Should I Get A Zaurus?

[lardman]

If all you really want is to surf the web and listen to music then I'd reconsider the Nokia 770. It can admittedly be a little slow, but the latest flash image has sped it up significantly and Nokia are working to improve things afaik.

The Nokia has the added advantage of a larger screen (makes a difference), but has no keyboard which may be an issue for you (bt keyboard is an option, but still not as good as a built-in).

The Nokia is also cheaper than a Zaurus and is supported.

With all that said, I'm not a total convert - I don't like the semi closed kernel and closed source apps & utilities, but this sounds like it may not be a problem for you.


Si

[jan]

Hi Mathews,

short answer: I don't think the Zaurus is what you are looking for. I love my Z but I'm not recommending it to anyone who doesn't absolutely want a linux computer in his pocket.

longer answer: Z hardware (and software) can porbably do what you expect once set up properly. You do need another computer to make full use of your Z, preferably linux with root access, but any will do if it offers:
* card reader (or USB mass storage support and cheap USB card reader)
* is on a network the Z can connect to (ethernet or wireless or internet but avoid NAT/VPN)
* ssh in/out
* reliable storage (for flashing, flash backup)

I want a device that will allow me to check my email, listen to internet radio (BBC), and surf the internet. Will I be able to do this on a Zaurus?

You can do that, but whatever software you use it will not be the same as on a laptop/desktop. The 640x480 screen is tiny, it won't feel like an old PC with a VGA monitor. Browsers lack features or they will be slower or both.

Will I have a hard time using a Zaurus?

Yes. Maybe not depending on what type of a user you are. I'm pretty sure on this one: A Zaurus user will either use only a small fraction of what's possible with a Z or have a hard time learning to use it. The Sharp software (or Cacko -- its improved English variant) offers what you asked for and it is designed for people who are not linux users (says "Windows XP" recommended on the packaging). It should work more or less out of the box but you can't expect support, software upgrades, documentation, etc from anyone (You may ask here, of course). The alternatives are better, I think, but ATM also harder. Developers/Users are helpful but documentation is still lacking.

Will the power adapter work in the US?  One last thing, does the Zaurus ever run warm or let off any strange odors? [div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=122718\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

There are lots of power discussions on this forum. Sharp sells a wolrd voltage adapter which should work. The Z doesn't run warm or smell while using it, however while charging mine gets slightly warm (not bothersome).

One more warning: The zaurus is the perfect toy. You will play around with it. (I count this as a pro but decide yourself.)

I read your post because I'm about to about do the same thing:

I have an (old not-so-fancy) desktop at home and I have accounts for university (linux) computers. I never bought a laptop because I think it looks pretty ridicoulus when students sit uncomfortable on the floor with computers on their laps. I can live without a PDA, though I miss my broken Vr3 a lot. Choosing a portable computer is a tough question, a laptop which can fully replace a desktop or workstation (like for hours of working, running abitrary software) is hardly portable and will ruin your back. Then, even the smallest PDAs have more processing power than the casual user would ask for (assuming highly optimized software which is usually not the case), but size (not only resolution) does matter.

Unlike you I'm kind of a computer guy and I'm moving to Vienna for some research work -- without any computers except for my Z. I'll use the Z (C860 w/ OZ/GPE) for email, internet, storage of all the things that I should have memorized but haven't and maybe more (LaTeX and programming). Point is -- I'm not convince everything will work the way I expect it to...

If you do still want a Zaurus and if you can invest the price and some time, consider the Zaurus an option.

[mclar22]

Thanks for all the advice. I am some what of a computer person, and I have run linux on a desktop in the past, but I really never learned how to work the terminal-
I just used the GUI. I'm also considering getting an ultraportable laptop. The only thing is that they're very expensive and are really overkill for what I'd be doing. Any advice? Someone mentioned a getting a used ultraportable, but I don't know much about getting used gear.

[mars]

Here's my 0.02:

Get a used laptop. If you get one old enough you won't want to run fancy games on it. Put a light weight linux distro on it such as DSL. Check out this article for another student's perspective: My desktop OS: Damn Small Linux

I'll bet you will find yourself wanting to work on a research paper (either typing or surfing for references) in your dorm room. A larger screen and keyboard will make this a more efficient experience. Being a student -- you'll want to maximize your efficiency.

You may think you just want to surf the net now for leisure, but you may find yourself needing other stuff down the road. I think for the vast majority of us, while we love our Z's, a desktop/laptop is still needed.

WRT to the Nokia 770, it is great for surfing the net and the 800 wide screen is great -- but if you want to do anything other than surfing you may become quickly frustrated -- especially if you need a built in keyboard or more than 1GB of local storage.

[uth]

I think that the Zaurus works great as a laptop replacement.  I've had to carry laptops for past jobs, and found that they were too big, took too long to boot, had weird, uncomfortable input devices like touchpads, and those little finger pointers.

By comparison, the Zaurus easily fits in your pocket.  It's instant-on from the suspended state, and what can be more natural than a touch screen?   Oh- and there's the swivel screen on the clamshell models that seems to be an expensive option for laptops.

