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Everything Else => Sharp Zaurus => Model Specific Forums => Distros, Development, and Model Specific Forums => Archived Forums => C1000/3x00 General discussions => Topic started by: fordprefect on March 02, 2005, 09:35:09 am

Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: fordprefect on March 02, 2005, 09:35:09 am
Hi guys,

I noticed that the 6GB iPods came out recently.
Also heard a rumour in another thread
that there might be a new Zaurus in March...

Putting 2 and 2 together, how about a C3000
with 6GB microdrive (C3100?)

Would be a trivial upgrade for Sharp's
engineers  to implement.

Could be an interim model that comes out before the
big upgrade to the pre-announced (?) 8-10GB microdrives
later this year. I'm hoping for a smaller C3000
(Don't like to see the size progressively creeping up)
and more RAM, but I don't have my hopes set too
high  

What do you all think? What would you like to see in
a new model clamshell Zaurus?

Cheers,

Ford
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: asden on March 02, 2005, 09:44:22 am
iPods are already out with 40GB versions - where are the PDA-type devices with that kind of capacity?

No idea what I'd use it for!  But hey, if you're going to wish, wish big.  I'd find a use for it!

Also, different colors.   White is.. ok.  At least its not pink.

A real USB port.. not the mini "A" style.
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: fordprefect on March 02, 2005, 10:02:57 am
Hi,

In case it wasn't clear, I meant the new iPod *mini*.
As I understand it, Apple use the 6GB Hitachi microdrive.

The C3000 and the older model iPod mini both use the
4GB microdrive.

I see no reason why you couldn't put a larger iPod sized drive
in a device like a Zaurus. I bet it feels like you're carrying
a brick in your pocket though! The Z has the extra weight of
the keyboard and screen to worry about.

I guess we'll just have to wait for those newer microdrive sized
drives ;-)

Cheers,

Ford
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: nilch on March 02, 2005, 10:21:15 am
I dont see how a jump from the 4GB to 6GB Zaurus can be an attractive update at all for anyone - nothing that a GB capacity CF card cant solve.

I would love to see primarily - a biggger 4" screen (the screen of the 6000) and secondarily, built in Wifi. Of course the USB host functionality should be there as is...
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: kahm on March 07, 2005, 08:07:49 pm
Quote
I dont see how a jump from the 4GB to 6GB Zaurus can be an attractive update at all for anyone - nothing that a GB capacity CF card cant solve.

I would love to see primarily - a biggger 4" screen (the screen of the 6000) and secondarily, built in Wifi. Of course the USB host functionality should be there as is...
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=69107\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

It isn't a very attractive update, but for people buying new ones I sure know which one I'd pick  And from an engineering perspective you can't get a simpler upgrade than changing the CF hard drive. There really isn't a reason for Sharp *not* to do it, save for potential cost difference.

I wouldn't want a bigger screen. The device is quite big enough as is. A 3.7" transreflective screen like the 6000, on the other hand...

Oh...and wifi. And a faster processor, and more memory...

None of which are necessarily trivial.
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: d.maddock1 on March 07, 2005, 08:40:28 pm
Given the lineage of the cXXX series, I wouldn't be surprised by a rather trivial upgrade.  After all, they put a lot of effort into the c760 -> c860 "upgrade".
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: Joshp on March 07, 2005, 08:59:31 pm
Ok a little off topic, but could you take the 6gb hard drive out of the ipod mini and put it in the sl-c3000?

JP
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: kahm on March 08, 2005, 04:37:17 pm
Quote
Ok a little off topic, but could you take the 6gb hard drive out of the ipod mini and put it in the sl-c3000?

JP
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=69705\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I was going to say "no, you can't", but then I realized that I don't know which profile the Z hard drive connector uses.

You will be able to buy a 6gb card off the shelf and use it with no issues, because those cards support both "memory" and "hard drive" access types.

The one in the iPod mini itself is restricted to a "hard drive" access type, precisely because people were buying them and stripping the hard drive out of them. Now, if the internal HD connection in the Z is using the "hard drive" type, then you would be able to use the iPod drive in the internal Z CF connector, but not the external CF slot.

Most likely the Z is using the "memory" profile for both connectors and the iPod drive won't work. So it is still "Probably not, and we probably won't be able to find out till someone actually tries."

Has anyone ever actually tried switching the 3000's hard drive for a different card? there was the one photo on the net early on but it was just a physical test for fit rather than trying to boot the Z from it.
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: adf on March 08, 2005, 04:57:43 pm
On the speculation issue. I bet it is a bigger microdrive that makes up the upgrade.  I would sure be happier if it was a bigger screen, faster 270, more ram, and a second cf, with NO microdrive at all.

Just my .02
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: tumnus on March 08, 2005, 05:14:43 pm
Quote
I was going to say "no, you can't", but then I realized that I don't know which profile the Z hard drive connector uses.
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=69804\")
It uses the second PCMCIA/CF slot, which of course is internal in the SL-3000. All Zauruses in fact have the ability to support a 2nd CF slot, just run 'cardctl ident' and you'll see it empty on all models apart from the SL-3000 and maybe a 6000 with a sled. Only the SL-3000 has the extra connector internally and I think maybe the 6000 uses this for the sled with the extra CF slot.

