bargainPDA.com has published an extensive — and very objective — review of Sharp's new upgrade to its original Zaurus Linux PDA (the SL-5600), written by a newcomer to PDA use. From the introduction . . .

“The new Zaurus SL-5600 from Sharp is a linux-based PDA with a 400MHz Intel XScale (PXA250) CPU. The street… price is currently around $500 for the SL-5600. Sharp calls these devices Personal Mobile Tools, and if it were up to me I'd call the Zaurus, say, an 'Ultra-Light Computer', but I'll use the term PDA here. The 5600 is an upgraded version of the 5500 which has been widely available for over a year, and the appearance is almost identical including the distinctive miniature keyboard which hides behind the quick button panel. The Zaurus is a very feature-rich device with plenty of power and expandability . . .

And from the conclusion . . .

The Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 is both a great PDA and in some senses “the littlest laptop”. The power of this device is remarkable, even if you choose never to explore the underlying linux OS. The bundled applications cover pretty much all the bases, and with the exception of the Media Player I found them hard to criticise. As for “the linux factor”, unless there's a specific app you want from Palm OS or Pocket PC 2002, I don't think you'll find the linux OS to be a hindrance; in fact I think you'll enjoy its stability and responsiveness. The Zaurus has not crashed or even stuttered once since I started using it; no reboots have been required.

(Thanks go to Bill Kendrick for providing this note.)

 
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