The Sharp Zaurus -- A Lovely Little Computer
by Simson Garfinkel05/23/2002
Editor's Note: The Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 retails for $499. This new GNU/Linux-based PDA is making a splash in the open source community, and we recently asked Simson Garfinkel to take it for a spin and give us his opinion of the device. Simson is the author of Web Security, Privacy & Commerce, 2nd Edition, Database Nation, and co-author of the recently-released Building Cocoa Applications: A Step- by-Step Guide.
With its GNU/Linux-based operating system and applications, Sharp's new Zaurus SL-5500 palmtop computer is turning heads in the open source community. Powered by the Qtopia desktop from Trolltech (the makers of Qt), this is a handheld that's equally at home viewing Web pages with its Opera Web browser, running enterprise C++ and Java applications, or managing your contacts. For people and companies who are used to programming desktop computers, the SL-5500 provides an easy way to get those programs into your pocket and on the road.
But while it's tempting to focus on the SL-5500's open source roots, doing so actually does a disservice to this machine. The SL-5500 is completely usable by folks who don't care that they can get at this computer's source code. For them, the real strength of the SL-5500 is not its software, but its hardware.
The SL-5500 is the sort of PDA that James Bond would use: although it looks small and unassuming at first, each side opens up, slides away, or unfolds to reveal capabilities that are both unique and useful.
Starting with its face, the SL-5500 has a brilliant 65,536-color reflective LCD screen that is equally visible in total darkness, dim light, room light, and in direct sunlight. The screen is protected by a frosted polycarbonate visor that flips up or detaches. Directly beneath the screen are two LEDs: one indicates charging, the other blinks to indicate that you have mail, part of the SL-5500's expected wireless Internet service.
Beneath these indicators are the now-standard complement of PDA buttons that bring up the calendar, contacts book, menu, email, and applications browser. There's also a circular "cursor button" that lets you steer up/down/left/right, an OK button, and buttons labeled "On/Off" and "Cancel."
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Like other handhelds, the SL-5500 has a touch-sensitive screen you can use for launching applications, clicking menus, and entering text using either an onscreen keyboard or handwriting recognition. Or, you can be like James Bond and pull down on the sides of the SL-5500, which causes the PDA to open up and reveal a 37-key QWERTY keyboard that's reminiscent of RIM's BlackBerry.
Along the top edge of the SL-5500 you'll find a headphone jack (this device can play MP3s and MPEG-1 Videos), a hole for the stylus, a hole for a handstrap, and a full-size compact flash (CF) socket, meaning you can put a gigabyte of storage on the thing using the IBM Microdrive. The left edge has an infrared port and a slot for an SD card.
The bottom edge has a "Sharp I/O Port" (used for the docking station) and a power jack (so you can charge it without docking). And the back panel opens up to reveal the replaceable Lithium-ion battery, which means you can pack extra power for those camping trips. (Unfortunately, you'll need it: the 950 mAh battery only supports one hour of continuous use with the back light turned on, or 10 hours of 'typical' use with the back light turned off, according to Sharp.)
Compared with a Compaq iPAQ3800-series, the SL-5500 is half an ounce heavier (7.4 vs. 6.8), and both taller and thinner. (The SL-5500 is 2.875" x 5.6" x 0.825"; the iPAQ is 3.25 x 5.25 x 0.62). Powered by the Intel StrongARM 206Mhz processor (the same as the iPAQ), the SL-5500 comes with 64MB of RAM that's divided into 32MB of scratchpad and a 32MB RAM disk. Integrated software allows you to back up the system to compact flash or the SD slot.
All in all, the hardware is super cool -- the only significant flaw is the tiny plastic door that covers the Sharp I/O Port, a door which must be manually opened when you drop the SL-5500 into its cradle and manually closed when you take it out. Where the Zaurus falls down, ironically, is with its software.
The SL-5500 is very Linux-like: it's got a ton of cool features, but they are poorly integrated. What's worse, many of the advances in usability developed over the years on other platforms are simply missing from the SL-5500. It's as if this machine's developers spent their time studying photographs and screenshots of existing products, rather than actually using them.
To be sure, the SL-5500 comes with a lot of built in applications -- more than two dozen (see Table 1). You can access them by clicking the "home" button that's over the cursor key. You can also get an application menu by clicking the Trolltech logo in the lower left-hand corner, which functions like the "start" menu in Microsoft Windows. It all looks familiar, but it's subtly different.
