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Handhelds Hardware

Images and Screen Shots of Zaurus SL-A300 102

Posted by chrisd from the i-love-qtopia dept.
Ch_Omega writes "Sharps Linux-based Zaurus SL-5500 is a wonderfull PDA with lots of features, but it's also a bit on the large side. Unknown to most, Sharp also has a slim and sleek version available, namely the SL- A300. It's so far only available in Japan, but Infosync has screen shots!." And it weighs only 120 grams, imagine. A trip to Akihabara anyone?
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Images and Screen Shots of Zaurus SL-A300 More

Images and Screen Shots of Zaurus SL-A300

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  • Damn! (Score:1)

    by Xouba ( 456926 )
    Why do you have to put things like these when I've already closed the deal for a 2nd-hand Palm? 8-(

    Kidding, of course ;-) This looks cooooool. It's too expensive for me yet, but in a few years I'm sure it'll be way cheaper - or my salary way higher, so everything is peachy anyway :-)

  • Wouldn't this device not run Linux, as Sharp was to continue with thier old OS in Japan and us Linux for internatinal markets?

    • Wouldn't this device not run Linux, as Sharp was to continue with thier old OS in Japan and us Linux for internatinal markets?

      Hi. Please read the article, that would be more interesting for both us and you then just posting as quickly as you can.

      • Re:Umm Zaurus (Score:2, Informative)

        by yasth ( 203461 )
        Well previous units released in Japan were still using the original ZaurusOS as it has poplarity there. Indeed Sharp tried to steer app development to the Java engine in part because it would work on thier japanese units. The original expectations was a half million abroad and a half million in Japan. By releasing a Linux based unit in Japan (the SL-5500 does not apear to have been released in Japan) Sharp is bassically merging the sucesful lines into one unified OS, which means they will be more supportive of native Linux applications.

        For more information regarding the lack of availibilty of the SL-5500 try out this unoffical FAQ [newbreedsoftware.com]

        There wasn't much of an article to read now was there just some pictures that I didn't load at the time.
  • That as long as they are switching to an XScale Processor, they should also increase the mhz at least 400mhz to compete with other devices...they actually lowered it 6 mhz instead! The chip has the capability, they just decided not to use it I guess.
    • ;-) this is a thin device, a 200Mhz Xscale is more than enough...
      Xscale 400Mhz processors already run at the same speed as the StrongArm 206Mhz. All the complaints about the speed issues with the new Compaq iPaq 39x0 and Toshiba 740 are not due to the OS but are based on the low performance per mhz of the processor.
    • this is a tiny device. Mhz has no meaning. You think the CPU actually runs at a constant speed?

      Long battery life so that you can use the thing without ever worrying if you've got enouch juice to hold you until you're near your charger is much more important.

      I seriously hope people aren't being as stupid as they are with computers and buying PDAs based on the processor speed rather than the features.
  • This thing (the pics of the device) has been out and about in while. I almost got a Zaurus. Something about applications that are easily installable stopped me there. I do the tar ball compile thing for work....I don't want to do it for something I need to work to keep track of work if you know what I mean. I don't have time for that! ;)
    • Its not a matter of untarring/compiling everything yourself, there are IPK files that contain software in a packaged format. Think RPM but easier :-)
      Of course if you find something you have the source for and its not allready packaged then you can manually install it if you want.

  • Dificulties (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Eudial ( 590661 )
    Actually, using linux on a non-keyboard device could lead to some difficulties, If you, for an instance, run into problems on an ordinary PC, you simply CtrlAltF[123456] into terminal mode and kill the troubling application. But what if you run into this problem on a PDA? My opinion is that linux is not linux without a proper keyboard.
    • Moreover, the only reason I bought a zaurus was that it was the only device then available in PDA format with a keyboard and a compactflash slot. I use mine to surf the web via my 802.11b card.

      Without the keyboard the Zaurus is no different to a Palm.

    • Funny that, whenever I go to console in our Linux lab at school, and then try to Ctrl-Alt-F7 back to X, the machine freezes, only solution is to power off and back on.
  • This Zaurus, and these other new PDAs look fancy and all, but as long as they do not have a quality mobile phone BUILT-IN atleast it is impossible to even consider buying one. Even though the Nokia Communicator [nokia.com] is already dated, I still think it's the only real choice if you are looking for a combination of a phone & PDA (& mobile ssh client for me) - with emphasis on the phone side. Or, is there something else that works and which has a decent KEYBOARD built-in?
    • I for one love my Handspring Treo. [handspring.com] Not only is it not nearly as bulky as the Communicator (I used to own that too) but it seems to be a bit faster, has better battery life and has a much much larger library of software.

      It's also cheaper, and I find using the thumb to type on that keyboard (ala Blackberry) is ALOT easier than using the communicator keyboard. It also feels ALOT less awkward talking into the Treo with the flip open than with the communicator closed brick in your face.

