Sharp has introduced a new model in its Zaurus line of Linux PDAs. The SL-C1000 is similar to the SL-C3000, but without an internal harddrive. As with previous Japan-only Zaurus models, the SL-C1000 will be available with internationalization features from a number of global resellers.

(Click for larger view of SL-C1000)

The SL-C1000 is based on a 416MHz Intel PXA270 processor. It boots from 128MB of Flash, and includes 64MB of RAM. The 3.7-inch color VGA touchscreen (640 x 480) supports 65K colors. The keyboard uses a stardard QWERTY layout.

The SL-C1000 includes memory slots for SD/MMC cards, as well as for CompactFlash cards. Additional I/O includes IrDA, USB, and LAN ports. It measures 4.9 x 3.4 x 1 inches (124 x 87 x 25mm), and weighs 10 oz (278 grams).

On the software side, the SL-C1000 runs Lineo Solutions uLinux, according to Sharp. It includes the NetFront 3.1 web browser that supports SSL/TSL, javascript 1.5, cookies, CSS, XHTML/HTML, and other advanced Web features. It also includes a QPdf viewer, Hancom MobileWord and MobileSheet, Outlook and Palmdesktop synchronization software, Qtopia PIMs (personal information manager) software (which was recently released under an open source license), and multimedia playback software for MPEG-4, MP3, and WMV files.

Dr. H. Nicholas Schaller, who started a project to build a Macintosh-oriented firmware environment for the Zaurus, notes, “Although sold by Sharp in Japan only, several companies [have] already announced [plans] to import these devices [into] Europe and the US, handling all the duties and warranties, FCC and CE approvals, adapting the device to English, and providing a manual and local power supply.”

Shaller lists Handheld Linux, TriSoft, and Dynamism among possible sources for the SL-C1000.

Schaller adds, “Sharp is continuing to develop Linux based PDAs, and they will be made available all over the world because there is apparently demand. And although development support by Sharp has been reduced dramatically, there is a very lively user group at ZaurusUserGroup.org developing alternate ROMs, like pdaXrom or OpenZaurus.”

The Zaurus User Group recently expanded its focus to include other Linux embedded platforms in addition to the Zaurus.

 
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