For example, the Qtopia "start" menu is somewhat buggy -- although you can click on the menu, drag to the application that you want, and release, the menu doesn't work properly if you are in the habit of selecting each submenu with its own click. Presumably, click-dragging is the method the developers used, and they never bothered to adequately test the other gesture.
Similarly, if you click the calendar button on a computer running PalmOS, the calendar immediately opens to show today's appointments: press the button again, and you'll cycle through views of the current week, the current month, and so on. Likewise, repeatedly pressing the Calendar button on the SL-5500 causes the Calendar application to cycle through the day, week and month views -- but the developers forgot the critical step of instructing the application to show the view for the current date. As a result, when you click the Calendar button, you need to manually check the to make sure that the Zaurus is actually displaying today, as opposed to next week. (Even worse, there is no "today" button --- you have to choose the "today" command from the "View" menu.)
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Related Reading 
Building Cocoa Applications: A Step by Step Guide |
Click on the calendar to make an appointment, and you'll discover another usability problem: this gesture, which is universal among calendar applications, doesn't work on the SL-5500. To create a calendar entry, you need to choose "New event" from the "Data" menu. Similar usability problems permeate the companion Qtopia desktop that runs on Windows-based PCs. Fortunately, since this is an open source system, it will probably get better.
Sharp says that all of these usability problems are being addressed, and to be fair, there are already some applications available for download from SourceForge that overcome these missteps.
I hope they can fix the SL-5500's on/off problems as well: although you can turn on a PalmOS-based computer or a PocketPC by pressing any of the special buttons on the bottom, the only way to turn on the SL-5500 is by pressing and holding the On/Off button along the bottom. Sharp told me this behavior is so that the computer doesn't accidentally turn on in your pocket. I think there should be a better way.
Like PalmOS- and PocketPC-based systems, the SL-5500 comes with a cradle that does double-duty for both charging and synchronization. The cradle connects to a Windows-based PC over a USB port. But here the similarity ends. Whereas other PDAs open up a serial connection between the desktop and the PDA, the SL-5500 actually runs TCP/IP over the network, using a proprietary version of PPP that Sharp developed to run over a USB bus -- a brilliant move on Sharp's part.
Using TCP/IP for sync means that the SL-5500 is equally at home syncing over USB, Ethernet, or an 802.11 wireless LAN. (In fact, the Linux OS includes built-in drivers for the most popular 802.11 CF cards.) It also means you can do a lot more than just sync your Zaurus over the USB.
You can browse the Web using its built-in Opera browser. You can transfer files with "ftp," or log into remote systems with "telnet" (the Zaurus doesn't come with ssh and scp pre-loaded, but you can download them.) In theory, Sharp should be able to further capitalize on its use of TCP/IP and the open source Qtopia desktop, and support people using Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, and other operating systems. Perhaps one day -- but for now, Sharp only supports Windows, at least officially.
In my testing, getting the SL-5500 to sync with either Outlook or the Qtopia Windows desktop was not difficult, although the Qtopia Desktop has usability problems similar to those with the handheld environment. My only problem happened when I installed it on Windows XP and ran afoul of XP's built-in firewall: unless you disable the firewall, the USB-based TCP/IP doesn't work.
Looking forward, Sharp needs to push Trolltech to improve the usability of the underlying software. Sharp should also add a USB hub to the Zaurus so it could be used with external keyboards, like the Happy Hacker, as well as other USB devices like cameras, printers, and camcorders.
Sharp is firmly pitching the SL-5500 as a mobile organizer. But it's important to remember that this computer is more powerful than most desktops were just a few years ago. With its ease of application development and deployment, I expect the SL-5500 to become a favorite at universities and among the open source elite.
Table 1: Built in SL-5500 Applications |
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Applications |
Address Book |
Games |
Asteroids |
Insignia Jeode Java Runtime |
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Control Panes |
Add/Remove Software |
Simson Garfinkel is a developer with 24 years of programming experience, the author or coauthor of 14 books, an entrepreneur, and a journalist. He is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of Sandstorm Enterprises, a Boston-based firm that develops state-of-the-art computer security tools.
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Showing messages 1 through 23 of 23.
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Viva Zaurus!
2003-06-19 05:27:09 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
I picked up a recertified one for $199 at TigerDirect.com. Downloaded all of the developer support, and am hapily designing software for this great machine using C++! It will be easy to port the legacy Borland C++ code for the free TheQuoteForToday.com tool to this fantastic machine. Tons of free software available at myzaurus.com, even a version of Quake! With Qt, you can develop software for Linux, Windows, and the Zaurus all at the same time. Talk about value!