      I highly recommend the Treo. With Voicestream you even have free (well it uses your minutes but that's it) internet access, and with Treo Mail it even pages/beeps you when you get a new email to any POP email box.
      • > It's also cheaper, and I find using the thumb to type on that keyboard (ala Blackberry)
        > is ALOT easier than using the communicator keyboard

        This is the hardest part to believe, I have learnt to use a 6-finger input method on the 9210, which results into a decent input rate.

        Also, you stated the Treo has longer battery life, the Nokia 9210 has talk time of 4-10 hours (which is what really counts) and standby time upto 230 h. Treo has 3 hours talktime and 150 hours standby.

        Maybe you owned the previous version? It fits your description better. Good try, but I am still not convinced.

        • 4-10 hours? Thats a 60% variation. Is it 4 hours or 10 hours?
        • Good luck typing with 6 fingers without a table near you to actually place it down. I, having owned both, can EASILY type faster on the Treo while standing up and holding it completely in my hand than the Communicator (where I only approach comparable typing speed if I put it in my lap.)

          Also, the talktime of the communicator is NOWHERE near 10 hours in real life... in fact it's not even near 4 hours (as a former owner, I can attest to that, and am surprised that you don't either.)

          Besides, who talks on their cell for 4 hours a day? I charge mine every night so it's not an issue, and if I ever do run out of battery life for the cell I can still use the Treo as a normal PALM without the wireless capabilities for another few hours, the communicator can't do that.
    • This new hardware|software is great, but unless it has feature ____, and implemented exactly the way I want it, it is ABSOULTELY worthless. I don't know why they even bother.
      • > This new hardware|software is great, but unless it has feature ____,...it is ABSOULTELY worthless.

        In countries which have mobile penetration of around 80%, including where I live, a phone is not a feature in a PDA, it is a must. People are not likely to carry more than 1 device with them. They buy first the mobile phone, and then the PDA. My point, which you did not get, was that the product should have been a mobile phone, and the PDA functionality a "feature". I quess US just lags behind in this and your reality is different.

        • I personally have no use for a mobile phone. I just want a "palm" device capable of running emacs/octave. I'm looking for a kick-ass scientific calculator, not a communications device.
        • Mobile phone calls are too expensive if you don;t need the thing extensively (cheapest line rental is around 7 US$/month, which is what I use in calls only. Why should I pay rental?) thus I use a cheap almost throw away, non-bulky, minuscule phone with a "pay as you go" service.

          Mobile phone is not a must, no matter how much marketing types would like to make you believe so.
    • I want not phone in my PDA.

      I don't want to lose both capabilities when the device dies. I want to have as many options as possible when I need to change phone OR PDA (I don;t want to be forced to change both at the same time.

  • Rasterman has ported EVAS to it. (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Rasterman, the main developer of The Enlightenment [enlightenment.org] is already porting EVAS, the gfx engine of E17 to run on Zaurus LINUX. Here [rasterman.com] are some pics.

  • Linux World (Score:4, Interesting)

    by IceFox ( 18179 ) on Monday September 02, 2002 @02:19PM (#4185025) Homepage
    For those of you who were are Linux World last month Sharp had one at the Intel booth for anyone to see and play with. It is the smallest and thinest pda out there currently. Next week at the Intel developers converace there might be one also. (Don't know for sure, but I know for sure I will be there! Stop by the Sharp booth and say Hi!). For those of you who _really_ _really_ want the Documents tab that is on the A300 I can tell you right now that the A300 ROM is not compatible with the 5500 so don't try. If you do try you 5500 will die and will cost you $500 or however much you paid for it. (Although you could rip apart the rom, grab the launcher exe and get the english translations off the cd or course this isn't supported by sharp, probably wont work, use at your own risk, it might explode in a nuclear reaction and it wouldn't be there fault bla bla bla). BUT you can put Open Zaurus on your 5500. For those of you who hang out on IRC in the #Zaurus you will know that the A300 currently has no plans to come to the USA, but there is a different pda coming to the us. The only information known about it for _sure_ is that it has an xscale. Anything else that anyone tells you is just made up cr.. to make them seem like they know something they don't.

    -Benjamin Meyer

    P.S. You _HAVE_ to check out this game for the Zaurus.: Buzzword Bingo [killefiz.de]
    I am thinking of bringing it with me to the Intel conference. hehe

  • Ugh (Score:1, Insightful)

    by foobar104 ( 206452 )
    Worst. Interface. Ever.

    Why can't you people* realize that a device that has an ugly user interface can't possibly be "better" in any meaningful sense of the word than any other device? I don't care if it runs off of the moral power of virginity and ends world hunger. If it's ugly to look at, it sucks.

