Zaurus 5500 Lifespan

[omro]

Two came at once?

[zbeckerd]

I have been lurking for quite awhile and this topic made me register.  I have a palm 505, Z5500 and now a Axim X5.  I have all the problems that I have with the Z with these others.  The Z loads apps way faster than the Axim.  The Axim is a at work tool that I did not buy.  It will not see the internet on the cradle.  Now the Palm does all the PIM stuff great and I have used it to run analysis programs that I would usually use a laptop for.  But it no longer syncs in the usb cradle and palm support is as bad as can be.

Bottom line is the Z5500 is a real computer and I can do lots of things that are only "linux" possible.

The Axim is pretty but is hunkier than the others.
The palm will serve until it dies.

So does the 5500 have life.  I would say two more years easy!  I also only paid 150 for it which is way cheaper than the others.   Enjoy

[omro]

I will agree that the Zaurus is more like a micro laptop than a standard PDA thanks to the Linux Operating System. That was one of the main reasons why I bought it, because it seemed to be significantly more flexible than a Palm or a PocketPC.

I think the only things that have let the Zaurus down are:

Lack of Sharp's involvement in promoting the device and evolving it's applications, this is well documented, so I'll say no more.

The way that it's more niche than mainstream, again as as a result of the applications being more for more advance linux users than for the average everyday user.

However, for a two year old PDA, I've managed to keep mine in pretty good condition (partly thanks to buying a good case for it the second I got it) and recently having abandoned the sharp roms for OZ, thanks to buying a wireless card for it and only being able to get it to work under OZ, I'm finding I'm using it more and more again.

If OE does get up a head of steam, perhaps that will re-ignite the developer community behind linux hand helds, which you never know, might reawaken demand for Zaurii....

However, I do personally think we'll end up using other devices that are more readily available globally. When my Z5500 does die through old age, I won't be buying another Zaurus, not even an import, unless it's really special!!

[zbeckerd]

When my Z5500 does die through old age, I won't be buying another Zaurus, not even an import, unless it's really special!!

How true.  I should have mentioned that I have a closet full of amiga computers as well.  They also were not promoted and are still quite amazing computers.
Sharp headed down the same path.  MicroSoft if all powerfull and will probably "win"   in the end.  

As a side note I went to my daughters college and almost of of them were packing IPODS.  I payed 269 US for hers.  Can you imagine how nice it would be to have a z with a 20g hardrive built in.  The size of the pod does not seem to matter to them.

That is what I really want, a c860 with a 20g hd, 10 hours of battery life for less than 500 US.

My Z5500 will do most of this but the cost is much higher.

[omro]

That is what I really want, a c860 with a 20g hd, 10 hours of battery life for less than 500 US.

See the Archos AV 500 series, it's an MP3/Video player and recorder which has a 20/40/80gb HD and a Qtopia Linux PDA built in. I'm saving and ditching both my iPod and my Zaurus and also probably won't even need to take my laptop on some trips.

[V-Man]

I have the SL5500 and an iPaq 2215.  The pim on the Z is more capable than the pim included with the iPaq.  I use Pocket Informant on the 2215 now.  It blows away any other PIM I have seen.  The Z is my work machine.  To make a 2215 work as well and do what I need, I would have to spend $150 to $200 or more.  To be fair, the 2215 has better handwriting recognition, a better screen, built-in speaker, built-in mic, and better pay software availability.  I use the iPaq as an entertainment device.  Like I said earlier, the Z is for work, the iPaq is for play.  I will continue to use my SL5500 until it breaks or I can afford an 860.

Just my $0.02 worth.

[davisfactor]

omro,

First, thanks for asking such great questions!   I have recently become interested in my 5500 again after several months of neglecting it (mostly because I broke my wifi CF card and never bought a new one).  We have Dell Axim X5's at work (though we rarely use them).  I have found myself using it more and more but I can't stand the irregular size of it.  It's big and bulky and doesn't fit in my pocket very well at all.  It also doesn't have a keyboard, which I find extremely useful on my Z.  And most of the software for it is commercial and not free.

So now that I'm back in the mood to use a PDA, I want my Z back in action again.  I want the slim design, the integrated keyboard, and the Linux OS.  I run Linux exclusively at home, on my laptop and I have a Linux box I use at work (primary box is XP, though).

Today is the first day in a LONG time that I've pulled this site up and I'm glad to see a new version of OZ coming out.   I've never heard of OE or GPE but they both sound very interesting.   Thanks, mickeyl, for taking the time out to continue development on OZ.  I can't wait to try the new version!

Again, omro, thanks for asking a lot of great questions.  I have learned a lot about the current status of things from this one post alone.


--------------------
SL5500 w/ OZ 3.2
256 SD card
Dell Axim X5
Dell TrueMobile 1180 WiFi

[Mickeyl]

Welcome back davisfactor.

I'm currently running the release candidate of what will become OZ 3.5.1 next week and I have a very good feeling. It surely is not perfect but since it has been developed from scratch we have a very solid base for more frequent releases and lots of bugfixes when we are steering towards OZ 3.6.0 - the first stable tree since OZ 3.2.

[omro]

Thanks for the thanks davisfactor! I do believe that the people who are actually developing OE and OZ deserve immeasureable thanks for their work which makes the Zaurus a device worth coming back to, even after some time off! Mickeyl and those he works with certainly require our gratitude!