While I somewhat doubt the 5500 is for you (the way you are asking questions
suggests you are seeking perfection, which can hardly be achieved with a PDA 3 years
old), I will stand up here and counter what almost amounts to 5500-bashing posted
here by some.
Given the right software, the 5500 is a productive platform. Hardware-wise it may be
a bit dated, especially when it comes to the CPU and display size, but if you can live
with not being on the bleeding edge that may not be a real problem. As far as display
quality is concerned, I have to seriously disagree with Mirrormn's statement:
"The only thing that dissapoints me about my SL-C1000 is that the screen is so very
hard to read in direct sunlight [...] I should note that my SL-5500 was no better at
showing the screen in direct sunlight [...] "
Now I wouldn't know about the C1K, but the 5500's screen provides excellent
readability in broad sunlight. I use it quite frequently to surf the 'net while I'm outside
basking in the sun, so this is not second hand knowledge.
The one big flaw in the 5500's design is indeed related to the screen, though: its
display illumination (AFAIK a fluorescent tube to the right of the display) uses a
ridiculous amount of energy especially on the highest setting, bringing battery life down
to a level that's virtually unacceptable. Not much that can be done about that, apart
from trying to use batteries with a higher capacity not initially intended for the Z and/or
adding one of the aforementioned external extenders, which, in the best case, can be
built/bought for as little as $/€ 10 or so -- and trying to avoid using things like display
illumination and hungry peripherals (read: WLAN cards) as much as possible.
CPU performance is IMHO adequate, enough to view 320x240@15fps MPEG-4
movies. And while the PXA's run at almost double the clock speed of the 5500's
StrongARM, that doesn't mean its overall performance is twice as good. To really
gain from those CPUs, applications have to specifically use PXA instructions, which
then will provide significant performance improvements.
So that's the second drawback of owning such an 'outdated' machine like the 5500:
support is seriously dwindling away into nothingness. Obviously Sharp's support
at all times and for all models has been virtually nonexistant (at least outside of
Japan), but the active Z community has certainly more than made up for that. But
most 'serious' 5500 users have decided to move on and graduate towards the later
models. So recent development may not always support the 5500 in an acceptable
manner (or, some cases, not at all, because it specifically targets PXA CPUs).
I for one still love my 'Collie' -- it does all I want it to do, which is more than enough to
astound most people. And these days, it's easily the Linux PDA platform with the most
bang for the buck. Be warned, though -- IMHO a reasonable size SD card is a must
have, adding to the total system cost. But then again that goes for all models
IMHO, with the obvious exception of the C3Ks.
Disclaimer: I'm a systems engineer with 20 years of UN*X experience and thus usually
know how to help myself. Other people's mileage obviously may vary quite a bit ...
Best regards,
Chris.