Quote
iPods are already out with 40GB versions - where are the PDA-type devices with that kind of capacity?
Right here: [a href=\"http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS8811342597.html]http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS8811342597.html[/url]
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: TRIsoft on March 08, 2005, 05:29:25 pm
Hi everybody,

could we please stop these rumors. Users and customers
are driving us crazy since a week now just because a dealer
in Akihabara said something weird.

Official statement from us:
There will be no (i repeat _NO_) new model in March. And
not in April nor in May. The SL-C3000 is new and there
will be no change in the next weeks.

For sure we will see a new model, as always. But not that fast.

Believe me, it's true, no SL-C3100 coming.

///TRIsoft

Marc Stephan
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: fordprefect on March 09, 2005, 07:48:35 am
Hi Marc,

Sorry to hear you're having trouble. It must be annoying
to have people bug you about possible near-term future
models, especially if you're sure they don't exist yet, and
you're trying to sell existing inventory.

For the benefit of the staff at Trisoft, I will reiterate that my
comments starting this thread are speculation only.  i.e. I have
no actual idea if a C3100 is really in the pipeline.

Incidentally, regarding your comments on there NOT being
a new model through March->May this year, I would like to
respectfully ask you:

Does Trisoft actually have an inside view of Sharp's product line up
to make such a strong statement?   ie. Is it possible that a new
model might take you guys by surprise?

Respectfully,

Ford


Quote
Hi everybody,

could we please stop these rumors. Users and customers
are driving us crazy since a week now just because a dealer
in Akihabara said something weird.

Official statement from us:
There will be no (i repeat _NO_) new model in March. And
not in April nor in May. The SL-C3000 is new and there
will be no change in the next weeks.

For sure we will see a new model, as always. But not that fast.

Believe me, it's true, no SL-C3100 coming.

///TRIsoft

Marc Stephan
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=69813\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: TRIsoft on March 09, 2005, 08:36:49 am
Ford,

i really should insert more smilys in my posts. It was in no
way meant as an offense to you.

There're always rumors about new products, but it's difficult
for us if these are posted in newsletters (like the Akihabara
dealer did). A newsletter makes everything a bit more
"official".

We're working with SHARP since 1979, so you can imagine
that in 26 years there're more than just "business contacts".
In the last 3 years we dropped all other product lines and are
focused on Zaurus only. So you can be sure that we're daily
talking with people here in Europe, in Japan and in the US to
keep up to date.

We know for sure that there's no SL-C3100 in sight. Due to
the 10 GB Microdrive announced by Hitachi we personally
expect that we will see this one in a Zaurus later (but this is
just a personal opinion).

On the other hand SHARP is reacting fast to market demands.
So it is possible that there will be something new coming in
summer. But keep in mind the SL-C760 to SL-C860 upgrade
was no hardware change at all (excluding the different color).

Conclusion: Yes, we can make the strong statement that we did  
If we have a valuable information about new products, we will
announce it here.

We're as curious as you are about new models bringing more fun
for us all (and we really have fun with the Zauris).

///TRIsoft

Marc Stephan
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: fastscirocco on March 11, 2005, 12:05:02 am
Sure looks like a new Z is here to me!

Official url http://www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/050311-a.html (http://www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/050311-a.html)

Google translated version: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=ht...Flanguage_tools (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sharp.co.jp%2Fcorporate%2Fnews%2F050311-a.html&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools)



hmm?
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: TRIsoft on March 11, 2005, 04:07:05 am
Quote
Sure looks like a new Z is here to me!

Take a look at the specs first. The SL-C1000 is not the improved
C3000. It's the successor of the SL-C860 in the Zaurus lineup.

The C1000 will be a good choice for people who are scared about
carrying a PDA with included harddrive. Also it will have the USB
host capability of the C3000, but lacking the SHARP I/O port of
the C860.

It's not possible to equip the C1000 with an internal harddisk.
So you can't upgrade the device internally.

///TRIsoft

Marc Stephan
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: entius on March 11, 2005, 10:05:14 am
But sure it is going to change market price's, and thus it could be better to wait until c3100 is out and see what happens to prices of either c3000 and c860.

Now i have doubts, i am not sure if you are or not trying to convince us to buy the future-old-models stocks. Is c3100 not going to be here neither in March nor in April? Or is the c3000 upgrade who is not coming?
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: fordprefect on March 11, 2005, 11:10:14 am
Hi all,

From the linked page the dimensions are the same as the C3000,
and the pictures clearly show it as having the C3000 direction key pad
thingie (My technical term  ). It also shares the PXA270 with its
C3000 brother. It's about 20g lighter than the C3000.

Hmmm... Looks exactly like the C3000 but with the microdrive removed.
I imagine this is what it is, perhaps with some new software.

Can anyone spot any other differences?


Ford
ps: Regarding Trisoft's comments on future models:

It seems that Marc was either dishonest, or genuinely caught with
his pants down and surprised by the new model. I'll be nice and
presume it was the later.