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About sharp zaurus SL-5500
2003-04-02 06:13:55 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
We sell many GPS products in Sweden.
We sell Holux Differents products .
We needed a pocket PC with CF cards slot and
when we read so many article about Sharp zaurus SL-5500 our head turned and we ordered one.
read our problem below:
Hello
I just bought sharp zaurus sl-5500
because it has CF acrds slote and
we sell GPS products in Sweden.
We are selling Holux GM270 gps reciever with CF card for pocket PAD
I tryed all I can but it seams that it is impossible to transfer
GPS software and GPS map software to sharp zaurus SL-5500
The GPS software format is: .exe
The GPS MAP format of : .fdp and compatible with windows CE 3.0 or later
Can you advice me what to do.
Your promt answer is very appreciated
Guillaume
e-mail: guillaume@natalie.se
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About sharp zaurus SL-5500
2004-01-17 11:34:25 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
hi i must be stupid because i cant download any apts [media player upgrades to my zaurus please help me with this ....thank you -
About sharp zaurus SL-5500
2003-11-17 14:36:09 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
The main problem is that your software is for a Windows CE device and the Zaurus is a Linux device. The operating system is completely different... -
About sharp zaurus SL-5500
2003-09-25 00:21:38 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
Hi,
I found some informations about your problem:
1st
You should run a SW which is working on your Zaurus i.e. qpeGPS [1]. This is freeware which is the whole idea behind Linux. I think you can only sell the card Holux GM270 but not the SW.
2nd
The SW can be downloded [2].
3rd
I found some further informations about your card (Holux GM270) [3]it seems that it is not running out of the box, but if you follow the link you find a nice howto.
Just my 2 cents
Regards
Dave
[1]
http://qpegps.sourceforge.net/index.html
[2]
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=55933&release_id=162987
[3]
http://qpegps.sourceforge.net/assets/gps_units/holux_gm_270.html
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This is a great product
2003-01-24 14:56:25 aleph00 [Reply | View]
I love my SL5500, it is almost everything that I want in a PDA. I agree that it has some warts on the user interface, but this should be easily remedied if trolltech would enhance QTopia. I had a problem with lack of a USB port on the first models, and was disappointed that this model did not have USB. It did not stop me from purchasing this though, and with the NetGear CF Wireless card, I was webbing and e-mailing in no time. It is not brain dead easy to set up if you are using WEP and MAC address bound to DHCP, but with about 10 minutes of fiddling it worked fine. If you don't mind having to play around to get some things to work, or if you like the idea of having a linux box in the palm of your hand, this is a great product.
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Zaurus v. Psion
2003-01-21 07:00:53 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
I had Psions for a long time. My Zaurus plays mp3 files nicely and does has far better build quality than a Psion. I am more than happy with it, and as a new convert to Linux on my desktop as well, I don't care about Windows compatability anymore.
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author is moron
2002-11-27 16:31:42 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
who would be suprised that the on/off button is the only button that turns the zaurus on? -
author is moron
2004-01-12 10:01:22 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
I second that motion - but not as harshly !
I like the on/off delay because as Sharp said, it would otherwise be turning itself on in your pocket. I've owed a palm pilot and pulled it out of my pocket with near dead batteries because it bumped a button on something.
Very happy with my Zaurus and I sync it to a Windows 2000 laptop at work via Outlook 2000 and my SuSE 8.2 Linux machine at home via Qtopia-desktop.
It's out of internal memory due to all the software I've downloaded off the internet. I've got a 256Mb SDRAM card nearly full and a 128 Mb CF card full too. It's like a tiny laptop for me. I use a wireless card in it too. I need a 512Mb SDRAM so I can have some free space again.
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Support for Opera
2002-11-13 23:14:17 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
Dear Sir/Madam,
Email-Id : iyappa2000@yahoo.com
I am Manikandan here. I am working as a web developer in India. I am using an emulator (qtopia) for sharp Zaurus. But I dont have opera browser support inside that. Please help me out to get a opera browser support for the qtopia .Otherwise please tell me a emulator name which is based on zaurus 5500 and with opera browser support.
If possible please send me the User-Agent for Zaurus 5500.
I had already tested my application for a PDA (POCKET PC) for windows environment with Pocket IE.
Please respond quickly.
