Manufacturer: Sharp Model#: SL-600 Weight: 9..3lbs Height: 6..2"     Width: 3..2" Length: " Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars	Retail Price: $699.99 Online Sale Price:
Features: Crystal clear, four-inch, transflective, high-density TFT LCD screen Intel Xscale 400MHz processor, 64 MB RAM Built-in protected QWERTY keyboard and Wi-Fi for wireless local area network Expandable with both CompactFlash and Secure Digital expansion slots Rechargeable, replaceable 1500 mAh Lithium polymer battery

User Submitted Sharp Zaurus SL-6000L Handheld Reviews (cont...)

Haven't gotten a really good chance to get it working with my other stuff yet. I was immediately disappointed to find that qtmail won't do imaps or smtp over ssl; our mail server won't accept clear-text passwords over the net (does anyone anymore?). Seems like a big shortsight for a business-class PDA.

Support files are sure tough to find on the Sharp site, still looking for kernel sources so I can compile up a FreeS/WAN kernel module.

I'm really looking forward to trying out one of the VOIP clients with it; the speaker and mic on the back are clearly positioned with using it as a phone in mind.

Yes! The screen does rock, I can't believe how tiny but fine it is. I'm going to be permanently cross-eyed in no time from working from 6" away!

Soon I'll be looking into trying OpenZaurus, it's clear that's the way to go.

I originally ordered mine from here; on the catalog page it said 'ships in 2-3 days.' After purchasing it, though, the wait got longer and longer; when it went to almost two weeks, I began to get angry, so canceled and ordered from PC Connection instead. Two days later it was in my hands!

Date: 2004-04-04
Excellent PDA, but with some "oddities"
OK, so the screen on this thing is magnificent, absolutely unbelievable. The ability to rotate it to landscape mode really makes web browsing a practical reality for a PDA, and that's a BIG first ! The WIFI card is ridiculously simple to set up and works just peachy. I had mine up and synching with Outlook 2003 15 minutes after the battery was charged. Built-in software is quite good, and very complete. Some of the 3rd party applications I had on my SL-5600 wouldn't run, but the ClearSky program I use to control my telescope ran just fine.

I was initially concerned about the ability to run the DVD movies I had ported to my SL-5600 as they acted extremely "weird", but if you click/hold the Media Player icon and specify to run in magnified mode, they work spectacularly.

But leave it to Sharp, other connections are definitely non-standard. Even the stinking headphone jack is a 2.5mm stereo instead of the 3.5mm jack that every known set of headphones on the planet uses. There are adaptors available (for the Treo which it seems also uses this bizarre choice) but you have to buy them separately. The built-in USB port uses some kind of cable that only exists in the outer reaches of Latvia, so I can't testify as to the value of that port.

On the other hand, it is extremely well made and is far more "rugged" than the earlier SL 5xxx series. It's also a bit LARGER. Unless you're the size of the Incredible Hulk, you're unlikely to have pockets that will accomodate this sucker. The "up" side to this is that it really is a laptop (or at least a sub-notebook) replacement. Superb battery life, excellent recoverability features, geeky enough for the propeller beanie crowd, but absolutely tame for those that just want the ultimate PDA and wouldn't know a ROM from a bowl of cornflakes.

So what the heck, take the plunge and live a little. The screen alone makes this thing worth the price.

Date: 2004-04-01
Are they serious?
The price must be in Yen, because there is no way anybody is going to buy one of these for that price. Not even in Canadian funny money.