Pre-purchase Questions...

[sstrungis]

Hi Folks,

I have been the happy owner of a SL-5500 series Z for about a week now and am quite happy with it as a PDA, book reader, music and movie player, and all around geek toy.

I figured try it out with the little model first.  So far, nothing fancy as I have no CF cards yet to mess about with ROMs and such...There's a CF card on the way via the US mail.

So far, I like the machine a lot, but I have had my eye on the clamshell models for a while.  Of course, all three newer models are pricey for me.

This unit cannot really be a complete laptop replacement for me as I need my gradebook program for my job as a schoolteacher.  It would be a neat overall portable device for the above uses plus game playing through emulation (MAME, SNES9x, etc)

I am quite pleased with the sound quality on my SL-5500 with music and SNES / NES games...Are the clamshell models as nice?

So?  Vendor, or eBay?  1000, 3000 or 3100?

Thanks!
Scott

[flyguy]

i highly suggest a C1000 from pricejapan.com

The shipping is super fast, my unit was absolutely perfect.  I would use you 5500 charger (NOT the japanese one).  Since i use mine for internet, i don't need the large storage of the others.


louis

[sstrungis]

Thanks for the advice...

My charger is marked Model EA-70.  Is that usable for the clamshell models?

I would use any clamshell unit for multimedia, and net.

Scott

[Streamline]

Scott,
 Your ea-70 is the correct adapter on clamshells in the U.S and Europe.

[dss]

I second getting the Zaurus SL-C1000. It's a beauty. I got mine from Chase & Company at:
www.chaseandcompany.net or call 1-800-596-0557. The guys name is Jeb Kaufman. He will sort you out. Good luck with your purchase.

David

[bluedevils]

I got my 3100 from streamline.  Mainly because I believe his customer support is excellent and will be excellent within and outside of warranty.

I chose the 3100 because it has the same bulk as a 1000 and I would rather that bulk went to use as the 4GB hd than blank space.  If price is a concern, the 1000 should still meet or exceed all your needs.

[sstrungis]

Price IS a concern...$400 I can probably explain to the missus, $600 is a whole different ballpark!  The C1000 is the best balance for me between price and capability.  I can always use a Microdrive in the CF slot or use a USB drive and dongle in the host jack.  

Networking is strictly a temporary as-needed thing at work.  I already have a decent capacity SD card with a 128meg CF card on the way.  If I need to put big data on the Z, I can use an SD card and network with a CF based card in a pinch.

Who's got feedback on vendors?  I have read about GeekStuff4U and Chase and Co through Froogle.  PriceJapan seems okay, but I am not a verified Paypal user.  I will not link that service to Real Money.

Scott

[GadgetGuy]

PriceJapan seems okay, but I am not a verified Paypal user.  I will not link that service to Real Money.

Scott
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I would email pricejapan, asking them for what payment options they accept. I have found them a great company to deal with ( quick response to many emails ) and they had by far the best price. Also, very fast shipment...

[mtnkill]

I can recommend Streamline.  Very responsive, very helpful.

[apink]

Scott,

I am a schoolteacher using a C1000 to do my grades.  (That was the only way I could justify the cost of a new linux toy to my partner.)  I got mine from PriceJapan.  Their service was very quick.  I don't do PayPal either.  I wired money to their Japan bank, as instructed on their web site.  Though their English is not good, their service was very good for me.

To do grades I use gnumeric, on pdaxrom.  I got away from grade machine programs several years ago and started using spread sheets.  I like it much better this way.  And now with gnumeric on the Zaurus I no longer take a laptop back and forth to school.  I've even learned a couple shell commands so that I now do weekly progress reports on the Z.

[hokie36]

I second getting the Zaurus SL-C1000. It's a beauty. I got mine from Chase & Company at:
www.chaseandcompany.net or call 1-800-596-0557. The guys name is Jeb Kaufman. He will sort you out. Good luck with your purchase.

David
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DSS,

I am a newb at this and am still saving money for my C1000, but how in the world did you get OSX running or is that a remote connect?

[ArchiMark]

Maybe there's iTunes for Linux???

 

Mark

DSS,

I am a newb at this and am still saving money for my C1000, but how in the world did you get OSX running or is that a remote connect?
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[sstrungis]

That's a VNC connection to his desktop Mac that is running OSX and iTunes.

Oooh, ooh, there's an SL-C1000 coming to my house!  So excited...

Scott

[dhns]

That's a VNC connection to his desktop Mac that is running OSX and iTunes.

Alternatively to VNC, there is a native "OS X" clone in development that really runs on the Z. I had posted a screen shot some time ago at https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?act=S...indpost&p=97520

In the meantime, we have moved the scroll bars to the right side and improved the GUI a little (but that code is not yet released).

What we don't have yet is a native iTunes.app... But developers expereinced with Cocoa, Objective-C, Xcode are welcome to join. You can easily develop on the Mac and crosscompile for the Z.

-- hns