bit less of a pain in the ass to put a WiFi card into the CF slot with these, now that they have HDDs, but there's plenty that can't be done with the CF slot. Note the dozens and dozens of I/O devices that are only available in serial formats and PS2 ports, all of which could be so easily handled by the USB port. Even a higher end audio device could be added, like Creative's USB soundcard thing.
So, does anyone know for sure whether or not it has host capabilities?
What I wanted however, was decidedly different than what they seem to have provided. Here's a short but simple list that would turn the SL-C760 into a must-have device.
the strength of the 760 is undoubtedly the beautiful screen. At 640x480 and with a pixel density you have to see to believe, it's almost *too* good -- and by that I mean it's almost 800 pixels wide, which would mean you could really surf the web without having to scroll horizontally. There's clearly space in the bezel and the unit is practically screaming for an additional 160 pixels of width to fill out the top portion of the flip.
this is the industry standard and it's hard to not see it as a major issue that it's not included. Yes you can get CF cards (and I've tried them all!) but having a separate card is bulky (they all stick out of the unit ruining the beautiful form factor), it's one more thing to buy and carry around, and it's one more thing to suck the battery since it's not integrated into the MoBo and power management system.
the unit is tantilizingly close to being able to run a full version of Linux (Mozilla, X, gnome/KDE, whatever) but isn't quite fast enough. Having to suffer through a "pocket browser" and a "pocket editor" is frustrating when the real things aren't that far away. Hobbyists have created special stripped-down versions of popular software (minimo is a pocket-mozilla) but I shouldn't have to hack the ROM to get the full potential out of the unit.
See? I told you it was a short list. The C760 is nearly perfect. Nearly. But this latest model is no better.
Please think of the children... exactly what the hell are you talking about? Respect them for not serving their customers in the US? Decisions for the Japanese market are mutually exclusive to decisions in the US market. Sharp is either being stupid or bribed by M$ to stay out of the market. Either way, it's anti-consumer.
Laws are for people with no friends.
How do you get bluetooth factory installed. The apple store told me I had to use a blue tooth dongle with an ibook
Oh sure, they think we get all the nice toys. It's just that our toys are blond.
Why can an iPod have 40GB disk and a PDA only 64MB ram? When will some designer with brains give us a PDA that doesn't thow away your data if the battery runs out, and act as a simple removable storage (amongst others) when attached to a PC?
Pétur
I am a longtime owner of the SL-5500 Zaurus. It's nice to have a very small Linux box..
I use mine primarily as a Wifi detector. I pull out the Zaurus, and quickly check to see if Wifi is available, and if it's open and free. If so, I pull out my PowerBook for any real www access.
But, a hard drive would be the last thing I would have wanted on my Zaurus. The microdrives would be a power drain, on an already power limited device. And, I have plenty of storage already - via the large/cheap SD cards.
Some things that the Zaurus would be better off with are:
- Built-in Wifi. I use a CF card wifi adapter. It's pretty small, but I would still prefer to have it built in. That would leave the CF slot open, and hopefully an internal version would take less power.
- Bigger screen. 640x480 is nice, but there is plenty of wasted bezel space that would be better used as a widescreen display.
Having been to Japan several times and researching the mobile internet market I agree with Bushcat. The device is designed for the Japanese market. If you go to the official Zaurus web site and read a little Japanese you will find the Mail and Internet section which describes which providers (7) provide PHS-based cards for the device. And the price is right, it works out to about $16/mth for unlimited net access with a 1 year contract.
If the device were sold in the US, I bet they'd add a wi-fi option as with the 6000. Even if they didn't it wouldn't bother me to use a CF card as I do with the 5600 right now.
"...today consumers have been conditioned to think of beer when they see a bullfrog..."
Can somebody provide us with the weight of the device in ounces or pounds instead of grams??
Why they didn't build in Wifi is beyond me. However, they could at least put GSM on it. The reason I don't have a PDA is because I don't want to carry a phone AND a pda. I only have so many pockets, and I don't want a bat belt full of crap.
The sidekick II was almost there. Other than the fact it was missing bluetooth, and that t-mobile crippled the thing. I had one for about a week, but the lack of bluetooth (or any sync functionality with iSync) has forced me to revert to my K700i.
For a PDA/phone, the clamshell design is far superior, as I think I would destroy a touchscreen by toting it around in my pocket all day long. If I could get ahold of that new motorola E780 or whatever it is, I might be happy. But it's not clamshell, and it doesn't have Wifi.
Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
I own a Zaurus SL-5500 and SL-5600. The 5600 has a larger battery and can support my wifi card turned on and connected to the wifi network for about two hours. If you want to use it like a RIM Blackberry or Danger Sidekick (aka Hiptop), both of which I have owned, you'll only get a couple of hours, so it's not a very good solution. If you want always-on Internet in a handheld, get a BlackBerry or Sidekick (I like the Sidekick more).
