OESF Portables Forum
Everything Else => Sharp Zaurus => Model Specific Forums => Distros, Development, and Model Specific Forums => Archived Forums => Cxx0 General discussions => Topic started by: newkirk on February 15, 2004, 06:41:14 pm
-
I\'m working up to buying an 860 this week, and hope for some information from veterans. Personally, I don\'t like posts that present several largely-unrelated questions, like this one does, but I couldn\'t see starting 5-6 new threads when most of these questions have simple answers.
The ergonomic question - With the CF slot on the right side under the keyboard, does anyone have any problems holding the unit for thumb-typing with a WiFi card sticking out??
On one vendor\'s web site, it indicated that the 860 has a built-in speaker. Is this true? My impression was that it was mute as a 5500. If it does have a speaker (but no mic) then does the speaker cut off when a microphone is plugged in? (I\'ve been enjoying writing my own xhtml launch pages for my admin job on my 5600 and using the voice control in IBM\'s Opera7 release )
All the pictures I\'ve seen I can\'t recall seeing the headphone/microphone jack. I presume it\'s next to the CF slot, since I can\'t locate a picture of that end of the unit?
Is there an internal battery to charge, or can I just put a fully charged battery from my 5600 in the 860 the instant the wrapping is off and power up?
The first thing I intend to do after powerup is NAND backup. I\'ve gathered from other threads that this requires CF, not SD. (I\'ve been spoiled by the 5600 backing up to SD I guess) However, nobody explicitly mentions whether they\'ve successfully used a microdrive for this. I have 128mb Viking CF flash, 384mb IBM CF microdrive... (and 256mb lexar SD)
Anyone with direct experience of battery life with 1700mah battery, 3/4 brightness and Socket WiFi card? I\'ll be using this for handheld admin interface to an ISP where I work, and want to gauge my spare battery/charger needs. (BTW - also interested in battery life with 950mah battery, as I have two of them handy and would prefer the thinness)
Thanks for info and advice.
j
-
CF slot: This is definitely a problem. It makes it harder to reach the keyboard to properly thumb-type. I consider this to be the one big design flaw with this model line. I end up gripping the edge of the card with the tips of my fingers so I can extend my thumb fully over the KB. I\'m getting used to it, so I guess it is something that you can work with. Maybe someday I\'ll get used to it enough that I won\'t even give it a thought anymore. But, as for now, everytime I use it I find myself cursing Sharp for not locating elsewhere. (Note that I have fairly small hands; it\'s probably not as bad for someone with big hands.) I\'m not sure that this should be a deal killer though. You\'ll have to weigh it against your own needs.
Speaker: Yes, there is a little speaker. It\'s good for sound effects and alarms but you\'ll probably not enjoy listening to music on it. I haven\'t tried using the headphone jack yet so I don\'t know if it mutes the speaker.
Headphone Jack: Next to the CF slot.
Battery: You should be able to just slap your 5600 battery in and go. When I got mine, my battery already had some charge in it and I was able to turn it on right away and play for a little while.
NAND Backup to SD: I\'m not sure. I know I\'ve read about this elsewhere (search the forum) but I didn\'t really pay attention since it wasn\'t an issue for me (I have a CF).
~ray
-
NAND Backup to SD:
Works fine, as long as you have over 128mb free.
CF slot on the side
Doesn\'t bother me too much.
-
Speaker - under SD slot, cuts out when headphone installed in jack (which is next to CF card) not sure about mic only (never tried it) but also cuts out for mic/earphone combo.
Battery - no internal battery, pull the battery and it powers off, uses flash storage so no lose of data when battery pulled.
NAND - you can back up to SD but must pull CF card, if you have CF card in and attempt to restore from SD you will get a \"File not found\" error. NAND backup is over 134MB so 128MB card is no use - Do not use microdrive for NAND restore it will almost always fail!
Voice control works with Opera 7 for 5600, just have to reset the activation button to space or something else usefull.
Stu
-
Speaker - under SD slot, cuts out when headphone installed in jack (which is next to CF card) not sure about mic only (never tried it) but also cuts out for mic/earphone combo.
Battery - no internal battery, pull the battery and it powers off, uses flash storage so no lose of data when battery pulled.
NAND - you can back up to SD but must pull CF card, if you have CF card in and attempt to restore from SD you will get a \"File not found\" error. NAND backup is over 134MB so 128MB card is no use - Do not use microdrive for NAND restore it will almost always fail!
Voice control works with Opera 7 for 5600, just have to reset the activation button to space or something else usefull.
Stu
-
Speaker - under SD slot, cuts out when headphone installed in jack (which is next to CF card) not sure about mic only (never tried it) but also cuts out for mic/earphone combo.
...<snip>...
It seems you have found a mic/earphone combination that works with the combined jack on the C models. Where did you find that?
-
NAND Backup to SD:
Works fine, as long as you have over 128mb free.
Works fine....with some SD cards. I didn\'t manage to nand restore with my Sandisk ULTRA II card (read error).
-
It seems you have found a mic/earphone combination that works with the combined jack on the C models. Where did you find that?
One of the guys at work has the Japanese equivalent to the 5500, he has the standard sharp mic/earphone combo -I tried it out on my C760 - works well, but speaking into the left ear of a standard stereo haedset also works too
I\'ve heard that using a mobile phone ear/mic set works too although I haven\'t tried it and you need an adapter plug.
Stu
-
NAND Backup to SD:
Works fine, as long as you have over 128mb free.
Works fine....with some SD cards. I didn\'t manage to nand restore with my Sandisk ULTRA II card (read error).
If you\'ve been using the card for a while, try formatting it (use full format not quick option if doing from windows) before copying the NAND to it. I\'ve had problems with cards that reformatting fixed - probably fragmented file systems on the card.
Stu
-
One of the guys at work has the Japanese equivalent to the 5500, he has the standard sharp mic/earphone combo
I see - Sharp produces it. I´ve got to find a dealer who´s got that.
-
Thanks everyone. It\'s just about as I figured with the wifi and speaker/headphone.
SD backup is good news, especially in light of the problem with microdrives Stubear mentioned.
I placed my order last night with Brett at Conics.net. (Very helpful and friendly, and responsive - Thanks Brett![img]http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif\" border=\"0\" class=\"linked-image\" /])
Now I just pace for a week or two... [img]http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/cry4.gif\" border=\"0\" class=\"linked-image\" /]
j
-
http://www.foxpop.co.uk/Sharp/zaurus_02.htm (http://www.foxpop.co.uk/Sharp/zaurus_02.htm)
Some nice photos of the C750 to look at while you wait. Shows the wifi card, mic port, nice close up of the keyboard. Just picture the cover silver!