To answer your question I definitely would recommend the 6000L. I own 3, (no I'm not kidding, meant to buy two, one to use and another as a backup but due to a slip of the old fingers I now have 3!) I have also used a c860 to see how I would like it before I bought my 6000's. It is not that the c860 was bad, it just didn't compare in all the ways that seemed truly important.
Those things were:
1. built in WiFi (battery life with it on is on par with the best low power wireless WiFi I've used)
2. the fact that the CF slot is available while using wireless. (I know this is an outcrop of #1 but as a benefit it deserves it's own rank.)
3. the screen side by side next to the c860 was brighter and slightly larger and the screen "felt" better using the stylus on the 6k...You'ld just have to use one to understand what I mean!
4. Expansion- You actually HAVE an expansion option with the 6k. For 170 bucks you can get the expansion sleeve and have yet another cf slot open, a full sized extra battery which is INCREDIBLY beneficial, and another com port.
5. USB HOST! USB HOST! USB HOST! This is worth buying the 6k just by itself. You can hook up a full size USB keyboard and just about any USB external HDD of your choosing for unlimited storage! I paid a whopping 16 dollars for a 88 key Adesso keyboard that I use on the go when I need to be able to seriously type for periods of time...it's fullsize but lacks the number pad which makes it small enuf to drop into my backpack etc.
The overall effect of these 5 things is that the 6k passes over that incredible mark that is the holy grail to so many of us and becomes a TRUE Mini-Laptop and while the c860 is a great machine it cannot now and never will reach that status because Sharp chose to limit it in those areas for some ill-advised reason.
As a matter of fact the only two downsides I found at all for the 6k that were even noticeable were that the 6k was larger, even more so with the expansion sled (but it's MUCH more rugged than the c860 as a result) and that pdaXrom is not available yet on the 6k (however you can run the full distribution of debian) and pdaxrom and OZ etc. will inevitably be available soon.
So dollar for dollar, you get MUCH more in the 6k + expansion jacket versus the c860 and that disparity will only grow even larger when the alternate ROM's become available. Heck even the c3000 doesn't look too great when compared to the 6k. I have an 1 gb sdcard, a 1gb microdrive, and a 1gb CF card and that gives me 3gb total AND I can still use the wireless simultaneously and even with the cost of the cards figured in the 6k is STILL cheaper! And speaking of storage capacity I can always plug my 2.5" external USB drive up for an additional 40gb when I need some elbow room!
The only final argument that I've heard some ppl raise is that you should be leary of getting a 6k since Sharp is not actively supporting their product in America. However that whole line of reasoning is mute in the face of the alternative which is buying a c860 that isn't even SOLD in USA and must be returned to Japan to even get it serviced! Something that folks are forgetting about this also is that Sharp isn't actively supporting the 6k however it IS backing up it's warranty on the item- so if your 6k becomes defective you can get it replaced or fixed right here in the good old US of A.
The c860 is a nice machine and I'd take it over any other PDA/PocketPC in the world right now...EXCEPT the SL-6000L. I don't blame you for being cautious and asking questions, I was so hard headed I wouldn't buy the 6k until I had compared it myself first. Just bear this in mind as you reflect, I have noticed that the people that post pro-6000 on this forum tend to have owned or at least used one of the clamshell Zaurii before they bought their 6000, however, those who are pro-c860 are almost invariably individuals who have never owned nor used both. I'm not blaming them for being ardent about the machine they own, it's human nature to go with what you know, (heck if I'd never used a 6k I'd be convinced that nothing was better myself!) So keep both eyes and your mind open while reading this and every post.
You won't go greatly wrong with either as a purchase, but as a 6000L owner and someone who has used both I could make no other recommendation than for you to take advantage of the huge sale price Amazon has on the 6000L and it's expansion sleeve.
God Bless and Good Luck to you,
-NeuroShock
