The CPU speed isn\'t doubled in reality. There\'s a bug or two in the CPU which ends up making it run about the same speed as the 5500 in real terms. The 5600 does have several other improvements over the 5500 though:
- Has about double the battery life. It\'s so nice being able to use my 5600 all day without worrying about the battery dying
- Internal storage uses flash ROM. So even if the battery does die or you completely lock the 5600 up and have to do a full reset you never lose any saved data. Everything is even kept when you flash the ROM. The only time internal memory is wiped is when you go into a special maintenance mode and format the memory.
- Frontlight is about 25% brighter than the 5500
- Has a speaker and mic. Both excellent quality. Speaker gives similar quality to a small, pocket sized portable radio. Mic has just enough pickup to record lectures etc, especially if a PA system is used
- Internal storage uses JFFS2, which is a compressed filesystem, meaning you can actually get up to around 64MB worth of stuff stored in the 32MB of internal flash ROM. (It all depends on what you store of course)
- Flip-cover is completely transparent, so if you do not need to use the stylus you do not need to lift the cover
- Much more fool-proof and user friendly ROM flash procedure that can even flash the ROM from a SD card
- Speaker is used for the alarm, which can be turned up very loud. The 5500 buzzer volume is fixed
Disadvantages of the 5600 over the 5500 are:
- Only 32MB of RAM in the 5600. Although this is generally enough for most people thanks to the improved memory management in the kernel, this is less flexible than the 5500 and means you can\'t use any ROM with a 64MB of RAM configuration
- Stylus is cheap and all plastic (Replaced mine with a Tungsten T stylus though, which is a perfect fit)
- 5600 has a bulge where the battery fits, due to the larger capacity
- Even though you can play any sound through the speaker, the alarm sound seems to have been compiled into the calendar and cannot be changed
It is hard to justify double the price for the 5600 for the advantages listed above. It certainly would be nice to have a SL-6000 with it\'s VGA screen and builtin Bluetooth or WiFi or both, although no one really knows when it is going to be coming out and at what price. It may also be hard for the public to get hold of since it is entirely aimed at the enterprise.
But like with all technology, if you wait long enough you can always get something better for less money. After the SL-6000, there will probably be something better and cheaper than that. It all comes down to what fits your needs now and what you can afford.