Thanx & Regards
Manikandan
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Support for Opera
2002-11-13 23:13:45 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Manikandan here. I am working as a web developer in India. I am using an emulator (qtopia) for sharp Zaurus. But I dont have opera browser support inside that. Please help me out to get a opera browser support for the qtopia .Otherwise please tell me a emulator name which is based on zaurus 5500 and with opera browser support.
If possible please send me the User-Agent for Zaurus 5500.
I had already tested my application for a PDA (POCKET PC) for windows environment with Pocket IE.
Please respond quickly.
Thanx & Regards
Manikandan
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These are great! Any Linux d00d will love it!
2002-09-19 16:53:34 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
09/19/2002
Yes, the linux installation is somewhat peculier, but remember what it is running on. Anybody who likes Linux will love this gadget! New ROM updates and kernel patches make linking to a linux desktop as simple a putting it in the cradle. New hotplug services for Linux will automatically bring up a USB->Ethernet connection to the Zaurus. These are _very_ cool. If you never had a PDA before (like me) you will just get used to it quickly and really like it. Stick a 256Mb SD card into it and it is ready to rock and roll! The new ROM fixes almost all problems with the device! These are very tiny full-blown Linux servers disgised as a PDA, they make Palm's and iPaq's look seem like toys. Remember you can actually write your own programs for this guy, unlike Palm or WindowsCE devices. Seems very polished and extremely functional. I already love this little gadget and it is proving to be much more useful that I actually expected. Nuff said.
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Sync
2002-08-19 04:24:30 smashcam [Reply | View]
The only problem is the sync to a Linux system using Evolution E-mail with the addon to talk to Exchange2000. If you run a Micro$oft system you have the sync to outlook that inturn can sysnc to the Exchange server but try to have it sync to a Linux Box using the USB -> Evolution! not done yet?
Why? As for the usage of this fine Zaurus5500 --> Outstanding! I have a Wireless Network and it works fine! all the tools that it comes with... Number one! The CompactFlash card and the SD_Card! at the same time! WOW. Someone came to me and needed to use a Overhead that uses the CompF. they had a Job on a SDcard. I could use my Zaurus to move the Data from on over to the other in no time! I can also check a network using the Terminal. This is the Best PDA on the shelf!
Why pay for what you can get for FREE!! use LINUX
SmashCam
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This baby ROCKS!!!
2002-06-11 22:12:26 technocat [Reply | View]
I plan on making it my mobil conrol center using 802.11b :) I want to either learn to write or get a project started to write a virtual screen app, so I can control apps on my desktop or laptop, from the Z . The driving force behind this, aside from it would be truely "nifty" is to be able to use my Earthmate GPS and Delrome dsoftware on the laptop, in a small Z scaled window with a strealined, "Only When Needed " interface, hewnce known as "OWheN" would be a Truely transparent interface that is called up when the screen is taped or the curser pad is used. It will be equaly at home in Page AND Landscape mode hence known as "PAGE" and "LAND"
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I love mine...
2002-06-05 10:46:44 wegrzyn [Reply | View]
It is a very nice device...and with open source software what more could you ask for? And I'm planning NetHack on it...with out change@!
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Calendar Day
2002-06-03 09:18:31 mrlinux [Reply | View]
I think the leaving of the calendar in the place I last left it is better than having to always having to go back to the day I was scsheduling stuff. My only issue so far is with the text editor
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"Start" Menu
2002-06-01 15:58:34 miketa [Reply | View]
My 5500 quite happily works its start menu using one "click" per level - nop dragging needed.
Mike
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Zaurus FAQ
2002-05-24 11:52:08 bkendrick [Reply | View]
I've had a Zaurus since December, and have been participating in the online community ever since. It's been great. For those who haven't seen it yet, I also maintain the Unofficial Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 FAQ, which is a collection from the mailing lists and user submissions.
http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/zaurus-faq/
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German version seems to have less problems
2002-05-24 06:03:52 rasch [Reply | View]
I have the german version of the Zaurus 5500. I have not the problems with the start-menu and with the calendar. In the start-menu clicking on every submenu works. After pressing the calendar button the calendar starts with the day-view showing today. -
German version seems to have less problems
2004-01-12 10:07:36 anonymous2 [Reply | View]
There really isn't a start menu problem.
I've had the same thing the author spoke of happen.
The solution is to QUICKLY tap your menu selections.
Don't let the pen sit on the menu while the submenu pops up. If you do, the Zaurus will select the item you lifted the pen from.
The drivers are for windows 2000 not working well with XP.