I saw Sharp’s press release on their new Zaurus SL-C700 today, and it surely looks like a wonderful machine. Most importantly, it has go a keyboard that looks usable. Actually, I might need to try to do touch-typing on it to confirm what I have seen. It surely looks like a good replacement for my Psion Series 5mx, which I use quite often because of its keyboard. However, Psion has already quited the PDA market, and the good-old 5mx is really showing its age. I am planning to get 8011.2b around the apartment so I can blog in the bathroom – don’t think I can ever do that with 5mx.
Whereas SL-C700 runs on Xscale 400Mhz CPU with a recent Linux kernel, and a nice large screen at 640×480 @ 16bit colour. And the whole thing weights 225g, which is even lighter than 5mx. Moreover, it has a CF Type-II slot as well as a SD slot for both memory and peripheral expansion. Yum.
Besides keyboard, the other problem I see is its battery life, which is rated at less than 5 hours. It’s a bit of shame comparing with 20+ hours on a pair of Duracell with 5mx. That also means that you need to bring the chargers where ever you go. And it will only be released in Japan first. When can I buy it in Australia, and how much it will cost (much more than average PocketPC I guess)? Uncertainty…
Ugh!! About five years ago I thought up that dual-screen form factor. Why didn’t I patent it?!?
The device looks cool. Can’t wait to see one.
Hi Scott,
Have a look at this zaurus website.
You will like it.
http://zaurus.cis92.net/html/
Hi Scott,
Did you manage to buy one yet? I’m in Melbourne and I’m waiting for local availability too.
Cheers
Neville
I know one can purchase the English version from Dynamism Inc. Does SHARP have any plans that you know of in the near future of marketing directly in the US ?
I have a much older Zaurus 5800 (non-Linux) based PDA and would need to have SHARP or Dynamism or someone move my 2MB of addresses, telephone numbers etc. into the PIM section of the SL series device in a manner in which the data would be useable.