This article is the seventh in a LinuxDevices.com series on Exploring Linux PDA Alternatives by Jerry Epplin that explores the history, status, alternative architectures, and future developments of Linux on PDAs and handheld devices. In this installment, Epplin takes a close-up look at the new Sharp Electronics Zaurus SL-5000D Linux/Java PDA developer edition, from both a user and developer point of… view. Epplin writes . . .

“With the announcement of the Sharp Zaurus SL-5000D, Linux has reached maturity as an operating system for handheld devices. The use of Linux was previously limited in production units to the Agenda Computing VR3 and the Compaq iPAQ. The VR3 is a noble effort to commercialize a Linux PDA, and the PIM applications Agenda provided have become widely used in other projects, but it has not yet gained wide acceptance, perhaps because it is relatively underpowered and does not have a color display. The handhelds.org project for the iPAQ, sponsored by Compaq, is admirably open; but it is only a sideline project — the iPAQ is shipped with a Microsoft operating system, and only a small percentage of intrepid individuals has loaded their iPAQs with Linux.”

“So the Zaurus is the first PDA from a major electronics company that uses Linux as its primary operating system. And so far, it appears that Sharp both 'gets' the open source concept and is serious and committed to advancing it in the Zaurus. As we shall see, Sharp has put considerable effort into implementing and documenting the Zaurus, including the process of developing software for it. It's not surprising that Sharp, as an established manufacturer, has produced a device that users will find attractive. On the other hand it is, perhaps, somewhat surprising that Sharp's new PDA will also likely appeal to a wide range of software developers, ranging from kernel hackers through Java programmers . . .”

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