At long last, Sharp's new Linux-based handheld is here. It features XScale, a unique memory system, Java, and dual-expansion cards. Read on for more, and for pictures.
Sharp has officially released its long-awaited latest member of the Zaurus handheld family, the Sharp Zaurus SL-5600. Like its predecessor the SL-5500, the SL-5600 runs on the GNU/Linux operating system, specifically the Embedix distribution bundle from Lineo, with support for Java applications.
 | The SL-5600 is a lot like the SL-5500, but adds a number of features
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The Zaurus SL-5600 features Sharp's high-resolution color-reflective QVGA LCD screen technology and a well-designed integrated QWERTY keyboard with a sliding cover. It is powered by a 400 MHz Intel XScale CPU, twice the speed of the SL-5500. It also offers both Secure Digital and Compact Flash card slots, allowing users access to both a storage card and an accessory card at the same time. The SL-5600 also adds an integrated high-quality speaker and microphone to the dual-function headphone/microphone jack.
The SL-5600 also addresses a number of issues that users had with the 5500. For example, it includes a whopping 1700 mAh Lithium-Ion battery to power the device for longer periods. It also features a novel memory structure. On most handhelds, there is a single RAM space that is either used simultaneously for storage and active application space, such as on Palm OS devices, or split into a RAM disk and an active RAM area, such as on Pocket PCs and the original Zaurus. The SL-5600, however, contains only 32 MB of RAM, all of which is used for active RAM for running applications. It then packs 64 MB of protected flash memory ROM, which holds both the core OS and applications and files the user installs. The ROM is also compressed, to give it even more space. That makes the SL-5600 closer to a desktop system, with a non-volitile storage area for files that is safe even if power is lost.
On the software side, the SL-5600 runs a GNU/Linux-based software package provided by Lineo. It uses the Qtopia environment from Trolltech, as did the SL-5500. The SL-5600 does include some improvements, however, including the enhanced "Documents" tab file manager previously seen on the Zaurus A300 in Japan. In addition to a respectable package of PIM applications and other utilities, the SL-5600 includes the Jeode Java Virtual Machine for running PersonalJava 1.2 applications. It also includes a POP3/IMAP/SMTP capable e-mail client and media player. A USB cradle provides desktop syncronization to a PC running Windows or GNU/Linux.
The Zaurus SL-5600 is available through select online retailers at a list price of $499 USD.
Additional high-resolution pictures of the SL-5600 are available on the following pages.
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