If you were to buy a Zaurus right now, which would you buy?

[n8a]

I\'m a 5500 user, I have a friend who\'s in the zaurus market, and I\'m considering a personal upgrade myself.  Some of these models are looking very nice, and I\'m considering upgrading and letting him try out the 5500, but the market is changing and I\'m wondering... If you were a new purchaser, would you:

- buy a new 5500 on eBay or elsewhere for ~ $180
- buy a new 5600 on eBay or elsewhere for ~ $300???
- buy a c760? c860?
- wait for the 6000 to come out and then re-evaluate?
- other

Obviously, it\'s easy to say \"Buy the c860!\", but I\'m asking everyone to think about it in terms of the money differential as well: Is the c860 worth more than a 5500 + ~ $450?

I\'m just curious as to everyone\'s personal opinions.  If you just bought a c860 and are loving it, I\'d love to hear about that, your comparison to using the 5500/5600 as well, etc.  

I\'d appreciate anyone\'s feedback!  I just didn\'t want to make any rash moves w/o first consulting the community

[n8a]

I should add, I\'m leaning towards a c760 purchase, and I wonder if there are any major reasons that people can provide to be hesitant.  Not totally sure what the going price is, but I\'ve been monitoring them here and there.

Will the specs for the SL-6000 be far superior to the c-series Zaurii?

[Anonymous]

C750/760...believe me none has given me so much satisfaction as this one.  I\'ve used a Zire 71, PPC, SL5500....this seems to be the perfect pda.

Also see how few complaints you hear frcom Cxxx users

[gretchen]

Spending the extra money will be worth it when I get that much money.  I\'m looking at the extra RAM I can get if I install the OpenZaurus ROM.  Running both apache and mysql slows down my 5500 right now.
I\'d go for the C860 simply because that\'s the one I can get through theKompany and they will upgrade all my programs for free when I buy from them.

[Anonymous]

Yep agreed they are little expensive...maybe get a C750?

[zmike]

Before the 6000 comes out, get a 760 or 860. After the 6000 comes out, get a 760 or 860! I can\'t believe how brain-dead Sharp is about the US market. They should have put the bluetooth and wireless into the 860 for their \"enterprise version\". When the keyboard is open, I want landscape not portrait. I just don\'t get the 6000 at all. I had a 5500 and lept at the 860. I do agree with Sharp that they are not going to take the retail market by storm, so either quit or put their best product in the market.

[offroadgeek]

The 860 all the way, unless you can get a 760 for a few bucks cheaper.  Yes it is quite a bit more than a 5500, but I still feel that it was worth every penny.

[derekp]

Out of curiosity, with the 760\'s & 860\'s, etc., how easy is it to use the keyboard while on the go?  Can you hold the unit in one hand and enter text with the other, or is the keyboard only useful when you are sitting at a desk?
Otherwise, I think the ultimate solution would be the 6000 (or 5x00) with a wallet-style case that has a built-in keyboard.  Of course, I haven\'t seen such a keyboard-case yet, but it would be neat anyways :-).

[zmike]

I use it with two hands \"on the go\" typing with thumbs or I peck with a few fingers when its on a desk. If I need one-handed operation (no porn jokes please!), I fold it into \"keyboardless\" mode (great for reading e-books for example). I had the 5500 previously and find this much easier. It took a little while to get used to the keyspace differences, but its a huge improvement.

[nitup]

I would rather like to get a 760/860, I can\'t justify the price to myself.  It would make a nice addition to my 5500.  Now to scheme a way to get work to buy one for me

AS for sharp, yeah, it was obvious even when I got my 5500 that sharp were a bunch of slackers in this country.  The biggest reason I use sharp rom 3.1 is that it syncs reliably with outlook, which I use at work.

[VeeDubb]

If I had the bread, I\'d buy a c860, if not, a 5500

[kbranch]

I would rather like to get a 760/860, I can\'t justify the price to myself.

You can get a 700 for under $400.  It\'s not as good as a 760, but it sure beats the crap out of a 5500.

[Anonymous]

I use it with two hands \"on the go\" typing with thumbs or I peck with a few fingers when its on a desk. If I need one-handed operation (no porn jokes please!), I fold it into \"keyboardless\" mode (great for reading e-books for example). I had the 5500 previously and find this much easier. It took a little while to get used to the keyspace differences, but its a huge improvement.

MMMMMFMFFFF....MMFFFFFF!!!   DAMN IT!!!!!  Whew...that was close...a porn joke almost slipped out

[ScottYelich]

ya, 700s are great for a second or spare.. but spend the bucks to get a 760 or 860.

yes, the keyboard is awesome.

64mb ram makes a difference for any power user.

Scott

[nitup]

having a 5500, and knowing 1st hand the limitations of low memory, I would not scrimp.  I\'d do without and save up... memory is king. more important to me than raw speed.  

Bottom line is that I don\'t need a new pda, my 5500 is doing what it needs to.  a 760 would be nothing more than a toy to me.  I mostly use my 5500 as a calander and ebook reader.