    Sometimes it seems like the Linux community would love to see a truly egalitarian world in which all software is free for everybody, but nobody wants to use it.

    *By which, of course, I mean Linux advocates. I feel safe addressing the Slashdot population at large, because I'd guess that roughly three out of four of you are Linux advocates, for some reason.
    • Looks damn fine to me.

      I'm just disappointed they didn't integrate the keyboard. Guess I won't be buying it, since after owning a blackberry 950 and going into a "typing" competition with a veteran Palm user I doubled their speed.

      Oh well.
      • And since I've used the Newton OS 2.1 and WinCE with CalliGrapher 6, I can easily win in a typing contest with a veteran Graf user *and* a old-timer Blackberry or similar thumboard user. :)
    • I'm curious to know what your standards for a "pretty" user interface is. As far as PDA's go, it doesn't look that much different from PalmOS or Windows CE to me. I'll take something that's functional and easy to use over a UI that's bubbly and cute anyday...but I guess that might be the dirty tree-hugging linux lover in me talking.
    • Why can't you people* realize that a device that has an ugly user interface can't possibly be "better" in any meaningful sense of the word than any other device? I don't care if it runs off of the moral power of virginity and ends world hunger. If it's ugly to look at, it sucks.

      Indeed, as the engine of your car is so ugly, it can't possibly be any better than, say, a lava lamp. Clearly, as an engine is ugly, it sucks, so it should be replaced with a lava lamp, which isn't ugly, so it doesn't suck. Please tell me how you get on when you've replaced your car engine with a lava lamp.

    • Lets define technical merit basing our opinions in something objective like aesthetic beauty.

      Goodness gracious me, I thought good technical judgment was dead and buried.
      • Lets define technical merit basing our opinions in something objective like aesthetic beauty.

        Well, after all, beauty is truth.

        This, of course, is the fundamental difference between people who like Linux and related open source software and people who don't. The people who use open source software-- and who don't understand why it's not taking the world by storm-- don't seem to grasp the idea that in order for something, be it a device or merely software, to be "good," in any meaningful sense, it must not be unpleasant to use. Linux is unpleasant to use, which is why hardly anybody (as a proportion of all computer users) uses it. This PDA looks unpleasant, so it's clear that it will be unpleasant to use. Hell, it's unpleasant to even be around. So this PDA can't possibly be considered "good" by any sensible criteria.
        • More BS.

          Unpleasent to use for who? For you? Fair enough. But that is not an objective measure.

          User interface design has techniques to invetigate if something is usable (not pretty of ugly: an interface, program or device could be "ugly" in aesthetic terms, according to some opinion, and yet be faultells and very useful from a usability point of view).

          To judge technical merit one has to use technical analysis, that includes usability. Pretty or ugly are not objective measures by any amount, any person choosing only based on that would be making a very uninformed decision.

  • Wow! 120 grams! (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If only I had some idea how much that was, I think I'd be really impressed. Let's see... that's about 1/8 of a kilogram, and I know they weight people in kilograms... So that does sound good!

    • Re:Wow! 120 grams! (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I'll put it in perspective for you... if it was cocaine, that's enough coke to have a kick ass good time!
    • As a perspective on size without actually measurement, I can tell you that this device is smaller than my Handspring Edge. Not by a whole lot, but still. The A300 is quite a bit more powerful than the Handspring (like 16 bit color, 16 bit audio with integrated speaker (yay), much more memory and the CPU etc).
  • Let the Japanese have their little phones! It seems that all guys ever want is small, small, small. Men need to realize that it's not a phone's size that makes it special! Look at yourselves, always obsessing over the size of the other guy's phone. Learn to use the one you've got!

  • more links (Score:3, Informative)

    by Kunta Kinte ( 323399 ) on Monday September 02, 2002 @02:40PM (#4185104) Journal
    A300 Japenese homepage [ezaurus.com]
    recent linuxdevices.com article [linuxdevices.com]

    I think this is exciting news for those of us interested in the linux pda market. I have zaurus sl5500 and loving it. The zaurus is by far the pda with the most geek potential out there. Try finding another pda with an SD slot, CF slot and a qwerty keyboard built in, all in a reasonable size and price( contrary to the article, the zaurus is not big at all ).

  • "Sharps Linux-based Zaurus SL-5500 is a wonderfull PDA"

    Wow. I didn't know Sharps [sharpsinc.com] had anything to do with computers, let alone Linux. I remember when they just did medical waste disposal. Seems everybody's branching out these days...

  • Yuck (Score:4, Interesting)

    by krow ( 129804 ) <<brian> <at> <tangent.org>> on Monday September 02, 2002 @02:52PM (#4185148) Homepage Journal
    I saw one of these at Linux World. I own a 5500 and like it (it works for me, not sure about for others, but then this was for me). The 3000 would remove all of the reasons why I like mine. No CF means no wireless and I love the keyboard. The keyboard makes mine very useful for me.
    This looks like a step backwards to me.

