Comment Re:They've had this at Yodobashi for a while (Score 4, Insightful) 156
You held it in your hands and failed to see anything special about it? You must have failed to notice that it has twice the resolution of any other PDA out there, including the recently announced devices from Sony. This means you can put a copy of the Tokyo subway map on it and be able to read it. You can also buy an electronic train schedule for about $10 (good for when you're out drinking near time for the last train). The high res display means the Zaurus is also good for keeping those little store maps that show you how to get to the shop from the nearest station. This device really can replace all those scraps of paper you bring with you and then loose.
You probably haven't noticed that the new DoCoMo and J-Phone releases by Sharp, with equally stunning displays. They all have "CG Silicon" somewhere near the display. These displays are very bright and crisp, with very high resolution. Btw, you can zap contact information from those phones to the Zaurus using the IR ports built into both devices.
About the keyboard: when I first saw it, I wondered what the point of it was; now I can tell you. The point isn't to compete with a full sized keyboard, it's to compete with grafiti or other handwriting recognition techniques, and I'm grateful to have it.
So the Zaurus doesn't have the Bluetooth (does anybody actually use this?) or wifi stuff built in (a touch unfortunate), nor a camera (but you already have one in your phone, don't you?). On the plus side, DoCoMo is coming out with a PHS/WiFi card so you can use WiFi at the office and get wireless PHS access from anywhere else (well, almost anywhere). It also doesn't have a built in mike (I think all the Pocket PC devices do have one), the speaker is not very good (but there's a headphone jack of course), the PIM software is not as good as the Palm PIM software is (IMHO).
Of course there are three models out there - the older SL-C700, the SL-C750, and the SL-C760. The SL-C760 is the one to buy - comes with everything, including a large enough battery to feed the power hungry display. I haven't had any trouble running out of power, but I plug it in every day, and only use it away from power for a few hours each day. The power adapter is very small and light (like mobile phone power adapters), so it's not a problem to throw it in a bag and take it with you.
About the price, yes, you can almost buy a cheap laptop or desktop, but for $500 neither one will be worth writing home about.
If you are into computers, then you really need three devices. The Sharp Zaurus SL-C760 for pocket computing, the Sony Vaio TR-1 for mobile computing (has bluetooth and wifi), and your desktop machine.
You probably haven't noticed that the new DoCoMo and J-Phone releases by Sharp, with equally stunning displays. They all have "CG Silicon" somewhere near the display. These displays are very bright and crisp, with very high resolution. Btw, you can zap contact information from those phones to the Zaurus using the IR ports built into both devices.
About the keyboard: when I first saw it, I wondered what the point of it was; now I can tell you. The point isn't to compete with a full sized keyboard, it's to compete with grafiti or other handwriting recognition techniques, and I'm grateful to have it.
So the Zaurus doesn't have the Bluetooth (does anybody actually use this?) or wifi stuff built in (a touch unfortunate), nor a camera (but you already have one in your phone, don't you?). On the plus side, DoCoMo is coming out with a PHS/WiFi card so you can use WiFi at the office and get wireless PHS access from anywhere else (well, almost anywhere). It also doesn't have a built in mike (I think all the Pocket PC devices do have one), the speaker is not very good (but there's a headphone jack of course), the PIM software is not as good as the Palm PIM software is (IMHO).
Of course there are three models out there - the older SL-C700, the SL-C750, and the SL-C760. The SL-C760 is the one to buy - comes with everything, including a large enough battery to feed the power hungry display. I haven't had any trouble running out of power, but I plug it in every day, and only use it away from power for a few hours each day. The power adapter is very small and light (like mobile phone power adapters), so it's not a problem to throw it in a bag and take it with you.
About the price, yes, you can almost buy a cheap laptop or desktop, but for $500 neither one will be worth writing home about.
If you are into computers, then you really need three devices. The Sharp Zaurus SL-C760 for pocket computing, the Sony Vaio TR-1 for mobile computing (has bluetooth and wifi), and your desktop machine.
