Wednesday, April 3, 2002

I have the Sharp SL-5500 synchronizing with my notebook computer and Outlook 2002 and everything is working as it should. A "custom" version of Puma Technology's Intellisync is included with the SL-5500 for synchronization with Outlook or Palm Desktop. If I didn't want to sync with either of these programs I could sync with the Qtopia desktop program that is also included. The other good news is that it appears the SL-5500 can co-exist with my Pocket PCs. I've been able to switch between the SL-5500 and my Pocket PCs and sync with no problems. The next step is to see whether I can get the SL-5500 connected to my network. 10:39:21 PM    [Macro error: Can't call the script because the name "liveTopicsSeeAlso" hasn't been defined.]

There is a new toy in the house: the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500. This latest PDA incarnation from Sharp has PDA hardware specs (206 Mhz Strong Arm processor, 64 MB of RAM, CompactFlash and Secure Digital Slots) but runs Linux. It has been home for a couple of hours and is currently charging. The initial impressions from the little I have played with it: The UI appears to have been really designed for the thumb keyboard. Even though it does have a soft input panel that supports handwriting recognition, many of the apps do not resize properly when the input panel is open. The input panel also does not close automatically. The UI looks very cluttered to me. The UI has as many elements as the Pocket PC, but is not as thought out. Some controls are too small, particular the spinner control used to increment and decrement numbers, and the scroll control. OK and close buttons are too small. However, the UI has a real close button. The "hideaway" thumb keyboard is the most innovative hardware feature of this device, but my first impression is disappointment. The top and bottom rows of the keyboard are very difficult to get to with my fingers because they are too close to the frame of the device. They keyboard is set in from the top of the device by about a quarter of an inch so that you have to press down to touch the keys. The keys are too close together are too small. In short, this keyboard is no where near as good as RIM's. I can't believe this thing does not have a built-in microphone. You have to buy an extra microphone that plugs in to the headjack port. One would think a $500 device would have a built-in microphone. Ironically, a voice recorder application is provided and is absolutely useless without the microphone. Before one removes a CompactFlash or Secure Digital card you are suppose to unmount the cards by tapping a button on the task bar. Sharp warns that just removing the cards without following this procedure can lead to unexpected results. For all the negative comments made about Pocket PCs and their Palm-size PC predecessors, the SL-5500's UI is remarkably similar. If I figure out how to do screenshots, I provide some comparisons. The SL-5500 comes with word processor and spreadsheet programs that have the exact same features as Pocket Word and Excel. So tables or footnotes in this word processor either. A Powerpoint viewer is also included. There is no file manager and no terminal application, which are usual mainstays for Linux systems. Out of the box the SL-5500 only synchronizes with Windows desktops. Ironically, there is no Linux support in the box. According to the box the SL-5500 can be synchronized with Outlook and Palm Desktop, as well as a desktop application that is included for the device. What I am now interested in finding how is just how much the vaunted open source development community has done to fix some of the UI deficiencies. All of the system software is in Flash ROM so that it should be easily updated. 7:11:51 PM    [Macro error: Can't call the script because the name "liveTopicsSeeAlso" hasn't been defined.]