However, it's not so good as primary computer.  I can still do much more, much faster on my desktop.  Also, I do consider myself to be a Linux guru, and I still had some trouble with the Zaurus in the beginning-- though the biggest problem is lack of good documentation.

[adf]

The zaurus will use up your time as  much or more than anything else you might buy.  It is a terrific device- I use mine for surfing, writing the occasional short letter, email, that sort of thing.  I also spend a lot of time playing music and video on it. There is a variety of very absorbing games, from doom and quake to freeciv, cards and snes.  But more, it is insanely configurable, does incredible and etihcally questionable (if you are that sort) network stuff, and, as has been said, can communicate with your cell phone..or other pda.

The price of this is  a steep learning curve and what amounts to an addiction to this forum.  Besides that, you will also spend endless hours flashing to try new roms, trying to get odd bits of hardware and software working, and fixing stuff you broke while experimenting. You'll learn a great deal, and have fun doing it, but it is NOT a time saver unless you have tremendous self-control and subnormal curiousity.

As a "student"device.... it can be done. The software is good enough (you can even use open office) but the screen is pretty small.  I would much rather write a large paper on a 12" or larger screen (ok..maybe 9 in a pinch) than on the 3.7 - 4 inch zaurus screen. I think I'd get more accomplished with less anguish on serious writing assignments with more screen.   Maybe you should stop by compusa again and see if you could stand wring and editing hour after hour on the nokia 770 screen. That would give you a feeling of what staring into a zaurus for hours might feel like.  

My "solution" would be the Z as a portable and some kind of cheap/free old desktop with DSL or other "light" distro( a pentiumII 400 would be fine)with a decently large (80g?) hd and a 15"-17" crt monitor in your room...with a printer attached.  You'd have the Z on the go.... and a nice useable work/print station with plenty of storage for extended work sessions and media storage..

[cmonex]

hmm if you want to use it as a leisure device - surfing, email checking and that multimedia stuff and not instead of a PC to do the school homework.. then i think it may do the job... ok, not sure about the multimedia, i've never tried that (heh i should at least see what video is like on my c760)

i'm a student myself but use my pda's not so productively, just to enjoy stuff hehehe.  
never used linux before, got the zaurus because i fell in love with the hardware & design when i had the chance to see it in real life and not just in a picture.

it can do most of the stuff i do with my other, windows CE based pda's which is really amazing to me, and some stuff is done even better on the zaurus, wow. but for example don't expect a complete navigation solution..
CE based pda's (mainly pocketpc's) do have much more support but no such lovely design or linux. i didn't get it for the linux though but was curious and i'm not disappointed
oh and the keyboard is surprisingly good for its size! don't forget the native vga either.
problem is the 3,7" screen. i swear if it were 4,0" it would be a lot more comfortable staring at it (i have 4,0" VGA pda's too). but it is manageable and the point for me is to use it anywhere as it is so small.

disagree with some of the opinions here, for example it wasn't such a steep learning curve for me and i have never installed other roms other than cacko, as i'm not a linux guru and don't miss the slow X apps any more anyway (found everything for qtopia too since then).
i wasted a few hours or days to get everything working (got even a new phone to get gprs going lol, it was time for that too anyway), but not weeks! just days.  

so if you want it for (some of) the things mentioned above (design, hardware, keyboard, screen or linux) you'll not be disappointed. if you just want a pda to surf on etc maybe think a little more about other choices too.

[Ragnorok]

- I'm with adf ... Z for "normal" use, dirt cheap desktop with some Linux distro to go with it.  I have a P-]I[ 1Ghz that I got for free, and it runs FC4 only a little more slowly than my P-4 2.26Ghz runs Winsuck XP "Pro".  In fact, it's what I'm typing on right now, so it's perfectly useable.  (wide grin)
- You can pay for the Z, and scrouge the desktop.  You could even get the Z first, and just keep your eyes open for an old PC, setting it up when you find it, if you don't mind going that route.  As mentioned, you won't be playing many games on a PC that old, unless they're also old games, and with Linux, you won't be getting many Winsuck games, anwyay.  (grin)
- While I never sync or do anything like that with the PC, it is very nice to have one around.  I can move backups off the SD and keep them on the desktop.  I can ssh into the Z when it's gone wonky (because I reconfigured it wrong) and try to correct it.  I can ssh in the Z and do command-line things in a full window instead of using the admittedly tiny screen.  I can archive ipks on the desktop.  It's just really convenient to have one.  But unless you're doing something that requires a lot of resources, you certainly won't need anything significant, by today's standards, as the "companion" PC.
- You may not like this, mclar22, once you've put it all together, but it sounds like you may.  You're not liable to find this much computing power in such a tiny space, anywhere, but as mentioned, it's still not quite ready to completely replace a desktop.  When it's powerful enough to run X at some semblance of speed, one could get away with a Z and a "dumb" X terminal, but that's not quite a reality AFAIK.  Soon!
- Such is my half-nibble...