Looking To Buy A C1000, A Few Questions

[Knormal]

I've had various models of Zauri for a few years now, starting with a 5500 then upgrading to a 6000, but my 6000 was a casualty of the recent heat wave so now I'm looking for a replacement. My biggest requirement for a PDA is a keyboard, and since there's no US PDAs with keyboards around right now I'm considering importing a SL-C1000. But before I do I have a few questions...

1. With my old Zauri I just stuck with the default Sharp ROM since it did everything I needed, but now that the default ROM is translated aftermarket from Japanese I'm a little concerned. How usable is the translated Japanese ROM? And do third-party developers still write with the Sharp ROM in mind, or is it now assumed that US users will be using one of the open source ROMs? In short, what will I have better compatablity with for third-party apps, the Sharp ROM, or one of the open ones?

2. I'm looking at buying from GeekStuff4U.com, anyone know anything about them? Are they reputable? Anywhere else I should consider buying from?

3. The 5600 came out like a month after I got my 5500. I hate it when that happens, anything new on the horizon I should hold out for?

4. Does this model have an internal speaker? Nothing I can find mentions one, it's not a big deal if it doesn't, but it'd be nice if it did.

Thanks for any insight you can give.

[adf]

for sharp rom there are good translated images, or translation tools available. meanie and trisoft have good info/resources.  cacko works very well...and that is just a quick flash away --minutes from out of the box to a working english rom (I reallly preferr cacko to sharp).

oz and pdax support are both better on the 1000 than the 6000.

my 3100 has a speaker. I guess the 1000 does too

[dougeeebear]

I just bought a new C1000 from Strammline CPUs.
It was translated to English...the only problem is there are no help files for any of the applications.
Other than that, the stock Sharp rom works great.
Yes, it does have an internal speaker.
If you live in the US, I would recommend buying it there (they are located in Florida).
Communication with them is very good, and the service is great.
You can use a credit card instead of that sucky paypal.
I would recommend sending them a message (from their site) to make sure they have them in stock before ordering.

[sheepherder]

Same here, I got mine from Streamlinecpus and am very happy, the Sharp rom seems good at detecting cards and wifi, support is ok. The forums here can help alot too.

I just bought a new C1000 from Strammline CPUs.
It was translated to English...the only problem is there are no help files for any of the applications.
Other than that, the stock Sharp rom works great.
Yes, it does have an internal speaker.
If you live in the US, I would recommend buying it there (they are located in Florida).
Communication with them is very good, and the service is great.
You can use a credit card instead of that sucky paypal.
I would recommend sending them a message (from their site) to make sure they have them in stock before ordering.
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[Jon_J]

I also vouch for StreamlineCPUs.
Stephen, (who also reads and replys on this board), was very helpful.
When I ordered my SL-C3100, and there was a delay in the shipment, (of the unit from Japan), Stephen threw in an extra "Host cable"
I was able to purchase mine with a money order, since I don't have a credit card or paypal account.
It shipped within 1½ weeks.

[sheepherder]

Just thought of something else to help,

I got a 4gb sd card for the zaurus and after installing an ipk driver file it works fine.

I picked up a targus wireless keyboard and same as above installed a ipk driver, now that works fine. so now I have tons of space for files and can type using the word program.....

Dave

[Knormal]

Alright I'm sold, and that Streamline site looks good. Thanks everyone.