At NewMobileComputing, we’ve posted a hands-on review of the Sharp SL-C750 Linux-based handheld computer. It’s a mini-laptop form factor, with a screen that folds back so it can be held like a PDA.
At NewMobileComputing, we’ve posted a hands-on review of the Sharp SL-C750 Linux-based handheld computer. It’s a mini-laptop form factor, with a screen that folds back so it can be held like a PDA.
Those Zaurus stuff seem quite cool. Now as I know how much stuff like iPaq and the like is overhyped (just try to sync your Calendar and your contacts with laptop and mobile phone over bluetooth.. you know…) I wonder to what extent that kinda stuff will work better on Linux powered hardware? Will my boss be able to sync his Outlook? What about GPS hardware en software?
Do we have the same windows-linux issues on pda as we have on PC?
A friend of mine at work bought one of the older Zaurus handhelds. At the time, it would only sync with Windows PCs, no Linux software yet. I don’t know how the situation has changed since then. So yes your boss will be able to sync with his Outlook. The question is, how will Linux users accept it if they can’t use it on their Linux desktops?
I think they have a linux desktop client for it now.
Syncing is, or at least, was, a real issue with the Zaurus, even with Windows. It is the main reason I ended up with a palm-based device. After several weeks, I could not get the systen to sync RELIABLY. I could sync maybe 1 our of 6 attempts. I ended up find the sequence of steps in order to finally sync, but it was still a pain. I hope the clients have gotten better, I plan to wipe the dust of my SL-5500 sometime soon and see how things go.
SMD
Yes, syncing sucks. On the other hand, if you are willing to jump through some hoops, you can sync wirelessly (given a wifi card in your Zaurus).
I just bought a SL-5500 3 weeks ago, and I love the heck out of it. I do miss some software choice, but 90 percent of what I want to do on a handheld exists and works better than the comparable PocketPC product.
I would probably hold off on a C700 for a while only because the software will all need to be recompiled, and having a pda with no software stinks.
I have a Zaurus 5500. I can say syncing works perfectly. You have to build some scripts, but the it syncs with evolution or korganizer. I even like the file transfer via ftp in konqueror.
ugh.
it’s the 21st century, man! When I pay $600 for a toy I expect it to work without all sorts of hacks. My Clie is a perfect example.
1 – buy said Clie.
2 – hook USB cable into PC and place Clie in cradle
3 – install HotSync
4 – Press “the silver button”.
5 – Success!
Less then 10 minutes for the whole procedure. And it (the sync) works 100% of the time.
Sometimes the hacks are the fun part!!!
As a developer, I want to get this primarily for the fact that I CAN hack it easily! It has a *nix like system on it and I can program apps for it without spending $$ on a PocketPC dev kit!
Using Python or other fun things!
$600 is a lot, but at $400 (plus $100 for a WiFi card), it is worth it to me!
Jesse
These conversations, here, slashdot and similar places, seem to filter into two camps- people who say “get a PocketPC or PalmOS PDA!” usually citing a lack of usefulness with the Zaurus and a group yelling “But I can do l33t things you can’t!”
The reality is you can get PDAs that do both these LUG-show-off tricks as well as just work. As unfortunate as it may seem to a lot of folks, they are PocketPCs. Yes, they run Windows. Yes, it sucks to have anything MS. But as a person who doesn’t run windows anywhere else, I feel secure enough in my nerdom to admit that I’d rather have a functional PDA in many senses. On a WinCE PDA, I can hack and program all I want; but I also have a lot of quality end-user apps and decent PIM apps. No, it’s not as nice as PalmOS in a lot of senses, but there’s no way I’m going to carry around 2 PDAs. WinCE/PocketPC is a very good compromise between power/flexibility and good design/ease of use. So sue me- I’m not a cheerleader for anyone.
There is no need to purchase a SDK to code for PocketPC or PalmOS. There are plenty of free means to program for both of them. I maintain a list of languages which can be used for programming WindowsCE/PocketPC devices on the device itself; there are a number of other option if you are willing to do the development on a desktop/laptop rather than the PDA. Also, with pretty much all of the entries on the list, you can do the development on the desktop/laptop, and then run it on the PDA as well.
http://dynapad.swiki.net/11
Yes, Python is on there. Along with oodles of other entries. I owned a SL-5500 and I was very disapointed. I sold it. People blab on about all the fun things you can do on the Z, but there wasn’t one thing worth doing that I couldn’t already do on my Jornada 720 running Windows CE. It wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t taking a hit in productivity with the Zaurus, but I was. Oddly enough, there are actually a lot fewer programming environments/languages for the Zaurus than there are for WindowsCE as far as those which were adapted for the PDA. With the Z, you can very easily compile pretty much any language you want and have it run, but be stuck without a GUI, a lot of libs, etc. On WinCE, there are more languages adapted to running *well* on WinCE than there are languages adapted to running *well* on the Z. As one of the primary things I use a PDA for- and a big reason I bought the Z- it was a let down.