If you want a really capable machine, and are willing to limit your network use to surfing the web and occasionally grabbing your email, and are willing to turn it on and off as you need, then a Zaurus is great. I can't tell you how much I love listening to Internet radio stations on my Zaurus running mplayer while I mow my lawn or work around the house.
Hard Disk Drive. HDD, please.
Dear All,
I've had the zaurus C860 which looks to be a pretty much identical device, the 4gb drive aside.
It absolutly rocks. I am running the x11 rom from www.cacko.biz on it and it is a true performer allowing me to get much of the functionality i would get out of a desktop computer.(no im not claiming its a replacement)
So this device would be what i got plus a 4gb drive and looks to be a more comfortable directional pad for running quake at 20 frames a second(thats right!)
How can they keep releasing RAM-starved units like this? I'm not buying until they get their heads out of their asses and I'm tired of waiting for them to get this right, it's a show-stopper.
This little thing has got better hardware specs than my desktop.
This is kind of depressing.
Parent is one of the few that understands that not every country and culture is the same and that the West is not the center of the universe. Scary but that is actually insightful, and give a +5.
Thanks.
Fulfilling that list would make for a machine that only Arnie on steroids would call portable. Oh, and you need your own nuclear power station to keep it fed. Nice.
My guess would be that with the cost of the model already looking pretty high from a feature standpoint (4GB hd, built in keypad 64mb ram) that they left it out to keep the cost somewhat lower. That way, people who would pay extra for wireless still can, but it's not mandatory.
I'm too lazy to look up any sales numbers on the Clie UX series, and I know that Sony has stopped marketing the Clie in the U.S....but it sure SEEMED like the clamsheel design was popular here.
I'm a manager in a shipyard, and the environment is too rugged for me to whipping out a stylist every time I need to input data; I also tend to bump up against things, and subsequently don't favor a design whose screen is always exposed. But, I'm not a huge fan of PalmOS.
Put it this way...with all the bells and whistles this thing has, I'll trade my Clie up and buy one of these in a second...assuming they market them here. And judging from the traffic in websites like 1src.com, there a ton of UX users out there who would probably agree.
Don't let us down, Sharp!
Chicks dig my good /. karma.
I hope not!!!
:-((
Look at what we've got!
But you can't have it!
Well much as I drool over the Zaurus range, if they won't get their fucking marketing plan together they may as well fold it all up.
All you can get is grey fucking imports!
ARGH!!!!
Perhaps I should just give up and get a vintage Psion
My hyperlinks aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
Ok, lets get serious people. Who the hell needs 4gb of space at their hand whenever they need it? Don't use the excuse for storage because you can get an iPod for the same price and have way more storage. It's getting stupid. "OMG!!! I GOTZ 20GB OF STORAGE ON MAH WATCH!!! IMAH LEET!!!" What the heck do you use it for? "Uhh... L33TZENSS!" Get serious. Text files rarely reach over a megabyte. Concentrate on functionality and better features then larger, unused space.
World Domination or Bust
The Palm Tungsten C has Wifi, a small form factor, and excellent battery life.
I call bullshit on your assertion.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
A PDA that you can't carry in your pocket is useless.
Uhhh, that's exactly where I keep my 860. You must wear really, really small shirts.
I dream in binary.
Note that it's not user-installable, so if you don't get it installed when you order the iBook you have to use a USB dongle.
Lalala
Who cares if some people don't want wifi?
Wasn't this why they sold multiple versions of the SL-6000 in the first place?
I would rather see them release four near-identical devices... a version with/without wifi, and a version with/without Bluetooth.
And speaking of Bluetooth, the lack of that in a PDA really makes this so-called "new" Zaurus look pretty fucking old.
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
This is why I wonder not so much about the lack of wifi, but I wonder why there is no Bluetooth. Why should I have to slot in a card, when I could be doing the communication wirelessly to the phone I already have in my pocket?
And better yet, because you only have two card slots, if you want both Bluetooth and wifi, such as was available in the Zaurus SL-6000W, you get to choose: either (a) take up both slots, or (b) switch cards constantly and lose one of your CF cards.
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
"Allowing" people to buy their own data cards is great... that way you suck a few tens of thousands more yen out of the consumer. Way to go, Sharp.
I would much rather be using a built-in Bluetooth radio to communicate with my perfectly good phone.
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
Pictures of the Sharp SL-C3000 tested in English
specs/ index.html
http://conics.net/shp/pda/zaurus-sl-c700/sl-c3000
We should have the full video coming soon.
regards,
-Brett