The PDA I finally bought
Written: Feb 05 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: LINUX based! Built in keyboard. Memory card options.
Cons: Needs work on the OS side. Memory issues.
The Bottom Line: Definately worth the price, and LOTS of open source stuff out there!
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| felix2k's Full Review: Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 Handheld |
I've been wanting to replace my Franklin(tm) planner for many years -- but I stubbornly resisted investing in anything running any version of Windows(tm), and didn't like the Palm platform implementations I'd seen (I think my microwave oven has better graphics). I wanted a unix-based PDA and waited several years for some options to come available on the US market. This is the one I finally chose, and here's my opinion on the Sharp Zaurus after about 6 weeks of ownership.
The overall design (size, weight, screen size, resolution, input options, etc.) are all great. Availability of software for download is also great, although it's possible there's more out there for the more popular OS devices (I wouldn't know that.)
The keyboard is typical of all these little devices with mini qwerty keyboards, and as anyone who's used one before can attest, you get pretty darn good with that thumb typing thing. Zaurus also offers options for stylus input via handwriting (with built in tutorials), a little graphic keyboard for picking, and a "pickboard," which I don't find very useful. There is also the usual plethora of buttons, to quickly lauch popular apps and open menus, so the qwerty keyboard is really an option, and you don't have to use it if you don't want to.
Optional hardware includes a (pricey!) camera-in-a-CF-card, which is a fun gadget to play with and works well with the optional (free) camera app., but which takes lousy photos. Compared to the quality of the photos from the (new) Sony Clie, well, there's no comparison. It really smacks of 1st generation.
The applications the Zaurus ships with are more than adequate to meet your needs if, like me, you're basically looking for something that can keep track of your appointments (and beep you when something is due) and hold phone #s, take notes during meetings, track to-do list items, etc. Add to that built in support for media playback and you won't have to carry around an MP3 player as well. It also comes with an assortment of games (and there are LOTS more of those available for download -- try myzaurus.com, especially the links area). The Zaurus uses SD/MM and CF cards so you can cram on plenty of music or games to provide distraction. Battery life will take a huge hit if playing a graphics intensive game, and you'll notice the input area (buttons) heating up as well! Bring extra batteries, and plan to plug this thing in daily
The most useful addons I've found are the file manager and terminal applications. The terminal app lets you open a little command line interface which is VERY handy for discovering just what the little box is up to, and quite necessary if you plan to do any development for the Zaurus.
Oddly enough, I really was looking forward to using my PDA (when I finally got one) for remote net access, and surprisingly I haven't gotten around to securing the required parts (wireless CF or otherwise) so I can't comment. However, there is a nice browser included and I've tinkered with the LAN and email setup, so it comes prepared to do those things if you're inclined.
Problems I've encountered:
Now the griping starts, and I have had some annoyances with the Zaurus. Most of these have to do with memory issues. If any apps are loaded to the device (such as games) rather than installed onto a card, for instance, you can kiss performance goodbye. I had an extremely frustrating time with the device after loading 2 downloaded games onto it. It developed a tendency to completely lock up (no response whatsoever) or just refused to load applications. Mind you, I was't trying to RUN games and, say, Hancom Word at the same time - just having the external apps loaded onto the device at all seemed to overwhelm its capacity. (I read another review here indicating that someone had to wait 20 minutes for a 1Meg+ PDF file to load, and I confess I never waited that long. But, I wasn't trying to load a huge file either.) It simply didn't open the app. Running a ps command in the terminal window, however, revealed that as far as the Zaurus was concerned, Word was in fact running! It just wasn't displaying! No error, no message, just nothing. When the device locks up, the only way I can get it back is to toggle the battery/normal switch on the backside which causes it to reboot next time you start it. (This has actually only happened once so far.)
I've encountered many instances of problems with performance, although I've since removed the entertainment apps to a card. I seem to have frequent trouble when opening the text editor application, which again will appear to be running in the output of a ps command, and displays its icon in the task bar, but never opens for input. I find that when I reboot the Zaurus (via the shutdown command), the messages displayed as it comes back to life seem to indicate some memory inconsistencies. When accessing this shutdown command, there is a reboot option, and a polite little note informing you that "under 'normal conditions' this should never be necessary, but is included for developers...yada yada". Well, I don't know what it is that's abnormal about their text editor, but... ;)
Although this is running VERY long I should also add, that at one time I left the thing off for about 10 days while on vacation. When I tried again to turn it on, nothing. DOA. I was surprised it would exhaust its batteries when off, so I plugged it in and tried again, still nothing. It was SO dead, it had to be resuscitated via its battery charger for some time before it would operate. When I did get it to come back on..it came to life as if it was being turned on for the first time. I had to recalibrate, and reload EVERYTHING! Lesson: don't EVER let a Zaurus off its power cord for too long! :)
My summary is that Sharp has some work to do on this PDA's OS, and I hope they DO work on it and improve it, as I love my Zaurus and don't want to have to abandon it for a CE device!
:)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 349
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Epinions.com ID:
felix2k
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Reviews written: 2
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