Regardless of the reason, his credibility in my eyes has been reduced
and I will be taking his future comments with more than a grain of salt.  

What do you have to say Marc? It's not the 6GB model we were
speculating on, but it's definately a new model - something you assured
us almost moments before it was released - wasn't coming...
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: fordprefect on March 11, 2005, 11:32:44 am
Further thoughts on the C1000:

If it is indeed the C3000 minus the microdrive, then
it's very likely that we will be able to drop in a CF card
(microdrive or otherwise) into the microdrive's internal
CF slot with some simple surgery.

i.e. For the folks who don't like the idea of using a mini
HDD (moving parts), they can still use a big CF card, but
without having to pay for the microdrive (which they
presumably don't want anyway), and without giving up
their main CF slot.

Or for the folks who are worried about cost, they can
upgrade to the microdrive later when they can afford it/
if they decide they need it after all.  


Has anyone actually swapped out the C3000's microdrive
yet? I saw some pics a while back, but was under the
impression that using a different card wasn't tested.


Anyway, doesn't look like the Zaurus line is gonna go
back to C860 sizes anytime soon. Looks like we're stuck
with the chunky C3000 form factor for the time being
*small sigh*

Cheers,

Ford
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: Streamline on March 11, 2005, 01:01:12 pm
nm I be nice
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: TRIsoft on March 11, 2005, 01:06:24 pm
Quote
ps: Regarding Trisoft's comments on future models:

It seems that Marc was either dishonest, or genuinely caught with
his pants down and surprised by the new model. I'll be nice and
presume it was the later.

Regardless of the reason, his credibility in my eyes has been reduced
and I will be taking his future comments with more than a grain of salt.  

What do you have to say Marc? It's not the 6GB model we were
speculating on, but it's definately a new model - something you assured
us almost moments before it was released - wasn't coming...
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=70237\")

*LOL*
Just checked my pants, still up  

OK, serious now:
We were talking about a successor of the C3000 in this thread, the
mysterious C3100. This is definitely _not_ coming in the next
quarter so i'm not scared too much.

The C1000 is just an upgraded C860 and we're lucky to have a
second model with a lower price and without the harddisk for
customers who really don't need this expensive overkill.

Please see our position: We can't really post informations long before
the SHARP official announcement. If we would, the guys who actually
talk with us would never tell us anything in the future (they are
browsing these forums too). On the other hand, SHARP is (like all
manufacturers) permanently doing design-studies (think about the
prototype here [a href=\"https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=10856]Zaurus mobilephone[/url]) which never hit the market.

Imagine we would've posted "SHARP brings a phone-Zaurus" and
nothing happens  

OK, conclusion: No upgraded SL-C3000 in the next time. The new one
will not be called a SL-C3100. But prepare yourself for a big surprise in
this summer  

I hope our credibility is not too bad damaged,

have fun with all the nice Zauris

///TRIsoft

Marc Stephan
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: bluedevils on March 11, 2005, 01:12:38 pm
hmmm.....I think I can wait till the summer....maybe
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: adf on March 11, 2005, 04:59:18 pm
OPENSOURCE!::cough cough::

sorry.  more hardware, however glitzy, with the same old drone software isn't much of an improvement.  This is not to say that I won't be scrutinizing the web for any and all hints about new Z's starting in May
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: iamasmith on March 11, 2005, 05:16:55 pm
BTW: If someone did want to have a go at swapping the card on a 3000 there's a rather cool 12Gb card knocking around now.... at a rather cool price of around $15,000 (+potentially the price of a hosed SL-C3000)
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: fastscirocco on March 12, 2005, 07:33:47 pm
Ok you retorted to my post with:


Quote
Quote
Sure looks like a new Z is here to me!

Take a look at the specs first. The SL-C1000 is not the improved
C3000. It's the successor of the SL-C860 in the Zaurus lineup.

The C1000 will be a good choice for people who are scared about
carrying a PDA with included harddrive. Also it will have the USB
host capability of the C3000, but lacking the SHARP I/O port of
the C860.

It's not possible to equip the C1000 with an internal harddisk.
So you can't upgrade the device internally.

///TRIsoft

Marc Stephan
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=70156\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]


When I was refering to your statement of:

Quote
Official statement from us:
There will be no (i repeat _NO_) new model in March.


A new model is a new model, so what do you say now?



Not trying to pick a fight, but I just hate it when somebody
tries to bitch slap me after I point out the facts.
Title: Speculation: 6gb C3100?
Post by: adf on March 12, 2005, 08:49:34 pm
Does make ya want to do surgery on a 1k just to bug Marc, doesn't it?  I guess, though, we have to acknowledge that vendors with busiiness models like trisoft have to play ball with sharp and hold the party line, however silly it might get sometimes. Even the speculated 1k mods are out of speculation for them. If he says "go for it" some genius is gonna buy a Z from trisoft put a soldering iron through ti, or open it with a carving knife and expect trisoft to repair or replace. This limits what he can say, and when he can say it. We should keep these limitations in mind when talking to the "vendor people"