Just read details on the upcoming Sharp Zaurus SL-5600:
and
As a long-time PocketPC user (and even a profitable "commerical" developer for PocketPC), I'm actually thinking of switching and I thought it might be an interesting discussion to have about the pros and cons of such a switch. I'm of course assuming I can't afford a new PocketPC as well as the Zaurus, so...
The previous model, the SL-5500, was interesting to me because of the two slots (SD and CF) and the keyboard. Those were the biggest points in it's favor for me. But it had one big disadvantage: no built-in speaker (just a cheesy piezo element for blips and beeps).
The 5600 keeps the dual slots and keyboard and adds a real speaker (and microphone? Not sure if the 5500 had that already) as well as a much larger battery (biggest of any PDA I think out-of-the-box) plus more memory (and it's flash-ROM too).
The screen of the 5500 is comperable to most PocketPC's save the iPaq 39xx and seems to be lit pretty well (not like the e740 for example that has dim spots because of how it's lit). The 5600 now has a 400MHz XScale in it too.
The price is supposed to be around the $500-$600 mark, so it's comperable with most high-end PDA's out now.
Of course, it runs Linux, but to me that's not a huge advantage (a bit more flexible in theory I suppose). I haven't done a ton of research to see how much software there is available for the 5500 yet, but I do know that the software that comes with it seems to be a better collection than any PocketPC currently out there.
What does everyone else think? Naturally, if we're on this site we're probably a PocketPC fan, I certainly am. But this device seems to really have everything I'd ever want (except for built-in wireless, but that's less important with two slots) and I'm definitely considering switching.
Thoughts?
That's about all I know about Linux PDAs.