I’m getting a C760 soon, although that is primarily for running Dynapad and Squeak, where I won’t have to deal with the inadequacies and closed nature of C/C++ systems like WinCE and Linux/QPE.
Of course I would be nice, if sharp would offer some better sync-software for linux, but they they don’t.
But it has some big improvement for me:
1. I can flash it with with an alternative os (openzaurus)
2. I can astablish an Internet Connection with my desktop as an router
3. Ever tried that with a clie?
I have long been waiting for a handheld computer with enough capacity to be really useful. Every PalmOS device is a joke as are all of the Pocket PCs. They’re so small and the screens have such low dpi that one’s ability to write rapidly with them is greatly hindered.
I’ve also tried the Windows CE handheld PCs but they have been needlessly stripped down by Microsoft to keep everyone paying full price for regular Windows and Office. The capability exists right now to have a full-fledged x86 computer in your pocket capable of running regular Win32 programs. HP used to be a real innovator back when it made its 200LX which was (and is) a marvelous unit with the best PIM system I have ever seen, desktop or palmtop. But ever since people like Carly Fiorina took over the company from Walter Hewlett, being the best has not been a priority.
It looks as though the worldwide leadership in handheld technology is going to be taken by Sharp. I can’t wait to get one of these things, delete all the built-in software and run my Debian on it. Finally, a handheld computer that is powerful enough to be more than just a dayplanner you can crush!
I’ve tried the PocketPC and have been extremely irritated by the fact that all of the PIM apps and others such as HPC Notes insist on storing their databases in the internal memory. I’ve lost a lot of data that way because I wasn’t able to make a backup after the unit’s battery crapped out. It’s also a bitch if you want to export your data to other apps. Being able to have multiple phone and appt books is out, too.
Windows CE has been the scourge of palmtop computing. No way will I ever go back to it. Before CE (and maybe now w/this new one), palmtops such as the 200LX and the Psions were useful and powerful. HP should have kept on its own course instead of being another MS sheep. Do a search on Google to see just how useful a 200LX is: x86 processor, MS-DOS 5.5, ability to run real apps like AutoCAD, WordPerfect, a CGA screen, multitasking, screen zooming, easy and flexible database creation…
Its only weak spots now are that it was built before the Internet and the Web browsers for it aren’t stellar. It also does not have flash ram backup so a high-capacity PC card is a must. It also doesn’t have a backlight screen and it is grayscale.
There is, I believe a guy in Austria(?) who works on installing backlights in 200LXes however.
Sharp released a new ROM for the old SL5500 a month or two back, and it’s really rather good.
Kernel 2.4.18 (origin was 2.4.6), Opera 6 (very good browser BTW – wipes the floor with MS’s feeble mobile browser), etc.
In fact, I’m sat at my kitchen table typing this on my SL5500 now, connected via a cheapo (£26) wifi card that “just worked”, no drivers to install or anything – I wish wifi from my linux laptop worked as simply as it does from my Zaurus
It’s a reasonable PDA (but not that much better than my old have VTech Helio), but it’s an amazingly good portable networking device….
For Java-heads, you can also program PalmOS and PocketPC devices using Waba (a special subset of Java)
http://www.wabasoft.com
they stole OSnews site design, and uglified it, YAY!
Storing PIM data in an internal database has a lot of advantages. It is also what PalmOS, NewtonOS and the Zaurus [1] do. The 200LX may not, but it’s an old machine and a dead line.
You can backup that data very easily. Every PocketPC or WinCE device I’ve seen comes with a backup app that allows you to backup and restore PIM data, files, and all of the above. The backup apps I’ve seen allow you to just backup PIM data, and most allow you to select which databases to backup and restore. You can also get other PIM apps that give you a lot more flexibility than the built-in ones- some of these apps are free and some cost money.
I’m quite familiar with the 200LX. And I know how attached people get to what they like and what they’re used to. I come from the Newton community, full of people like this- including myself. PocketPC, PalmOS and Zaurus PDAs are far from perfect, but they do some things a lot better than oldies like the 200LX, the Newton and Psion.
