Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000 Review
By Victor Chen
May 25th, 2005
Summary
It's been a while since we've seen any innovation in the PDA scene, especially since Sony stopped selling their Clie line. With the PDA market seemingly shrinking and stagnating, Sharp has released a new versatile PDA that may change what the definition of a PDA is.
The Zaurus SL-C3000 is the latest in the line of Linux-based PDAs from Sharp. What distinguishes the Zaurus from other popular PDAs is the use of Linux as the core operating system. This allows the Zaurus to have a stable, tried and true operating system with a lot of flexibility and extensibility. In addition, Sharp packs the Zaurus SL-C3000 with the best of technologies to create a very unique product.
Full Review
Design and Features
When first handling the Zaurus, you will find that it exudes quality craftsmanship. It's extremely well built and has all the nice touches you would expect from a high-end product. Compared to contemporary PDAs, it has a bit of heft, but it feels very solid for such a compact device. It's certainly not heavy and it doesn't feel cheap. The larger design makes it easy to handle and makes the keyboard surprisingly easy to use. To give you an idea about the size, here's the Zaurus SL-C3000 next to Sony's similarly designed Clie convertible PDA.
The white finish with silver and chrome accents will likely draw iPod-esque comparisons but the device is beautiful on its own merits. Buttons, ports, and connectors are discretely labeled as to not detract from the device itself. The stylus tucks neatly beneath the device when not in use.
As you can see, it's also noticeably bigger but then again, this isn't your regular PDA.
The Zaurus SL-C3000 has a wide variety of expansion and connectivity options due to the fact that it has both SD (Secure Digital) and CF (Compact Flash) expansion slots. Additionally, both are I/O capable allowing you to use any compatible wireless adapter. This includes Wi-Fi cards, Bluetooth cards, or other types of wireless cards like the ones found in Japan. The SL-C3000 comes with SD and CF slot filler pieces to keep debris from getting inside the slots. The SL-C3000 also has a standard mini-USB port and an IR port for added connectivity options. The mini-USB port is a nice touch since it means you only need a very common mini-USB cable instead of a proprietary cable or docking unit for connectivity.
The 3.7” VGA (640x480) screen is extremely bright and razor sharp. The large screen is very easy to read in most lighting conditions except for direct sunlight. You may have some glare issues but it's definitely not the worst experience. By default, the system will default to a less bright setting when in battery mode but you can change that setting in the preferences if you don't like the default settings.
The clamshell convertible design allows you to operate the device horizontally like a mini-laptop or vertically in a more traditional PDA form factor. When converting the screen, the OS will automatically flip the orientation of the screen to match the mode you're in. In most cases, all open applications will also change their orientation to match the configuration.
Setup and Use
If you're accustomed to traditional PDAs then using the Zaurus SL-C3000 shouldn't be too difficult. Dynamism has a done a very good job converting most of the applications and system utilities to English. There are a few applications that aren't translated but chances are you'll be able to find an equivalent type of application to install that's localized to English. Many of the mini applications pre-loaded on the unit are equivalent of the typical applications you would expect. You have a word processor, spreadsheet, video player, music player, image viewing application, mail application, and web browser among the more common pre-loaded applications. I found that most of these applications were compatible with the more common Windows file types such as doc, xls, mpg, avi, and MP3. On a few occasions, some video files refused to play but I suspect that had something to do with codec issues.
Installation and un-installation of applications is a pretty straightforward experience with the convenient application installer. I was able to install the Opera web browser on the SL-C3000 with ease. You won't be able to simply install and run all Linux applications on the device though.
The user interface is decent but definitely not as polished as Palm or Windows Mobile platforms but it's more or less self explanatory. Icons are pretty detailed and the text descriptions are crisp and easy to read. It should take a person only a few minutes to get used to it.
The QWERTY keyboard is extremely easy to use and the buttons have a pretty decent tactile response. I found that the large size of the device made it very easy to finger type pretty quickly. The navigation pad also feels good and makes getting around easy. There are the usual quick buttons to get to your most commonly used applications. Also, as a nice touch, when you flip the device into tablet mode, there's a convenient jog dial and OK and CANCEL buttons on the left side of the device. Although it was designed for right-handed writers, I still found it possible to use the jog dial when writing with my left hand.
The stylus included is relatively short but it's also thick which makes holding it and using it pretty comfortable.
To test out e-mail and web browsing abilities of the system, I installed an Ambicom CF Wi-Fi adapter in the Zaurus SL-C3000 and it simply worked. I recommend this adapter since it seems to be compatible with a wide range of devices and is relatively affordable. You still need to manually configure the device to connect to your wireless network but the included wizard makes it a few easy steps. I was able to connect to my home network and a Starbucks T-Mobile Hot Spot network without any complications.