  • Hm (Score:1, Redundant)

    by zapfie ( 560589 )
    For those who weren't aware, the OS shown in the screenshots is Qtopia [trolltech.com], by our friends at Trolltech.

  • Akihabara? (Score:3, Informative)

    by zaren ( 204877 ) <fishrocket@gmail.com> on Monday September 02, 2002 @03:05PM (#4185187) Journal
    Just in case nobody knows what / where Akihabara is, here's the official Akihabara home page [akiba.or.jp] as well as a nice shopping guide [cjmag.co.jp] in English.
  • "so far" only in Japan might mean "never" in the
    USA. I wonder why there aren't numerous outlets
    for graymarket items like this. There is *LOTS* of electronic stuff in Japan that we don't see in the US. But it's not actually *illegal* to import, so why is it so hard to get something like this?

    I personally would like to be able to acquire the SCMS-free minidics and DAT's that they get over there (but not here).

  • I own the SL-5500 and love it; with a CF->PCMCIA adapter I can connect 802.11b and LAN cards (and hard drives!), and CF can't be beat for the top capacities of flash. The keyboard is a life-saver as opposed to wearing out my hand scribbling graffiti or whatever. And they want to get rid of that??? I don't care if it's so small it fits in my wallet; I want to be able to expand my PDA! In my mind that was one of the cardinal sins of the original Ipaq-- no internal expansion without a bulky boot. From the looks of this device, even a "boot-type" expansion won't be possible unless you like moving data at serial port speeds.

    Of course, my biggest problem with either model of the SL-whatever is the $#%$@@@@~ proprietary connector, which cannot be had for love or money in lots of less than 1,000 outside of Japan. Would it have hurt Sharp too much to use the same connector as the Palm V or Clie? As it is, no-one can build a peripheral for it without hacking apart the horrifically expensive cradle ($50 USD) or serial cable (also $50!).

    • You can still use Compact Flash cards with the A300 by buying an external slot that connects to a port on the back of the device. Also, the "port" on the bottom is proprietary but it's also faster than serial. I haven't done any speed measurements but still - USB networking is quite swift, and the builtin (automatic) samba server is really cool. :-)
  • I have owned several Sharp Zaurus PDAs starting back in the 80's (and yes, I traveled to Akihabara to get all but one of them; the 5500.) Of course they weren't Linux based until recently, but they were all great. I used to like the little cards you could buy for the older ones; they had some great games on them.

    This new model lacks some of the things I like about the 5500, but I think it still looks pretty good. By the way, does TheKompany make localized apps? TheKompany's applications are really what put my 5500 over the top.
  • DOUBLE THE FREAKIN' DISPLAY RESOLUTION!!! I couldn't care less what operating system my PDA has, but if I can't confortably read from its screen - I WON'T BUY IT.

    I owned an iPAQ. Fine piece of machinery, but the screen resolution was 320x240. Ebooks look like crap, text in general is hard to read (even with Clear Type which improves things a great deal).

    Guys who design all this gear, please REALIZE - if it's hard to read off the device, it's not worth the money! If you want to improve the sales, double the screen resolution and leave screen size the same. This will enable crisp text and reduce the pixelization. Maybe some day people could read books and news off their Sharps and HPAQ's.
    *
  • If you really can't wait, import an A300 and refer to this page:

    English Menus on the SL-A300 [biojapan.de]

    If you have an SL-5x00 series, and want to have japanese support (menus, IM, handwriting recoginition), you may want to go here:

    Japanese Language support on the SL-5x00 series [gotangco.com]

  • ok i've been researching getting a new pda to replace my m105. now i really want this... no fair.... *cries*
  • Even though there is no keyboard, text input shouldn't be all that hard. Remember the article about typing with you eyes [slashdot.org] a few weeks ago? A program called Dasher [cam.ac.uk] is the fastest way to input text aside from a keyboard.
  • And I'm darned close to getting one!

    I decided to sell my spare Netwinder [netwinder.net] to a fellow Linux developer and roll my profits over to the SL-5500. Its an awesome looking machine, and has a mini-keyboard to boot. I think it is a much better pocket pc than this SL-A300 which is more of a PDA IMHO.

  • I know this if a bit off Topic, but please help if you can, and don't mod it Off Topic.

    I live in Japan but I'm not so good at the language. I really want to set up a PDA so that I can write Kanji into it using the stylus and get the japanese pronounciations (both) and a definition. I have found some resources but it is confusing. The problem is I don't want to buy any PDA untill I am sure I can make it do what I want. I would really like to use a Zaurus 5500, but anything that gets the job done will do. I can purchase one from the USA or in Japan. Please contact me directly by following the link to my homepage if you have done this. I will greatly appreciate any help you can give me.

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