Sharp Unveils Zaurus Models with 4-Inch VGA Screens

Ed Hardy · 11-20-2003, 11:43 AM

Sharp has officially announced the Zaurus SL-6000 series. This will include three models, two of which will have built-in Wi-Fi and one with Bluetooth. All will have a built-in keyboard and a VGA screen.

Read more at http://www.brighthand.com/article/Sh...Zaurus_SL-6000

imported_zackZ · 11-20-2003, 01:50 PM

Sweet! I've used the sl-5500 before. Though it had its own share of s/w problems, it was one of the most powerful handhelds I've ever used!

Freespirit · 11-20-2003, 03:30 PM

This will be an awesome handheld. The design could use some work though...

Skoobouy · 11-20-2003, 04:15 PM

What would I gain going from PPC to L inux? What would I lose?

pixelator · 11-20-2003, 04:30 PM

I agree about the design. It doesn't seem to be a terribly attractive device from the images, and the buttons look to be somewhat small and cluttered.

Still, people looking for a 4" VGA screen who prefer Linux (or anything that isn't Microsoft) will now have one more device to pick from. I suspect there's no issues with running applications in VGA mode ala the Toshiba e805, which requires a hack for access to non-VGA-specific programs.

imported_zackZ · 11-20-2003, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skoobouy
What would I gain going from PPC to L inux? What would I lose?

Pros:
Browsing through the Opera browser is amazing with so many features...there is no browser as fast or as user friendly as that one on the pda market. (features like tabbed browsing/ zoom/single column viewing etc)

Nice email app. Very powerful

Easy to understand interface. Very much like the desktop interface. A close means close, doesn't lurk in the background

On the fly rotation or per app rotation

So many choice of roms

If you are a geek, so much you can do! Like running a webserver/mysql/ftp/samba

cons:
Syncing used to be rough
Some amount of fiddling to get things to work
Not such a huge community or software
It *is* linux!

Don't flame! Just my opinion!

Qwertys · 11-20-2003, 05:55 PM

well, the biggest pro is linux has the best networking utilities out of any OS.
I am really looking forward to this PDA.

imported_zackZ · 11-20-2003, 05:58 PM

Me too! Would love to see this one in action!

Jan Willem · 11-21-2003, 05:57 AM

I must say I realy enjoy the broad attention that Brighthand gives to all PDA manufacturers, regardless of which OS they are running on there units. It gives a much more detailed view of what is going on in the development of mobile computing. Thanx!

ipaqgeek · 11-21-2003, 02:04 PM

There are some incredible websites dedicated to just PPC or to just PalmOS devices that provide exceptional reviews and excellent summaries for all the software available. There has got to be one for the handheld linux community too I would think - no? What is it? Can anyone provide a link so a stranger like me can get a nice feel for what the Zaurus can do - including 3rd part apps?