Your post is a good illustration of the idea that people are different. That is great that you like the 200LX. For me, running MS-DOS 5.5 is not an advantage. It’s an old, mostly dead, and decrepit OS. An 8MHz 186 CPU? Yeah, I know you can get overclock hacks to get it up to 16 or so, but where’s the big deal? I mean, if you have a bunch of crufty DOS software, that is great. The other stuff you mention can be done on CE. There are CAD apps for CE, but I can’t speak as to how they compare with an old version of AutoCAD- I know nothing about CAD.
(psst: MS-DOS is made by Microsoft)
It’s slightly humorous to talk about all the benefits of a 200LX- you get DOS! And an old, slow x86 CPU! And it’s just a minor thing that web browsing on the 200LX sucks.
For me, I wouldn’t dedicate myself to an old palmtop unless I could do my web browsing wirelesly like I can with a WinCE/PocketPC, PalmOS or Zaurus PDA.
I wonder how fast running PocketDOS on a 400 MHz XScale PXA255 is compared to that 8 MHz 200LX… For a while, I was running Lotus Agenda within PocketDOS on my Jornada 720.
[1] They dropped XML files in favor for an embedded database for the SL-5600, all of the C7x0s, and in the new 3.10 ROM for the SL-5{0,5}00.
I enjoyed the review; mainly because I speak/read/write Japanese as well and the Zaurus’ ability to switch languages is very important to me.
One of the things I hate about PocketPC machines is that Microsoft, and others, operate under the delusion that we are all monoglots with no need for foreign language support. In fact, you can’t even offer them money for foreign language versions. They pull a Nancy Reagan on you and just say “no”.
I have a Zaurus 5500 (and I’ve owned several of the older Zaurus machines that were never sold in America). I like them. They are well built and have always lived up to my expectations. Perhaps I’ll grab one of these new ones during my next trip to Japan.
I agree, the New ROM looks better. Well, let me take that back- it seems it is more useful, but it actually looks worse. Uglier, I mean.
But in the new 3.10 ROM the character recognition is a bit more usable- one of my bigger complaints with the SL-5500/2.38 ROM was that it took a .5-.75 seconds to recognize a character! And that’s with the multi-stroke recognition delay set to the lowest there is. That is simply not acceptable.
I certainly wouldn’t say Opera 6 wipes the floor with MS’s IE for WinCE. It does kick the ass of the version of IE they ship with PocketPC 2k and 2002, although the IE that comes with vanilla WindowsCE is very comparable to Opera for the Z. Opera for the Z loads pages very fast, and that is worth noting. And I’m glad to see the upgrade to Opera 5- on the SL-5500, I ended up mostly using Konq. using the Z for web browsing sucks if you can only do one age at a time, and can’t copy and paste! Bah!
I’m very happy you had a good experience with wifi on your Z… A lot of us haven’t had such good luck. I had a hell of a time with my card, even after following the proscribed procedures… Call me nuts, but I’d rather just run a .CAB or install a .PRC than be stuck hacking .conf files to get my wifi card working. That said, Sharp seems to try to avoid that by simply installing every known wireless card on the Zaurus by default. It’s a waste of space, but otherwise, it’d probably be a pain in the ass to get wireless working on the Zaurus.
Apparently they did it for a perfectly good reason, from their contact page “Please read these guidelines (from our sister site, OSNews) before you submit your article to us.”
Actually, Opera on the Z (3.10 ROM) supports both multiple windows and cut/paste….to enable cut/paste change the setting for scroll mode from “grab and move” to “scroll and select”.
Yup- evidentally my post wasn’t clear, but I am aware of the improvements in Opera 6.
“And I’m glad to see the upgrade to Opera 5- on the SL-5500, I ended up mostly using Konq. using the Z for web browsing sucks if you can only do one age at a time, and can’t copy and paste! Bah!”
And since you can do more than one page at a time and *can* copy and paste in Opera 6, it doesn’t suck. But that was true with Opera 6 on ROM 2.38.
i noticed that the Review: Sharp Zaurus SL-C750 was posted on a site using the similar script that is used here, anyone who knows what Script is that?
I’m no authority, but I don’t think wither OSN or NMC use any ‘standard’ blogish script. NMC is the “sister site” of OSN, run by some of the same people, and uses the same/similar code, although to my knowledge, it’s not available for download.
Which is too bad… I like the way OSN/NMC looks, but without being too annoying or too cluttered. Simple forum/thread system, etc. Not a huge deal it’s not available, but it is a nice little system.
** CORRECTION TO MY PREVIOUS POST **
I meant to say “But that was true with Opera 5 on ROM 2.38.”