Sharp Electronics Zaurus SL-5600 Specs
| Processor Speed: | 390.6 MHz |
sharp's latest pda, the sharp zaurus sl-5600 ($500 street), delivers enterprise-appealing enhancements to its predecessor, the sharp zaurus sl-5500. this includes twice the battery life, a 400-mhz intel xscale processor versus the sl-5500's 206-mhz intel strongarm processor, and expanded and reconfigured storage with 32mb of sdram and 64mb of flash rom versus 64mb of sdram and 16mb of flash rom in the sl-5500.
these enhancements help make the sl-5600 an attractive package for enterprises that want to deploy high-performance pdas with custom linux applications. the sl-5600 runs on a linux 2.4 and java platform and has trolltech's qtopia interface. the integrated qwerty keyboard and 64k color, front-lit, 240-by-320-resolution, reflective tft display along with the compactflash (cf) type ii and secure digital/multimediacard (sd/mmc) expansion slots, voice recorder, and comprehensive software bundle sweeten the deal even further.
the biggest advantage the sl-5600 has over pocket pc and palm os pdas is its linux- and java-centricity. it is a well-equipped pda on its own, but its real strength is as a platform for custom enterprise or third-party applications. the reconfigured memory architecture, with a greater proportion of protected flash memory, means that custom applications and enterprise data will be secure even if the battery is completely drained.
the 8-ounce, 5.4- by 3.0- by 1.0-inch (hwd) sl-5600 has a hard plastic flip lid, which is a good idea, but the slightest movement detaches it. the pda's controls are well marked with icons and text, but the lack of side-panel controls inhibits one-handed operation. with the keyboard panel open, the sl-5600's weight is well balanced for two-thumb keying.
the pda's removable, rechargeable battery can boost productivity. sharp claims 10 hours of typical pda use with the front light turned off or 2 hours of continuous multimedia playback with the front light turned on. you can charge the sl-5600 via its docking station, or directly with the included ac adapter. a spare rechargeable battery ($90) is a good investment.
the sl-5600's interface is a pleasure to navigate with its legible fonts and graphics. it resembles the pocket pc os more than palm os. some will despair over the dearth of third-party linux pda applications, but the sl-5600's software bundle leaves few holes for the mobile workforce. the proprietary applications include a pim that synchronizes with microsoft outlook, e-mail with attachments, imagepad for viewing digital images, a media player for playing video and music files via the stereo headphone jack, a calculator, and seven games. the package also includes opera software's opera browser and hancomlinux's hancom mobile word, hancom mobile sheet, and hancom mobile presenter for viewing and editing microsoft word, excel, and powerpoint files respectively.
the display looked good indoors and in direct sunlight, and the wireless connection to our lan via a d-link dcf-650w 802.11b cf card adapter worked well. sharp mobile services (www.myzaurus.com) offers cellular, broadband, and multimedia wireless service plans.
the sharp zaurus sl-5600's power, versatility, and design prove that a pda doesn't have to run pocket pc 2002 or the latest palm os to meet the mobile information needs of enterprises.