MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Sharp Zaurus production is being terminated

ArchiMark · 01-21-2007, 08:53 PM

Hi Bob,

You may not be aware of it, but there's a very active and lively Zaurus community over at OESF.org/forums....

I've had several Z's the past few years and they were all great devices.

Especially, since unlike the MS PPC/HPC world, the Z's run Linux so there's tremendous flexibility for those that want it to customize the devices to run the way you want (not just the way MS for example wants you to use it).

Currently, I'm running 'pdaXrom' OS on it, so it is literally a little laptop that can fit in your shirt pocket.

The clamshell models do fit in your pocket, without a case.

Zaurus's sold very well in Japan the past few years as they were designed solely for the Japanese market. Unfortunately, Sharp dropped them for non-Japanese markets some years ago. But even when the non-clamshell models were sold in the US, etc, Sharp never supported them well nor had any real marketing campaign to help generate interest. So it was no surprise to me that they didn't do well here at the time.

However, since the Zauruses ran Linux, could be reflashed with new OS, and still had English language option in them, this provided a great opportunity for those interested, to get one and use it outside of Japan, without Sharp support.

So given the fact that there are a lot of Zaurus owners out there around the world using them, without manufacturer support is a testament to how great the Z's actually are.

The only thing I felt lacking in the recent Z's was built-in wifi support. However, I use a CF WiFi card or a CF ethernet card so this hasn't really been that much of an issue.

Obviously, the keyboard was not as good as the Jornada 720 since the Zaurus is about half the size of the 720...so how could it be??

However, I've found that for short amount of typing the keyboard is surprisingly good. If you want to do more extensive typing you can add a USB external keyboard.

If you or others want to see what you can really do with a Zaurus check out this website....

http://www.users.on.net/~hluc/myZaurus/

You'll be surprised....

Here's to the Z's.....

Mark

01-21-2007, 08:53 PM	#5
ArchiMark Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2007 Device: Zaurus SL-C3200	I've Got Z.... Hi Bob, You may not be aware of it, but there's a very active and lively Zaurus community over at OESF.org/forums.... I've had several Z's the past few years and they were all great devices. Especially, since unlike the MS PPC/HPC world, the Z's run Linux so there's tremendous flexibility for those that want it to customize the devices to run the way you want (not just the way MS for example wants you to use it). Currently, I'm running 'pdaXrom' OS on it, so it is literally a little laptop that can fit in your shirt pocket. The clamshell models do fit in your pocket, without a case. Zaurus's sold very well in Japan the past few years as they were designed solely for the Japanese market. Unfortunately, Sharp dropped them for non-Japanese markets some years ago. But even when the non-clamshell models were sold in the US, etc, Sharp never supported them well nor had any real marketing campaign to help generate interest. So it was no surprise to me that they didn't do well here at the time. However, since the Zauruses ran Linux, could be reflashed with new OS, and still had English language option in them, this provided a great opportunity for those interested, to get one and use it outside of Japan, without Sharp support. So given the fact that there are a lot of Zaurus owners out there around the world using them, without manufacturer support is a testament to how great the Z's actually are. The only thing I felt lacking in the recent Z's was built-in wifi support. However, I use a CF WiFi card or a CF ethernet card so this hasn't really been that much of an issue. Obviously, the keyboard was not as good as the Jornada 720 since the Zaurus is about half the size of the 720...so how could it be?? However, I've found that for short amount of typing the keyboard is surprisingly good. If you want to do more extensive typing you can add a USB external keyboard. If you or others want to see what you can really do with a Zaurus check out this website.... http://www.users.on.net/~hluc/myZaurus/ You'll be surprised.... Here's to the Z's..... Mark