Hi jocasmi,
do you know the HP 200LX palmtop?
Almost ten years after it has been out of production, it is still a valuable tool for a lot of people, and there is still support from third parties (me being one of them).
Sure, software development is almost non-existend anymore, so this kind of support is almost entirely replaced by repairs and - still - hardware upgrades.
The Zaurus is a similar kind of device. It allows real productivity (unlike many of today's PDAs or smartphones) and is very versatile. Suited for general purposes as well as very specialized ones.
Unfortunately, the Zaurus did not reach such a broad user base as the 200LX did, probably just because it was not sold outside Japan by Sharp. Even with vendors such as Trisoft, Pulster, Conex etc., people are more hesitant to buy such a product than if it were sold by the manufacturer officially.
Additionally, when the 200LX came out there was not much competition, especially no cheap competition. Nowadays, you have the choice between a lot of cheap PDAs, more expensive smartphones, and the Zaurus being in the higher price sector. So many people will rather buy a cheap PDA.
I hope there will be a good second hand market for the Zaurus.
And I'm very curious how long the supply of new units will last. Probably even Trisoft does not order too large stocks from Sharp because they would sit for too long on that stock.
daniel