I installed a Hitachi 4GB CF MicroDrive into the CF slot for additional storage and it was recognized just fine. One thing to note is that if you install any type of CF device into the slot that's flush with the system, you may find it extremely difficult to get the card back out since there's no eject mechanism.
The SL-C3000 can be setup as a USB hard drive and it's almost as easy as simply plugging it into your computer. However, you must set the mode on the device before you plug it in otherwise you'll get an annoying set of error messages that don't tell you what the problem is. Once setup, it shows up as a drive in your Windows Explorer and you can simply drag and drop files over.
Although the device is designed to synchronize with Outlook's mail and calendaring system, I did have some difficulty in getting it setup.
The included AC Adapter is tiny but unfortunately not exactly travel friendly. Unfortunately, it's only 100V 50/60Hz which means it's essentially restricted for Japanese power outlets (and US ones since it's within the tolerance). You'll need to find a converter if you plan to travel to countries that use 220-230V systems.
Performance
Booting up the Zaurus SL-C3000 takes about 1.5 minutes which is sort of long. However, in my experience, you will rarely ever have to completely restart the operating system. It's Linux after all. Once loaded, the system is relatively quick. Some applications take a few seconds to load since they must load off the hard disk but once in memory, it's easy to switch between the applications quickly. The applications themselves are pretty snappy themselves and respond as you would expect.
The battery life of the Zaurus is pretty impressive. Although I didn't have time to run exhaustive tests, I never had to worry about the battery. The SL-C3000 was able to play a couple GBs worth of MP3s on shuffle/repeat for nearly 12 hours with 25% battery life to spare. One thing to note is that the battery meter isn't entirely informative. The battery status is either Good or Low. There is a visual cue from the graphic of the battery but it would be nice if it could give you an estimated time remaining like most modern PDAs and laptops.
Also, the battery retains power pretty well even if not used for a period of time. While reviewing the unit, I had to take an unexpected business trip. When I returned nearly a week later, the unit was almost exactly as I left it (uncharged) and I was able to immediately use the device.
Conclusion
The lack of built-in Wi-Fi or even Bluetooth seems to be a glaring omission; however, if we remember which market this device is for it certainly makes a lot of sense since Japan uses other wireless data services. The bring-your-own-wireless option allows Sharp to give their customers more flexibility depending on their needs.
To be fair, the Zaurus SL-C3000 is more than a PDA, it's essentially a full blown computer depending on your point of view and should definitely appeal to Linux fans and advanced users looking for a more powerful and extensible PDA. First time PDA users may be better served with a Palm or Windows-based PDA since this device will be more than they'll ever need. That said, the device is pricey compared to other PDAs but it offers so much more potential than other PDAs because of its extensibility and its ability to serve as one's primary mobile solution. For the average user the Zaurus SL-C300 would rate more along a 7/10, but for those of you who are used to import products or are a Linuz power user, the SL-C3000 would rank around an 8 or higher.
For more information about the Zaurus and purchase options, visit Dynamism and if you're looking for a great resource for the Zaurus line of products then you'll want to visit the Zaurus Users Group.
Pros:
- A very versatile device
- Well built and very stylish
- Good battery life
- Built on the Linux operating system
- Supports various memory cards
Cons:
- Lacks integrated WiFi or Bluetooth
- Can be difficult to setup with Microsoft Outlook
- Inaccurate battery meter
Specs
Specifications:
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Display: 3.7" TFT CG Silicon display color LCD, 64,000 colors. Semi-transmissive, backlit. VGA resolution: 640 x 480 pixels. Battery 1800mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable. Uses battery EA-BL11. Performance: Intel PXA270 416 MHz XScale processor. 64 megs of RAM, 4 gig Hitachi microdrive and 16 megs NAND ROM. Size: 4.9 x 3.4 x 1.0 inches (124 x 87 x 25mm). Weight: 10.5 ounces (298 grams). Software: Lineo uLinux embedded Linux operating system. Qtopia for the GUI. Calendar, Address Book, To-Do, and Memo apps, Hancom Office suite: Word processor compatible with Word docs, spreadsheet app compatible with Excel files, NetFront v.3 web browser, E-mail program supporting POP3, SMTP, IMAP4 protocols, ImagePad image viewer and editor, Video Player (plays one flavor of MPEG4), Music Player for MP3s, Voice Recorder, Text Editor, Calculator, Clock, City Time, backup app and more. Java runtime included. Audio: Built in speaker, and 3.5mm stereo headphone jack that can also accommodate a microphone. Expansion: 1 SD (Secure Digital) slot (not SDIO). 1 CF type II slot supporting type I and II cards. IR port. |