Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
74 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent PDA, but with some "oddities", April 3, 2004
OK, so the screen on this thing is magnificent, absolutely unbelievable. The ability to rotate it to landscape mode really makes web browsing a practical reality for a PDA, and that's a BIG first ! The WIFI card is ridiculously simple to set up and works just peachy. I had mine up and synching with Outlook 2003 15 minutes after the battery was charged. Built-in software is quite good, and very complete. Some of the 3rd party applications I had on my SL-5600 wouldn't run, but the ClearSky program I use to control my telescope ran just fine.I was initially concerned about the ability to run the DVD movies I had ported to my SL-5600 as they acted extremely "weird", but if you click/hold the Media Player icon and specify to run in magnified mode, they work spectacularly. But leave it to Sharp, other connections are definitely non-standard. Even the stinking headphone jack is a 2.5mm stereo instead of the 3.5mm jack that every known set of headphones on the planet uses. There are adaptors available (for the Treo which it seems also uses this bizarre choice) but you have to buy them separately. The built-in USB port uses some kind of cable that only exists in the outer reaches of Latvia, so I can't testify as to the value of that port. On the other hand, it is extremely well made and is far more "rugged" than the earlier SL 5xxx series. It's also a bit LARGER. Unless you're the size of the Incredible Hulk, you're unlikely to have pockets that will accomodate this sucker. The "up" side to this is that it really is a laptop (or at least a sub-notebook) replacement. Superb battery life, excellent recoverability features, geeky enough for the propeller beanie crowd, but absolutely tame for those that just want the ultimate PDA and wouldn't know a ROM from a bowl of cornflakes. So what the heck, take the plunge and live a little. The screen alone makes this thing worth the price.
|
|
|
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sharp Zaurus 6000L, October 29, 2004
I jsut received this yesterday and here's my first impression.
I've been using a Sharp Zaurus since the pre-release 5000D. I've had a 5500 for 3 years and I've loved it. I like having a handheld computer vs. a PDA. I have a Treo 600 so I've gotten very familiar with the Palm OS. Hey, it's ok but it's not Linux. I had a Psion 5mx which I loved and used for years. As for Windows devices, forget it. With all the fun I have had with Microsoft operating systems on my computers over the years, I have no desire to wrestle with a scaled down version of bloat and the Blue Screen of Death.
The 6000L has a gorgeous 480 x 640 display. It is beautiful. The best I've ever seen on a handheld, bar none.
One of the biggest attractions of the 6000L for me is it's ruggedization. I'm hard on things. I drop things a lot and I work in a factory, all hard edges and lots of places to get hurt. I've taken out my 5500 at work and my hands have lost their grip and voila! flying Zaurus. It's survived, but I think I'm better off with something a bit more robust. The 6000L seems sturdier and that is what I need. I will put it to the test.
I took the 128 mb SD card and the 128 mb CF card from my 5500 and put them in the 6000L. I will probably replace the CF card with something larger. I use the CF card strictly for storage and file transfer.
People complain about the PIM functionality of the Zaurus apps. I find them perfectly suited to my needs. The Hancom apps included work extremely well with MS Office apps.
Just one complaint so far, directed at Sharp. Hey, Sharp, are you listening? How about a Linux version of the PC applications? It seems silly to have a Linux handheld and not include Linux apps to sync and transfer files.
My first impression is I love the 6000L. The apps are great, I can use a lot of things from the 5500 on the 6000L. I haven't had a chance to test the wireless yet, but I will soon. I expect it to be solid and reliable. Solid reliability is something I've come to expect from the Zaurus and Linux.
|
|
|
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gread product, little support, May 18, 2004
By A Customer
First of all, don't buy this product if you want a "polished" PDA with lots of commercial apps to choose from - stick with a Palm or PocketPC.With that out of the way, this is by far the best handheld computer I've ever owned. I stress the word "computer" because this can do everything my laptop can do. The big screen is the most gorgeous PDA screen I have ever seen. It's even better than the imported Japanese Zauruses. It has bright vivid colors, the backlight can be used as a flashlight in a dark room, AND it is totally usable outdoors in direct sunlight. Believe me, this a rare combination! The 640x480 screen, switchable "on-the-fly" at the touch of a button between landscape and portrait mode makes it incredible versatile for web surfing and editing documents. The pull-down thumbboard is plenty usable for short writing tasks, if you want to do more you can get an external keyboard that connects via infrared. Built in WiFi, built in USB host, CF and SD slots, the feature list goes on and on. The biggest downside is that Sharp has essentially decided to stop supporting the consumer market in the US. So there aren't a lot of official resources. Fortunately, there are websites like www.zaurususergroup.com that fill in the gap. Over there you'll find an active community that can help you get the most out of your Zaurus. Since most of the basic software is open source (Linux, Qtopia, etc) it's easy to customize and develop for, and compatible with many other Linux applications. You can even install X-windows. Bottom line, if you want the most powerful handheld device ever made, and you aren't afraid of rolling up your sleeves and figuring a few things out for yourself, this device will do more than you can imagine was possible from a PDA.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
